Cricket takes center stage with 3 major tournaments

In the last week, three major international cricket tournaments commenced.

The much-anticipated five-Test-match Ashes series between England and Australia opened on June 16 at Edgbaston, Birmingham. In Zimbabwe, the final qualifying stage for the 2023 ODI World Cup started on June 18 and on June 22 the women’s Ashes between England and Australia started at Trent Bridge, Nottingham.

There are other events taking place between countries not normally associated with cricket. A T20 tournament was in play in sub-Saharan Africa, with the final seeing Uganda winning by one run against Kenya.

It is the Ashes series that holds the greatest global interest and fascination. The first-ever Test match between England and Australia was in 1882. Since then, Australia has won 140 of the 340 Tests, England 108, with the balance of 92 drawn. As of Tuesday evening in Birmingham, Australia has added another victory to its dominance. The number of series won by Australia is 34 compared with 32 by England, whose hopes of narrowing the gap has been dented.

The current series has been much anticipated, via a combination of England’s new attacking approach and Australia’s position as World Test Champions. These were fully in evidence at Birmingham. Having chosen to bat first, England scored 393 for eight in 78 overs, at five runs per over. Its finest batter, Joe Root, was in full swing but, unexpectedly, his captain decided to declare the innings. Commentators, spectators and even his own team were taken by surprise. The rationale was that this would send an attacking message to the Australians, whose openers would have to negotiate a difficult half an hour before close of play. This they did successfully, causing England’s gamble to fail.