Specials – Best of the Ashes at Edgbaston

Another chapter of cricket’s oldest epic is underway, as Australia and England battle it out in the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston. Since its debut as Test centre in 1902, Edgbaston has played host to 14 Ashes Tests, with England winning six and Australia three. As we anticipate an enthralling start to the […]

Specials – England’s match-winners at the Adelaide Oval

With Australia having asserted themselves at the Gabba, the stage is now set for the historic day-night Test to be played at the Adelaide Oval from December 2. Since their first appearance back in 1884-85, England have played 31 Tests at the venue, winning nine times and losing 17. Here is a look back at […]

Famous Test Matches – England v Australia, Lord’s, 1888

Prior to this match, Australia had lost seven successive times to England. The streak began with the deciding fifth Test of the 1884-85 Ashes, followed by three matches in 1886, two in 1886-87 and one in 1887-88. Moreover, Australia had not yet won an Ashes Test in England; their only win in the […]

VIEWPOINT – An Ashes turnaround like no other

Not even the staunchest supporters of the Baggy Greens would have imagined that the 2013-14 Ashes would be decided in favour of their team in the first three Tests itself. It has all happened so suddenly – England, who came Down Under on the back of three successive Ashes triumphs, were made to eat […]

IN FOCUS- The Ashes (England in Australia) 2013-14 : Preview

Yet another Ashes series is upon us, with the last one having ended just less than three months ago. In the first leg in England, the Australians were found wanting on many counts, but will they rise to the occasion at home and prevent England from winning their fourth successive Ashes rubber? The Matches […]

REVIEW – England superior, but far from ruthless

In the end, an Ashes victory for England by a margin of three Tests was pretty much what many fans from both Australia and England had expected. Yet, though the margin might suggest a fairly one-sided series, the visitors had enough moments to indicate that the return leg would be much more competitive. […]

IN FOCUS – Cricket Australia’s misplaced priorities

The Australian public was still stomaching the country’s sixth consecutive Test defeat – possibly its worst of the lot – when Cricket Australia decided to make things even more indigestible. It gleefully released the schedule of this summer’s Twenty20 Big Bash League, backed up by in-your-face statistics proclaiming its ‘success’. Not a big […]

Specials – Indian princes and Ashes hundreds

In what is one of the many interesting coincidences in the history of Test cricket, there have been three Indian princes who had the distinction of representing England in Test matches against Australia, and each of them scored a century on their Ashes debut. Kumar Shri Ranjitsinhji of Kathiawar, Kumar Shri Duleepsinhji of […]

IN FOCUS – The DRS dilemma

There was as much controversy regarding umpiring decisions in the first Ashes Test at Trent Bridge as there was the excitement of the cricket itself. It is easy to say that since both the teams found crucial decisions going against them, things might have evened out and it is part and parcel of the […]

IN FOCUS – The Ashes (Australia In England) 2013 : Preview

International cricket’s oldest rivalry is all set to resume tomorrow with the first leg of back-to-back Ashes series commencing at Trent Bridge. A well-oiled English unit will take on an Australian team which is, for a change, widely regarded as the out-and-out underdog this summer. But as Ashes series over the years have shown, […]