I can’t remember ever being so confident at the start of an away Ashes series | Mark Ramprakash
It’s the Ashes in Australia and that is a series England have become used to losing, so much so that even Jimmy Anderson, the greatest English Test wicket‑taker of all time, has the home side as favourites.But if Australia have ever been there for the taking, it is now.Looking at how the two sides are shaping up before the opening game I feel punchy about England’s chances: the team are strong, settled, and I think that if Ben Stokes plays all five Tests they will win the Ashes and win them comfortably.I can’t remember ever being so confident before an away Ashes.That confidence is based on a strong group of seamers and a top seven that have now played a lot of Test cricket and have a lot of runs under their belt.
They will look at an opposition that will be without the injured Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood in Perth and fancy their chances of racking up runs.Once you do that, you’re bossing the game.Of course over the years England haven’t won many times in Australia, so the data says they are up against it.But if you actually look at the two teams, the mentality and confidence that England have, and an opposition in transition, you see something different.I can’t remember seeing an Australia side in such disarray: it looks like a 31-year-old debutant will open the batting alongside a 38‑year‑old in decline; the absence of Cummins means they are without their hugely influential captain, an excellent bowler who can bat, a leader who sets the tone for the side; and now they have also lost Hazlewood, their Mr Consistent, who rarely leaks runs, who gives them control.
They hope both will return for the second Test in Brisbane, but how much workload will they be able to sustain? Will they be able to guarantee their ability to bowl 20 overs in the first innings, then come back and do it again in the second? Their frailty ramps up the pressure on Mitchell Starc, who turns 36 in January and can’t be relied upon to play all five matches – something he managed against India last year, but before that only once since 2015.Australia have a couple of important strengths.Nathan Lyon is one and, though it is very rare for pitches in Australia to give him much help, he is such an obvious advantage that they will do everything they can to get him in the game.England certainly don’t have a spinner who can hold a candle to him.But I expect the tourists to challenge him with real aggression, and they have the batters, players such as Joe Root, Harry Brook and Zak Crawley, to win those battles.
Against the kind of batting he is likely to face he’ll need to put some scouts out to protect the boundaries, and that means cheap singles,England can force Australia to spread the field, and Lyon won’t be able to dictate proceedings,Then there’s Steve Smith, who will captain Australia in the opening Test and is their one batter of undoubted form and class,There’s a lot riding on his shoulders and he will know he has to produce big time,Eight years ago, when I was with the England team as a batting coach, we just couldn’t get him out.
He never gives his wicket away – and that’s the big difference between him and some of the Bazball exponents.The first Test is absolutely key and England have a chance to impose themselves against weakened opposition.With their mentality, it is a challenge they will relish.More than likely it’s going to be a good pitch: England will enjoy batting on it and then their bowlers will get to work.Mark Wood has now been passed fit after a hamstring injury scare but to me the first two guys on the team sheet are Gus Atkinson and Brydon Carse, and if Wood and Jofra Archer can play three games each it would be a wonderful bonus.
But I am a bit concerned by England’s preparations.I toured Australia as a player in 1998-99 and a coach in 2017-18 and in both of those we started with several four‑day, first-class matches.As the outcomes of those tours show, that is no guarantee of success, and these games have often failed to replicate the conditions or the standard of opposition that is coming in the Tests.But still, players get familiar with the Kookaburra ball, and with batting, bowling and fielding in the heat for extended periods.Sign up to The SpinSubscribe to our cricket newsletter for our writers' thoughts on the biggest stories and a review of the week’s actionafter newsletter promotionThey are first-class games, so a batter knows they can’t just skim one to cover and get away with it – they have to get their game‑head on.
