The Ashes 2023

‘Yeh sahi hai haaro aur void batado’ – Fans react as Stuart Board verdicts Ashes 2023 to be void series

England lost Ashes 2022 to Australia by a margin of 4-0

Apr 27, 2023 3:58 pm

According to Stuart Broad, Australia’s 4-0 series triumph over England in 2021–22 does not qualify as a legitimate Ashes victory because of Covid–19 regulations. Given his track record against David Warner and Australia’s left-handed pitchers, Broad will be one of England’s main weapons going into this year’s Ashes. With his absurd allegation, he has taken the first shot at Australia seven weeks before the opening Test at Edgbaston.

He also claimed that Australia wouldn’t know how to respond to England’s fast-paced approach and that the visitors’ batters would struggle in a lengthy interview. Broad made these remarks after England was soundly defeated in four of the five Test matches in 2021–22, with only the rainy conditions in Sydney keeping them from losing the series for the third time in 15 years. However, Broad claimed it was not a legitimate competition because England had to endure a quarantine period, and the teams spent a portion of the tour in a bubble.

‘In my mind, I don’t class that as a real Ashes’ – Stuart Board

“Nothing was harsher than the last Ashes series,” Broad told the Daily Mail. “But in my mind, I don’t class that as a real Ashes. The definition of Ashes cricket is elite sport with lots of passion and players at the top of their game. Nothing about that series was high-level performance because of the Covid restrictions. The training facilities, the travel, not being able to socialise. I’ve written it off as a void series.”

Broad’s remarks are hardly the English side’s first criticisms of the series. Before the tour started, there were rumours that several players may quit if their families were denied visas to enter Australia. Then, when nearly all of their preparations were wiped out by rain, England became frustrated.

Chris Silverwood, the head coach at the time, was dissatisfied with his quarantine requirements after testing positive for Covid-19 during the Boxing Day Test along with numerous other support crew members. The likelihood of Covid substantially impacting this year’s Ashes is much lower.