5 reasons why England look stronger than Australia for the Ashes
Cricket’s longest and biggest rivalry is set to resume in November this year as England embark on a tour to Australia to play the Ashes. England are the current holders of the famous urn having won the last series in 2015 in England (3-2). They have held the upper hand in recent years winning four out of the last five and five out of the last seven Ashes series.
This will be the 70th time these two teams will be facing each other in a Test series and the stakes are generally very high for any Ashes series. It will be a very special Ashes for both Captains Joe Root and Steve Smith as both of them will be captaining their sides for the first time in an Ashes.
Australia might start as favourites by a small margin, but here are a few reasons why England look stronger than the Aussies.
#1 The all-rounders
Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali are one of the best all-rounders today. Both of them are impact players and they can take the game away in a matter of few overs with both bat and ball. Stokes' athletic fielding is a big bonus too.
The England all-rounder, who made his debut in Australia in 2013, was the lone shining star in England’s dismal 2013-14 Ashes in Australia, scoring 279 runs (third highest for England) and picking up 15 wickets (second highest for England). He’s in wonderful form as well. In the 6 Tests this year, he’s scored 3 fifties and 2 hundreds and picked up 10 wickets as well.
Moeen Ali also has had a brilliant year thus far has he has averaged 36 with the bat and has picked up 30 wickets (joint-highest for England in Tests this year). He’s provided crucial breakthroughs at important stages of the game.
Both Stokes and Ali give England the X-factor and lend balance which allows England to play an extra bowler or an extra batsman according to the conditions.