Bold predictions for the 2023 Ashes

With Australia crowned the World Test Champions in their battle with India, England will be wary of the threat the Aussies pose, but with their unique brand of play ready and raring to go, this should be an Ashes unlike any other. Let’s take a look at what could happen in the series.

‘Barrel’ as he is affectionately called by his teammates has emerged as an almost unplayable front-line seamer since his call up to the test side. His economy rate may well take a hit against the aggressive English lineup, but there’s a very good chance he takes buckets of wickets as well.

England have been making a mockery of cricketing conventions in recent times, regularly scoring at over 5 runs an over. Australia are no slouches when it comes to quick runs meaning this series could well be the fastest scoring in the history of test cricket.

In one match. The English style, known as ‘Bazball’ after their Kiwi head coach is high risk and high reward. So far we haven’t seen too many times where the risk hasn’t paid off, but the Aussies present a different threat. In one match, England will embarrassingly collapse in the first innings, before scoring 500+ in the second.

‘Oh, Jimmy, Jimmy!’ as the English fans love to sing, will be heard for the last time after the fifth and final test at the Oval. Jimmy will finish just short of Shane Warne’s 708 test wickets, but will still retire as one of the very greatest to ever play the game.

Draws are becoming less and less frequent in recent years, especially with the English putting such an emphasis on going for the win at all costs. This may backfire for Ben Stokes’ side, but through the series, he will make some big calls that lead to results, one way, or the other.

There’s a lot to love about Zak Crawley, from his aggressive style to his laconic cover drive, but ultimately the runs aren’t coming for him. This leaves England with no choice but to rejig the order and the Kent opener is the unfortunate victim.

As a response to Crawley getting dropped, England bring in Ben Foakes to keep, move everyone else up a spot and Stokes opens the batting. Is this a sensible idea? Who knows? Who cares? It’ll almost certainly be fun and given Stokes’ penchant for the incredible, could lead to something special.

Not exactly a ‘bold’ prediction, but Steve Smith continues to exceed expectations and this Ashes will be another example. Back in 2019, Smudge scored 771 runs at 110.57, whether he matches that or just gets close, don’t be surprised if he does something incredible along the way.

Despite claiming his knee injury is manageable, it’s quite clear Ben Stokes is in severe pain whenever he bowls, fields or bats, not ideal. After the second test match at Lord’s, Stokes is unable to play at Headingley leaving vice-captain Ollie Pope to lead the team.

Neser has played five matches for Glamorgan this season in the County Championship and has scored 311 runs at 51.83 and taken 19 wickets at 25.63 and isn’t in line to play for the Aussies as things stand. Due to the relentless schedule, there’s a good chance he plays, and if he does, he could well be the difference maker

There are very few bowlers in world cricket who seem to be able to find a groove like Broad. Inevitably described on commentary as ‘legs pumping’ and with the ‘crowd at his back’ the Englishman can find something, and for a spell becomes entirely unplayable. Given this could be his last Ashes, it would be very surprising if he didn’t do that this time.

England drafted in Moeen Ali after Jack Leach injured his back, but with Moeen’s struggles, and retirement, from test cricket in recent times, Joe Root’s off-spin could play a pivotal part in the series.

There are few Australian batters better suited to matching ‘Bazball’ than Travis Head. The South Australian has become a key cog in the Aussie lineup over the past few years, scoring buckets of runs usually at around a run a ball, this included a matching winning 163 in the WTC final. At some point, he’s going to keep going and get himself past 200.

This series is going to be close, with Australia never seeing a side play like this against them, and England not facing this level of bowling in a while. This is going to be a back-and-forth series with both sides winning two matches going into the fifth test at the Oval.

Whilst England’s team has done remarkable things since Stokes and Brendon McCullum have taken the reins, ultimately the Australian side is as good a test side as there has been for quite some time and eventually this shines through with a thrilling victory in the fifth test. One thing is for certain, this could be one of the very best series of all time.