Experts name their picks for winner of iconic England-Australia rivalry in Ashes 2023
England and Australia will lock horns in what will be the biggest battle for them. The Ashes 2023 series will start at Edgbaston in Birmingham on Saturday. England will want to win the Ashes on home turf. While Australia have momentum behind them as they are coming of a colossal 209-run win in the World Test Championship final against India. Glenn McGrath said that according to his prediction Australia are going to whitewash England 5-0.
He also talked about Bazball and said that he is avid fan of the Bazball approach. “England, there’s a lot of talk about Bazball and I’m a big fan”. He said in an interview. “I like that backing yourself, going out there, being positive, fourth innings to go out and play your shot, it’s an aggressive mindset, and if you can get on top of the bowlers, you can score runs quickly and put the pressure back on them. My prediction is 5-nil” McGrath added.
England will play Scott Boland like a spinner – Michael Vaughan
The other cricket pundits which included the likes of Brad Haddin, Ricky Ponting and Michael Vaughan gave their predictions for Ashes 2023. This was done ahead of the Edgbaston Test. “(Bazball) has worked against most teams they’ve played, but this Australian team is different though. They’re a relentless bowling unit. They’ll try though. Scott Boland, they’ll be running at him like a spinner,” Vaughan said when asked how England will encounter the threat of Scott Boland.
Ponting had a different point of view and said that if the wickets are flat in the Ashes, then England’s bazball philosophy will not serve them good. “It’s been refreshing to see England’s win-at-all-costs mentality, not caring about losing a game or not putting that ahead of trying to win a game. For that fact, I can’t wait for the Ashes to start. I’m really intrigued to see what conditions England want to play that style of cricket. Because if they want the flatter wickets with the smaller boundaries, it might just backfire on their bowling group. That’s the biggest thing for me,” Ponting said.
According to a report from Sports Today, Steve Smith, had sustained a blow on his finger and his availability for the Edgbaston Test remains under a cloud. Smith has a wonderful record when it comes to scoring in England. Smith has scored 3044 runs in England in ten years and 1880 runs in England alone. If Smith misses the first test it will be a big blow for the Kangaroos.
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