England's Jacob Bethell during a net session in Christchurch
Australia won their three-match series in Mount Maunganui two weeks ago, with Mitchell Marsh making two scores above 80, and now England have their own bit of hit-and-giggle. It gives Zak Crawley and Jacob Bethell the chance to practise the sort of attractive half-hour cameo innings many expect to see from them in the Test series. They are in the T20 squad, who had their first game on Saturday and will play again on Monday and Thursday (TNT Sports 1, 7.15am), along with Harry Brook and Brydon Carse. Four more of the Ashes squad will play in a 50-over series at the end of the month. At least the other eight will be well rested.
It takes time to find your game in Australia. “The grounds are hard, the ball is hard, the men are hard,“ said Len Hutton, captain of the 1954-55 tourists. “You need to be harder than they are to beat them.“
The story of Hutton’s heroes is well told in a new book by Richard Whitehead, Victory in Australia. They had seven games to acclimatise before the first Test. Even in 2010-11, England had three warm-up matches against state sides. This squad will get a two-day game against the England Lions and then it’s straight on to the toss at Perth. Still, Stuart Broad says it’s the weakest Australia side since 2010, so the result’s in the bag.
Before then, we have another Ashes, of the rugby league variety.
Britain last won the Ashes in 1970 (they now compete just as England) and the Kangaroos won five of the last 13 series 3-0. Joe Burgess, who scored twice in Hull KR’s Grand Final win over Wigan last weekend, has been recalled after a 10-year absence for the first match (Saturday, BBC One, 2.30pm) by England’s head coach, Shaun Wane, who always makes me think about the other Ashes. Shaun Wane was how my late grandfather pronounced the name of the great Australia leg spinner.
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Photograph by Joe Allison/Getty Images
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