Like it or not, England have been the most exciting cricketing side this summer
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Whether you're a Pom or not, you have to admit that England have been really lucky to walk away from this summer with their heads held high. Not to take anything away from Ben Stokes and the rest of the team playing around him, but they were more or less a few umpiring decisions and some fielding miracles away from a very different, albeit much less satisfactory summer.
As a cricket fan, I am not complaining though.
The truth is, amidst the displays of fiery, world-class bowling and cover drives smoother than Ramiz Raja's commentary, we all crave for a bit of drama. Surprisingly enough, England has been at the centre of it all this time.
Joe Root, ever so eloquently, stated that things might have been 'slightly different' had Steve Smith not scored any runs. No, Joe, things would have been much more than slightly different if Smith had scored no runs.
More importantly though, it is much more exciting to wonder what would have happened had those overthrows resulted in five instead of six runs than contemplate what the English could have conquered if Smith had scored no runs. Cricket, after all, is not for the faint-hearted. I can at least bet some good money on the fact that it is the only sport in the world where even the most hardcore fans learned a few new rules about the game in a World Cup final.
So, in retrospect, all those complaining about how England have been too lucky to deserve the World Cup and this Ashes scoreline are probably secretly well aware that without this drama associated the English side's performances, this summer's cricket would have been relatively dull. Sure, if you're a Kiwi or an Aussie, you might have liked some different results, but cricket fans across the world could not have asked for a more thrilling summer of cricket from the English side.
Over the years, England were never really the side whose matches you looked forward to as a neutral. Before Morgan and co re-branded their entire ODI image following the 2015 debacle, England was just the side that was kind of hard to beat but once you did, you did not think twice about it. They did not have the apparent invincibility of the Aussie bowlers or the Indian batting. They did not possess the exciting unpredictability of Pakistan.
Now they have a young lad bowling World Cup super overs, an all-rounder who can grind it out in the middle for fun, and a side which, despite its apparent flaws, somehow manages to piece together legendary victories.
The 2019 Ashes was not the best display of English cricket you will ever see, but thanks to a few relatively special performances, it will be among the most memorable ones till date. Jofra Archer's battles with Steve Smith might just be something worth looking back to for years, simply because of the prowess of the former and the grit of the latter. Broad has still not lost his fire, and Stokes, it seems, is only just getting started with rescuing his team from impossible-to-win positions.
They may not have everything figured out, but England have played immensely entertaining cricket. Sure, they would have wanted that urn, but they've still managed to keep the fans invested. So like it or not, the English side featured in almost all of the exciting cricket played this summer and, fortunately or unfortunately, most of us would not have it any other way.
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