The men’s Test cricket Ashes 2023

I say “men” because England’s women also played, here against Australia’s women, also in an Ashes cricket series and that too was pretty gripping stuff and showed how far women’s cricket has come.

I have already talked about the men’s series in my “Bazball and the 2023 men’s cricket Ashes series” blog, after the Second Test, with England 2-nil down and facing an uphill task to win the five-match series 3-2 and thus regain the Ashes. Inside the last hour, England won the fifth test (England helped by the rain), having also won the third test and drawn the fourth test (England thwarted by the rain, when in all likelihood if there were no rain England would have won), making it a drawn series, with two wins to each side.

I feel like purring, not just because England managed to draw the series against a very good Australian side (after all they are deserved world Test champions and as they showed have a lot of talent and character in their team), but some superb cricket was played by both sides, batting and bowling, with many contributing outstanding performances and showing true character. Except for the fourth test, which was washed out due to rain, either side could have won any of the games, with each side gaining the ascendancy at different times in each match, with a high standard of play shown by both sides along with a lot of talking points regarding each team’s approach and tactics, with some controversy like the Bairstow run out and some interesting team selections, some brought about by injury, but after five well fought, entertaining, unpredictable games a drawn series was a fair result despite wanting England to win.

A lot can be said about the games and a lot has been and will be said. I don’t wish to go over what can be said more eloquently but just to say my following this series, dipping in and out of TMS radio commentary on the Internet, more than I should, has been an enjoyable and sometimes nerve racking experience. A lot of credible performances have been seen from both sides, and there is plenty of scope to comment on many individual performances.

All is left for me to do now is to thank both sides. They have restored my love of spectator sport and in the most iconic of settings – men’s Test cricket! Good luck to England stalwarts, Moeen Ali and Stuart Broad who both played their last Test.  

PS. I couldn’t resist adding the following meme, posted by a cricket loving friend and illustrating one reason (contrasting approaches to playing the game) why the whole affair was so gripping.