England: Kings of Bazball

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When Australia destroyed England in the 2021-22 Ashes 4-0, English cricket was in a dire situation. Soon after they sacked Head Coach Chris Silverwood, and appointed New Zealand cricketing legend Brendon McCullum to replace him. McCullum and England have revolutionised Test Cricket with an aggressive batting style known as Bazball, catapulting England back up the World Rankings and striking fear into hearts of their opponents.

In this series I will use Bazball to achieve the ultimate goal of Test Cricket, winning the Test Championship. I will only be playing Test Matches.

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ENGLAND SQUAD NAMED FOR ONE-OFF IRELAND TEST

After scoring 841 runs in 7 County Matches at 76.45, Jack Haynes has been included in the England Test Squad, mainly as cover for the out of form Ollie Pope, who only just made the cut. Zak Crawley will open alongside Ben Duckett, with the middle order to consist of Harry Brook, Joe Root and Ben Stokes. The keeping situation is fine, with Jonny Bairstow most likely to stand behind the stumps.

As for bowlers, Chris Woakes provides England with a shorter tail, as they may opt to load-manage one of the experienced pair of Stuart Broad and Jimmy Anderson. Ollie Robinson is essentially a lock, with his ability to swing the ball, and Jack Leach rounds out the squad, his spin vital to a positive English result.

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ENGLAND CONFIRM IRELAND TEST XI

XI - B. Duckett, Z. Crawley, J. Haynes, J. Root, H. Brook, B. Stokes, J. Bairstow, C. Woakes, O. Robinson, J. Leach, J. Anderson

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RECORDS TUMBLE AT LORD'S AS ENGLAND HUMILIATE IRELAND

England 276 (B. Stokes 58, Z. Crawley 56, C. Young 5-86) and 718 (H. Brook 170, B. Stokes 120, B. Duckett 103) defeated Ireland 112 (C. Campher 34, O. Robinson 5-39) and 169 (G. Dockrell 40, J. Leach 4-63) by 713 runs.

The biggest winning margin (in terms of runs) was just recorded as England broke Irish hearts' in a record-breaking 4 days.

Stokes won the toss and elected to bat, but England struggled in their first innings. Only 2 batters passed fifty while Jack Haynes made 46 on Test debut. As for Ireland, Craig Young picked up 5 wickets while Graham Hume took 3.

Ireland were horrendous with the bat, capitulating in just 49.2 overs, as Robinson and co. ran riot. They lost their last 6 wickets for 19 runs.

England's openers came out after Tea on Day 2, but Crawley fell early for 15, and the Irish fans begun to believe. 153 long overs later they had their hearts broken, as England piled on 718 runs, with 3 batters scoring centuries and 3 more scored 50s. Harry Brook's 170 came off just 220 deliveries, Ben Stokes only batted 142 balls for his 120, with Duckett's 103 being recorded in just 131 balls. Jonny Bairstow made 93 off 68, including 4 sixes, and in total, England scored 9 sixes and 102 fours. The Irish bowlers just couldn't get consistent wickets, and they paid the price.

Once again, the Irish batters were no match for England's bowling attack. Chris Woakes was the only bowler to struggle, not taking a wicket for the whole match, but all the other bowlers made up for it. Dockrell was the only batter to put up a fight, lasting 110 balls but when Leach dismissed him, the match was over, and England had won by 713 runs.

Ben Stokes was awarded the MOTM award, but everyone knew a bigger challenge awaited them, Australia.

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AUSTRALIA WIN WORLD TEST CHAMPIONSHIP

Australia defeated India by 5 wickets to be named World Test Champions. Surprisingly, Cameron Green didn't play, with Josh Inglis selected over him.

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INJURY UPDATE

Cameron Green has broken his finger, and will not play the first Ashes test, and is in doubt for the 2nd.

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13 MAN SQUAD NAMED FOR FIRST ASHES TEST

One change has been made to the English squad, Chris Woakes gets axed from the English squad, and replacing him will be Mark Wood.

