Ashes Previews
Grade: D
Australia’s white ball series against India continued into the third T20, barely bothering any more to disguise its role as money-gathering backdrop to three-and-a-half hours of Ashes preview.
This time around, it was Tim David staking his claim to open for Australia in the first Test, with a sparkling 74 (38) that helped Australia reach 6/186. Great stuff. Can’t wait to see him striding out in Perth alongside Usman Khawaja.
Falling down the pecking order was Mitch Owen, dismissed for a golden duck. Wasn’t he also out first ball in the previous T20, too? It certainly felt like the kind of thing that might have happened. (And, yes, there is a scorecard I could check, but checking facts isn’t very 2025, is it?)
Or perhaps that was Matt Short? Yes, that seems more correct. Still, the very fact that I can barely distinguish between them scuppers their Ashes chances. This is a showcase event! You can’t be blankly anonymous, lads.
Backing Up
Grade: F
England, meanwhile, were doing their own white ball Ashes preview over in New Zealand, stumbling to a 0-3 defeat against those loveable black capped Kiwis.
Cunningly, those Bazballing lads were indulging in some top tier false security-lulling, their batting lineup crumbling in every match. An outstanding bluff from the England batters: ‘Oh noes! We is forgotting how to bats!’
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