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Don Bradman was the subject of the initial serious read I remember reading as a youngster. To a young pupil, the injustice of an English captain instructing his countrymen to hurt a brilliant Australian was unfathomable. And so, similar to countless others, I came to hate England.

Excitement about the Ashes? It goes without saying. Cricket’s calendar makes this a rare treat to watch two of the world’s best teams challenge and provoke each other over what we anticipate will be five Tests of intense competition with the red Kookaburra.

As Ian Botham pointed out last week at the launch of the ticket draw for the 150th anniversary Test, the Ashes has a unique appeal. “Traditionally, everyone in the cricketing world tunes into the Ashes,” he remarked. “It's about heritage, it’s the competition, you know that’s it all flat out.”

Across the UK, those two tightly fought contests – featuring Steve Smith’s mountain of runs and Ben Stokes’ Headingley masterpiece in 2019, and the controversial Long Room incident of 2023 – have lived up to the hype of what an Ashes contest should be. Yet, they have not had the equivalent resonance on the Australian shores when many locals falls asleep before the afternoon session begins.

On Australian soil, the Ashes has been less flat out than just flat for over ten years. Fans down under anticipate their team to dominate easily, as it has been since the 1990s. Scott Boland’s 6-7 at the MCG wasn’t wrought in a furnace of competition, it was a comical English collapse reinforcing perceptions. A true rivalry should not be this way.

The Sport's Commentators Need to Crouch Down at the Ashes’ Waning Embers and Whistle Oxygen

The English team were met in Perth by a predictable front page in the city's paper, “Bazball”, supported by a portrayal of the highly regarded Ben Stokes as “arrogant”. The publication then had a go at “Average Joe” Root, aka “Dud Root Down Under”. It was enough to elicit a predictable Fleet Street reaction, allowing the media to squeeze what juice is left in the days before the first ball is bowled.

On the other hand, last year’s Border-Gavaskar Trophy between the Aussies and India ignited excitement on its own. The highlight was the Melbourne match, a moment that will linger forever. The numbers, also, overwhelmed. 838,000 were present across the series, the fourth highest for any contest in Australia and the highest for any non-Ashes matchup. Viewers were captivated, similar to the ratings surge for India’s tour of England this year, and eight sessions drew more than 2m television viewers.

Lately, the touching send-offs of two Indian legends at the SCG made ODI matches actually mean something. Compare the headline following the previous occasion England visited for a white ball tour: “Record-low MCG crowd for Australia-England ODI sparks concerns for future of 50-over format”.

The Growing Clout of Indian Cricket

Even though bad weather disrupted the T20 series with India, the action that occurred indicates Australia are some way off the short form’s global benchmark. For the women's game, at the global tournament last month, the host nation defeated the defending champions. The multi-format series starting in Sydney is primed as a de facto world championship.

It’s easy to dismiss the colorful fan groups that flock to India’s matches – and not just Tests – as a simple reflection of the vast diaspora of the planet's largest country. But, to financial analysts and broadcast bosses, they are an elixir.

The world’s largest democracy now matters more to Australia than its motherland, given the nations have in common an ocean, shared colonial history, and growing cultural ties. India is set to overtake the UK, per official statistics, as the source of the biggest contingent of immigrants as soon. The failing Aukus relationship is prompting a realignment of security priorities respecting the growing influence of Asian powers, a change that long ago happened in the sport of cricket.

Greg Chappell, who also led the Indian team, noted last week that England was “our biggest traditional rival”, but added “to be fair, if not for India, cricket wouldn’t be the same”.

The Final Challenge

Before Australia claimed the trophy last summer, India had retained it for ten years. In India, Australia haven’t won in more than 20 years. Even if the home side win back the urn easily this summer, failing to secure the multi-match series in India in early 2027 would leave the Cummins era unfulfilled.

The long-awaited win on the Indian soil remains the final proving ground for today's players, and a blip against England this summer – attributed to an untimely injury, just like 2005 and Glenn McGrath’s freak rolled ankle – would only add to the narrative.

The tourists have not secured a victory in Australia for almost 15 years, and despite the history, it won't support a one-sided contest indefinitely. Therefore, with a vibrant Indian team having only just flown out, the English squad have a lot at stake. Win the series and stay relevant. Or lose the urn and with it an irreplaceable asset: the right to Australia’s greatest rivalry. Please England, raise your game.