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BIG CALL MADE BY ENGLISH SELECTORS FOR FIRST ASHES TEST

Ollie Pope has been left out the XI for Jack Haynes, who made 46 and 49 in his Test Debut against Ireland.

XI - B. Duckett, Z. Crawley, J.Haynes, J. Root, H. Brook, B. Stokes (c), J. Bairstow (+), O. Robinson, S. Broad, J. Leach, J. Anderson


Australian XI - U. Khawaja, D. Warner, M. Labuschagne, S. Smith, T. Head, M. Renshaw, A. Carey, M. Starc, P. Cummins, J. Hazlewood, N. Lyon

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ENGLAND GO AHEAD IN ASHES AFTER FANTASTIC 4TH INNINGS BOWLING PERFORMANCE

England 198 (J. Root 73, M. Starc 3-43, J. Hazlewood 3-52) and 294 (J. Root 114, P. Cummins 4-68) defeated Australia 267 (T. Head 96, J. Leach 5-105) and 171 (D. Warner 52, O. Robinson 4-35, J. Leach 4-42) by 54 runs

Australia sent England into bat, and bowled them out for less than 200, thanks to a great team bowling performance. Only Joe Root stood up with the bat for England, with no partnership worth more than 48 runs.

In response, the Aussies gained a first innings lead after another great performance from Travball, striking his 96 from 128 balls. Warner chipped in with 64 from 88 while Jack Leach bowled a whopping 27 of 77 overs, taking 5.

Once again, Root was the only batter to stand up with a terrific century. Stokes (42 from 41) and Brook (36 from 49) made slight stands with the former captain, setting up a thrilling chase.

It looked like Australia would glide home easily, Khawaja and Warner forming an 83 run stand up top, leading them to be 143-4, only for Ollie Robinson to take 4 wickets inside 3 overs and blow Australia away.

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INJURY UPDATE

Cam Green will not play in the second Ashes Test, but is likely to be available for the third.

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UNCHANGED SQUAD FOR SECOND TEST

English selectors have confirmed an unchanged squad for the Second Test at Lord's.

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LINEUPS NAMED FOR LORD'S TEST

Both teams have made one change, England dropping Broad with Wood coming in, and Australia selecting Boland over Lyon.

England XI - B. Duckett, Z. Crawley, J.Haynes, J. Root, H. Brook, B. Stokes (c), J. Bairstow (+), O. Robinson, M. Wood, J. Leach, J. Anderson


Australia XI - U. Khawaja, D. Warner, M. Labuschagne, S. Smith, T. Head, M. Renshaw, A. Carey, M. Starc, P. Cummins, J. Hazlewood, S. Boland
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LACKLUSTRE AUSTRALIA WITH NO ANSWERS TO BAZBALL

Australia 352 (D. Warner 67, S. Smith 63, M. Wood 5-106) and 277 (D. Warner 71, O. Robinson 5-71) lost to England 329 (B. Duckett 145, H. Brook 63, P. Cummins 6-84) and 305-6 (J. Haynes 87, H. Brook 77*) by 4 wickets

Australia have left themselves in a do-or-die situation going into Headingley after losing the Second Test by 5 wickets. Australia batted first and made 352, thanks to 50s from Warner and Smith, while Mark Wood took 5 and Leach took 3.

In typical Bazball style, England responded, smashing 329 off just 74.3 overs, mainly due to Ben Duckett (145 from 169) and Harry Brook (63 from 81). Cummins led the Aussie attack with 6 wickets.

The Aussies had a chance to put England a long way behind, but they only mustered 277, after another big opening stand (123), but unable to capitalise. Once again, a spurt of wickets from Robinson forced a collapse, this time 3 wickets in one over. Anderson supported well with 3 wickets of his own.

The English chased down 300 worry free, Haynes (87 from 147) and Brook (77 not out from 64) helped them get there. Ben Duckett was named MOTM.

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ZAK CRAWLEY DROPPED FROM THE ENGLISH SIDE

After scoring 38 runs in the Ashes so far, Zak Crawley has been dropped from the squad, with Tom Haines to replace him at opener alongside Ben Duckett.