The Ashes Down Under is set to commence from 8th December with the defending champions Australia set to take on England.
Australia will be led by Pat Cummins, their brand new Test Captain after Tim Paine called it quits. On the other hand, England under Joe Root has clearly emphasized that the upcoming Ashes series is going to define his "legacy" as England last held the Ashes way back in 2015.
The Ashes 2021 schedule is as follows:
•1st Test: (Dec 8-12)-The Gabba, Brisbane.
•2nd Test: (Dec 16-20)-Adelaide Oval, Adelaide (Day/Night Test).
•3rd Test: (Dec 26-30)- MCG, Melbourne.
•4th Test: (Jan 5-9)- SCG, Sydney.
•5th Test: (Jan 14-18)- Not announced yet.
Squad Analysis:
The Australian team under Pat Cummins has announced a strong squad for the upcoming Ashes.
Pat Cummins (C), Steve Smith, David Warner, Marcus Harris, Marnus Labuschagne, , Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (Wk), Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon, Jhye Richardson, Michael Neser, Mitchell Swepson.
Australia has focussed on getting experience on board for the build up to the Ashes.
On the other hand, England looks a bit bleak but the comeback of Ben Stokes will give them a moral boost.
Joe Root (C), James Anderson, Johnny Bairstow (Wk), Dom Bess, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Haseeb Hameed, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Dawid Malan, Craig Overton, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.
After having a understanding of the squad let us focus on the important players from both the squads.
Australia:
•Pat Cummins: The Current Australian Captain has achieved a remarkable feat by being the first pace bowler to captain Australia in Tests. He would love to make his captaincy stint more memorable by filling up the wickets column too. Cummims has picked 25 wickets in his last 5 tests in Australia. His performance in the 2019 Ashes too was amazing as he scalped 27 wickets in 5 Tests.
•Marnus Labuschagne: A dream start to his Test career, Marnus Labuschagne burst into the screen in the 2019 Ashes as a concussion substitute to Steve Smith. He ended the World Test Championship as the highest run getter of the Tournament with 1675 runs. A stable number 3 batsman with a solid technique will be highly instrumental in deciding the fate of Australia in the Ashes.
England:
•Joe Root: The English Test skipper is in the form of his life having notched up 3 100s in his last 5 Test Innings. A lynchpin of the side, England's hopes will reside entirely on the shoulders of Joe Root. He is also the highest run getter in the World Test Championship.
•Ben Stokes: Ben Stokes has made himself available for the Ashes after being unavailable for almost a year due to injury and that included the T20 World Cup too. The Star All-rounder has cherished the Ashes always and a lot of England's chances will depend on how Stokes fair in the Ashes.
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