The Ashes 2021-22: Welcome To The Gabba- Where It Ended Miserably For Australia, It Begins Against England
“Can’t wait to take you to the Gabba, Ash,” Tim Paine said these words to Ravichandran Ashwin.
Without any doubt, the final Test between India and Australia will be remembered as one of the most enticing Test matches in history.
Team India won the nail-biting clash by three wickets as they chased 329 led by a sparkling knock by Rishabh Pant. Interestingly, it was the first defeat for the Australians at the Gabba in 33 years.
Will Australia come back at Gabba after losing to India?
It also happens to be the last Test match Australia played before they take on arch-rivals England in the first Test of the historic Ashes series at the same venue.
England skipper Joe Root has already taken confidence from India’s historic victory for their first Test and said that Australia won’t have Gabba as its stronghold.
“Look at that India team that won at the Gabba. They were a long way from their first-choice XI but they had no fear. They stood up to Australia and won crucial parts of that Test.” Root told the Guardian.
“It will give every player in our squad a huge amount of confidence and just plant a little bit of doubt in Australia’s mind. Having to go back there and play again for the first time against us, what with it being such a stronghold for them for such a long period of time. We now know that it’s not.”
The Gabba has the capacity of 42,000 spectators and will be going under redevelopment in case Brisbane hosts the 2032 Summer Olympics.
Well even before the Ashes kicks-off on December 8, there has already much drama that has been added behind the curtains.
England players and its board had several meetings and discussions to confirm their participation for the Ashes 2021-22. On October 8, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) gave its conditional approval for England players to participate in the series.
During the discussions between the board, a livid Tim Paine had said that the series will go ahead whether England skipper Joe Root comes to Australia or not.
“The Ashes are going ahead. The first Test is on 8 December, whether Joe is here or not. There will be a squad of England players coming here,” Paine had told radio station SEN.
However, players like Jos Buttler, who was doubtful about his participation in the Ashes 2021-22, was also named in England’s preliminary 17-member squad.
England will also see the return of their star all-rounder, Ben Stokes, for the Ashes after he nearly missed five months of action, playing the game.
Stokes, who was on an indefinite break to focus on mental health, has some great history against Australia and his inclusion will lift the morale of the England squad.
Also Read: The Ashes 2021-22: Preparations Has Been Unusual, Admits England Skipper Joe Root
Twist in the Australian camp Ahead Of Ashes 2021-22
Just three weeks before the Ashes, the bombshell of Tim Paine stepping down as Australia’s Test skipper shook their camp.
Paine resigned after him being involved in the sexting scandal, sharing an explicit image to a colleague at Cricket Tasmania, was out in the public domain.
On November 26, pace bowler Pat Cummins was named the 47th Test captain of Australia with star batter Steve Smith named his deputy.
Cummins will become the first pace bowler after Ray Lindwall (during the 1950s) who will lead the Australian team and will have the responsibility to retain the urn on home soil.
The Ashes have seen many close encounters that culminated with some exciting finishes.
With Paine taking an indefinite mental health break from the game, Australia is likely to hand a debut to either Alex Carey or Josh Inglis as the wicket-keeper.
All eyes will be on the battle between David Warner against England pacer Stuart Broad after the latter dominated the battle in the 2019 Ashes. Warner scored just 95 runs in 10 Test innings and Broad dismissed Warner seven out of 10 times.
Broad’s longstanding new-ball partner and England’s veteran speedster James Anderson could be playing in the final Ashes of his illustrious career.
Steve Smith needs 423 runs to surpass Allan Border as the third-highest run-scorer in Ashes of all time. Given that he scored 774 runs in the 2019 Ashes series from just four games, it won’t be strange if he tries to better his own record from here.
Also Read: The Ashes 2021-22: I Think Australia Will Win And Win Well – Ricky Ponting
