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The legendary Australian batsman was the subject of the initial serious read I recall going through as a youngster. In the mind of a primary school student, the unfairness of an English captain ordering his teammates to hurt a brilliant Australian was hard to grasp. Thus, similar to countless others, I developed a dislike for England.

Excitement about the Ashes? It goes without saying. Cricket’s calendar makes this a rare treat to observe two of the top cricketing nations test and taunt and tease each other over what we anticipate will be five Tests of interrogation with the traditional red ball.

As the celebrated all-rounder pointed out last week at the announcement of the ticket draw for the historic 2027 match, the Ashes has a unique appeal. “Historically, everyone in the cricketing world tunes into the Ashes,” he remarked. “It’s the tradition, it’s the competition, you know that’s it all flat out.”

Across the UK, those two recent drawn series – marked by Steve Smith’s mountain of runs and Ben Stokes’ Headingley masterpiece in 2019, and the controversial Long Room incident of 2023 – have lived up to the hype of what an Ashes battle should be. Yet, they have not had the equivalent resonance on the other side of the world when half of Australia nods off before the end of the lunch interval.

In home Tests, the Ashes has been less flat out than just flat for more than a decade. Fans down under anticipate their team to dominate easily, as it has been since the 1990s. Scott Boland’s 6-7 at the MCG wasn’t wrought in a furnace of competition, it was a comical English collapse reinforcing perceptions. A true rivalry should not be so one-sided.

The Sport's Commentators Need to Crouch Down at the Ashes’ Waning Embers and Whistle Oxygen

England's squad were met in Perth by a predictable front page in the city's paper, “Bazball”, supported by a description of the widely respected Ben Stokes as “arrogant”. The paper then had a go at “Average Joe” Root, also known as “Dud Root Down Under”. This sufficed to prompt a typical media response, enabling the media to squeeze what juice is left in the days before the series begins.

On the other hand, last year’s Border-Gavaskar Trophy between Australia and India ignited excitement all by itself. The spiritual peak was that MCG experience, a memory that will linger forever. The metrics, also, overwhelmed. Over 800,000 were present across the series, the fourth most for any series in Australia and the top for any non-Ashes contest. Viewers were captivated, not unlike the TV bump for India’s tour of England this year, and multiple periods drew more than two million TV fans.

In recent weeks, the emotional if unofficial farewells of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli at the SCG made ODI matches truly significant. Contrast the news title following the last time England came here for a white ball tour: “Smallest attendance for an ODI match sparks concerns for future of 50-over format”.

India’s Rising Influence

Even though bad weather disrupted the short-format games with India, what play we saw indicates Australia are some way off the short form’s global benchmark. In women’s cricket, at the World Cup last month, the home side knocked off the defending champions. The all-format contest kicking off in February-March is primed as a de facto world championship.

One might to overlook the colorful fan groups that gather at India’s matches – and not just Tests – as a mere result of the huge expat community of the world’s most populous nation. However, to bean counters and broadcast bosses, they are an elixir.

India now means more to Australia than its motherland, given the nations have in common an sea, colonial parallels, and growing cultural ties. India is set to overtake the UK, per ABS migration data, as the source of the biggest contingent of immigrants as early as this year. The failing Aukus relationship is driving a realignment of security priorities respecting the growing influence of regional giants, a shift that occurred years back in the cricketing world.

The former Australian skipper, who also coached India, said last week that England was “our biggest traditional rival”, but added “to be fair, if not for India, the sport would suffer”.

The Ultimate Test

Before Australia claimed the trophy last summer, India had held it for a decade. In India, Australia haven’t won in over two decades. Should the home side reclaim the Ashes comfortably this summer, losing the five-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy in India in early 2027 would make this period unfulfilled.

The long-awaited win on the subcontinent remains the final proving ground for today's players, and a setback against England this summer – put down to unfortunate bowler injury, just like 2005 and Glenn McGrath’s freak rolled ankle – would only fuel the story.

The tourists have not secured a victory in Australia for nearly fifteen years, and despite the history, it cannot sustain a lopsided rivalry indefinitely. So, with a vibrant Indian team having recently departed, Ben Stokes’s players have much to play for. Triumph in the Ashes and stay relevant. Alternatively lose the urn and with it something that can’t be won back: the claim to Australia’s greatest rivalry. We beg the English, raise your game.