A humdinger in prospect as the Ashes, the biggest Test rivalry between England and Australia, start at Gabba
The wait is over as the two oldest and fiercest rivals in Test cricket, Australia and England, square-up for the ultimate clash in the longest format in the game: the Ashes.
The first Test starts at the Gabba in Brisbane tomorrow and the rival captains are eagerly waiting for the start of another humdinger as they try to get rid of the butterflies in their stomach(s).
The Aussies are led by one of the finest batsmen of all time, Ricky Ponting, who has played as many as 148 Test matches; he has taken part in many Ashes Tests in the past and has an impeccable record against the old enemy especially
at home, yet he is as hungry as ever.
In an interview on the eve of the first Test, Ponting observed that the battle has become an absolutely engrossing one since the 2005 series in England which his team lost 2-1. That series is etched in the minds of cricket fans
across the world and has been billed as the greatest Test series of all time.
"Losing in 2005 [caused] a regeneration of Test cricket all around the world," Ponting said. "Test cricket was on everyone's lips again, it was an amazing series and a great one to be part of, although we lost.
From that moment on, every series that we played has just grown and grown to the point where God knows how long we've been talking about this series in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746. With sold-out crowds, it's a great time for cricket. We can't wait
for it to finally be underway. The build-up has been immense."
England was led by Michael Vaughan in the 2005 series. One of the successful players in the English squad that season was Andrew Strauss, the current captain; for him the series has many cherished memories yet his focus is on defeating
the Aussies in their own backyard, something that teams from his country have failed to do since 1986-87.
"It's hard to get too excited by a series when one side is winning all the time," said Andrew Strauss. "The last few series have been closely fought contests, and that's a great thing for the game of cricket.
I think everyone's looking to Test cricket to show its potential and show why we love it so much, and the last few Ashes series have been good examples of that, and if there's interest there that can only be good things as players
going out to represent their countries. There are a lot of TV cameras here, a lot of people have spent a lot of money coming over here, and we thrive on the idea that we can pull off something special here.”
A packed Gabba stadium is expected to witness the start of the series; the venue has been traditionally been an Aussie favourite and the Englishmen have struggled to make an impact there in recent years.
Elsewhere in the country they have been equally poor and one stat that the visitors do not want to look at is their record in the last ten Tests in Australia.
They have won one and lost nine of them, including the 5-0 whitewash that they suffered in 2006-07.
The wicket at Gabba is one of the bounciest in Australia; at the same time, it provides the batsmen with an opportunity of scoring quick runs especially if they are good with the horizontal bat shots.
All in all, the two teams are geared up for one of the biggest series in recent years, the onus in on them to entertain cricket fans around the world in the next two months, and one has a feeling they will not disappoint.
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