3 reasons why Australia are favorites to win Ashes 2023
New winners of the ICC World Test Championship, Australia, have kicked off their WTC title defense with an away series against England. The Ashes 2023 series started last Friday with the first Test in Birmingham. Three days of the first Test are done and dusted. England currently lead by 35 runs in the second innings and have eight wickets in hand.
England have been unstoppable in Test cricket ever since Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum took over the reins of the team. England defeated India and New Zealand in the previous summer, while they also recorded a historic 3-0 away series against Pakistan.
Meanwhile, Australia have played some excellent Test cricket as well. In their last three Tests, they defeated India twice - once in India and once in England. In this listicle, we will look at the three reasons why the Aussies are the favorites to win Ashes 2023.
#1 Australian players have spent a good amount of time playing red-ball cricket in England
The majority of the Australian squad members for The Ashes 2023 series participated in the ICC World Test Championship final, which took place against India earlier this month at The Oval.
Generally, the team that comes to England is not properly prepared to face the pace bowlers in English conditions. However, some of the Aussie squad members have been in the United Kingdom for quite some time now. They were busy playing county matches before the WTC final against India.
Also, the majority of the Aussie squad members have toured England for an Ashes series in the past. Hence, they have a good idea of how the conditions will be in England, contrary to some other teams which tour England.
#2 Australia's current squad can win Test matches on any type of pitch
Generally, the conditions in England favor the swing bowlers. However, before the Ashes 2023 series, reports surfaced online that the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) will prepare flat wickets for the Ashes. In the first Test at Edgbaston, the wicket has seemed good for batting so far.
While this type of surface will favor England more, it is pertinent to note that the Aussies have achieved success on all types of pitches. They have won Test matches in swing-friendly conditions of England, flat pitches of Pakistan and spin-friendly wickets of India and Sri Lanka. Hence, England will find it challenging to keep the Aussies down.
#3 The Aussies have defeated Brendon McCullum's aggression in the past as well
Brendon McCullum's aggressive tactics often push his opponents on the backfoot, but Australia are not just any opponent. The Aussies know how to counter McCullum's aggression. In the 2015 World Cup final, Mitchell Starc dismissed a charging McCullum for a duck.
Even in McCullum's last Test match, he blasted a 79-ball 145 against the Aussies, but New Zealand lost that game by seven wickets. When McCullum hit a 56-ball 116 against the Aussies in a T20I, they still managed to tie the match.
McCullum is England's Test coach now. Like he blew away his opponents with the bat during his playing days, his players have destroyed their rivals in a similar fashion. However, England cannot dominate Australia just by playing aggressive cricket from the start. They will have to bring their 'A' game to the table consistently in all the departments to regain The Ashes urn.