The kind of approach we saw from Brook against the Lions last week wouldn’t be acceptable: he is about to embark on the biggest series of his career, any time in the middle is valuable, and after a few minutes he hares down the pitch and gives away his wicket,The bowlers must bowl a spell, field for perhaps an hour and then come back and bowl again, knowing there will be consequences if they bowl a bad ball,When players talk about the value of warmup matches, that is what they mean,Stokes talked about playing “balls to the wall” cricket against the Lions – I’ve no idea what that means but I’m pretty sure we didn’t witness it,It is true that the schedule no longer allows the kind of preparation teams used to take for granted, but I think England would have benefited from playing a first-class game against a state side and not a runout in the park against the reserves.
But, still, I am hugely excited about what is ahead.I always thought that the best thing about being a professional player was the travelling – and it doesn’t come any better for an English cricketer than touring Australia.What an opportunity this team have now, what a chance to seize the initiative in Perth – and then go and get the Ashes.
Only Labour could turn victory into defeat | Letters
I despair of Labour’s ability to turn an election victory into a rumbling disaster (Briefing war spotlights relationships between three of Labour’s most senior figures, 12 November).To see the kerfuffle over whether or not Wes Streeting has leadership ambitions and to see that become a huge distraction from everything that should be dominating political thinking is awful. I want everyone who has a role in this government to distinguish themselves from their predecessors. They can do this by showing that they understand their purpose: to act only in the interests of the country. Unless they do this, public confidence in politicians will continue to plummet
Chinese spying amounts to interference in UK democracy, minister says, after MI5 warns MPs – as it happened
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Tories and Reform spout imaginary numbers as they fight for attention | John Crace
You would think we were in the final three months of a general election campaign, not three and a half years out. Everywhere you look there’s a party leader giving a press conference. Demanding attention from a public that just wants to be given a break.Even the news channels are losing interest. Sending along a reporter more on the off-chance someone says something idiotic, than in any expectation of anyone committing hard news
Starmer pleads for government to unite in fightback after difficult week
Keir Starmer has warned senior ministers and officials to stop briefing against one another and leaking details of the budget as he pleaded for his embattled government to unite.The prime minister told his weekly cabinet meeting that last week’s political turmoil had distracted from voters’ priorities, and ministers needed to work together and start delivering rather than talking about the government itself.His warning came after a turbulent week during which his government was engulfed by accusations of briefing against the health secretary, Wes Streeting, and reports of a major pre-budget U-turn.The prime minister’s spokesperson said on Tuesday: “He said distractions meant our focus shifted from where it mattered most, working every day in the service of the British people.“The prime minister said next week’s budget would prioritise rebuilding the economy, showing what the government stands for
‘Deeply shocking’: Nigel Farage faces fresh claims of racism and antisemitism at school
It is the hectoring tone, the “jeering quality”, in Nigel Farage’s voice today that brings it all back for Peter Ettedgui. “He would sidle up to me and growl: ‘Hitler was right,’ or ‘Gas them,’ sometimes adding a long hiss to simulate the sound of the gas showers,” Ettedgui says of his experience of being in a class with Farage at Dulwich college in south London.Ettedgui, 61, is a Bafta- and Emmy-winning director and producer whose credits include Kinky Boots, McQueen and Super/Man: the Christopher Reeve Story.Back then he was a 13-year-old boy at a loss as to how to handle what he describes as a sudden and inexplicable intrusion of antisemitism in his life.This is the first time Ettedgui has spoken in such detail of his alleged experiences, but he is not the only one
Most Reform UK voters would back wealth tax on very rich, poll suggests
Most potential Reform UK voters would back a one-off wealth tax on the very rich, polling suggests, with about three-quarters supporting windfall taxes on energy companies and banks.The figures, compiled by the Best for Britain thinktank ahead of next week’s budget, indicate that Nigel Farage might be out of step with many of his supporters.Farage has consistently pushed back against the idea of a wealth tax, arguing that higher earners and other rich people should not be targeted in case it makes them more likely to leave the UK.And while Farage is often critical of big business, the only plan for a windfall tax set out by Reform so far involves targeting renewable energy companies.According to a survey of more than 3,000 people who are considering voting for Reform, carried out by YouGov, 61% would support a one-off tax on UK households with net wealth above £10m
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