English And Australian Players Are Judged On Performances In The Ashes - Ian Botham Says Ashes 2021/22 Will Be "Last Dance" For Many Cricketers Of Both Teams

Legendary England all-rounder Ian Botham has said that the upcoming Ashes 2021/22 series in Australia could be the last Ashes series for plenty of cricketers from both sides.

James Anderson is 39, Stuart Broad is 35; Nathan Lyon and David Warner are both over 34, while Tim Paine, 36, is on a break and perhaps may never play Test cricket again.

Ian Botham, England’s hero of the 1981 series, reckons performing in an Ashes series is of great significance to cementing one’s legacy for an English or Aussie cricketer.

“Who knows? This series could decide which side goes on [to win] for the next two or three years. Both sides are soon going to lose key players because of their age. There are a lot of players who are playing, if you like, for the last dance in Ashes cricket,” Ian Botham told the Brisbane Times.

“It comes to us all, I am afraid, and we all want to have great memories when we get out there. But you are judged whether you are an English player or an Australian. You are judged on your performances in the Ashes. That is why this is going to be a very, very interesting series.”

Ian Botham to unveil a statue in honour of Allan Border

Ian Botham will serve as a commentator for the Ashes series with Seven. He will be in Brisbane ahead of the first Test for the unveiling of a statue that will honour former Australia captain Allan Border.

Border led Australia in 93 Tests from 1984 to 1994, winning 32 of them, and captained the side to an away Ashes victory.

“At the end of the day, they are putting a statue outside the Gabba for that guy called Allan Border. He came along and made his presence felt. He was ‘captain grumpy’ but look what we did.

“Quite rightly, there is a statue going up outside the Gabba and you know what, there should be one outside every Test venue in Australia. He changed Australian cricket when it was at its lowest,” the former England all-rounder said. 

The first Ashes Test is slated for Brisbane from December 8. Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, and Perth are slotted to host the next four Tests.

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