X-factor Australian Players In Ashes 2023:
Australia comfortably won the 2023 WTC Final. They have been the best side in the world in Tests in the last two years. Australia has been commanding at home and impressive overseas. They had a solid phase even when they toured the subcontinent with wins in Sri Lanka (1-1), Pakistan (1-0), and India (1-2).
Australia will be facing a different beast:
Their crowning moment as WTC champions couldn’t have come at a better time. But Australia walks into this Ashes knowing fully well that they will be facing a different England side. This side is completely different from the one they had mauled at home in 2021-22. England is buoyant on the back of the bazball revolution. Australia needs to be at their A-game if they want to win a series in England after 20 long years.
We look at 5 X-factor Australian players who will be crucial to their chances:
#5 Usman Khawaja
The southpaw didn’t have a memorable game in the 2023 WTC Final. Usman Khawaja has had his fair share of problems against the moving ball. He doesn’t have the greatest numbers in these conditions. But Khawaja is one batter who has willed himself to score despite all odds. He had a breakthrough series in the subcontinent against India earlier this year. If he manages to see of the new ball, he could be a big threat to England’s plans.
#4 Cameroon Green
He is on the verge of potential superstardom. Cameroon Green has given enough evidence of him being an all-format player in his brief career so far. He along with Harry Brook and Shubman Gill are expected to take world cricket forward. Green had a fairly reasonable outing against India at the Oval in what was his first Test in England. Australia will want more of the same from their all-rounder in this series.
#3 Nathan Lyon
Against a rampaging England batting order, Nathan Lyon could well be the joker in the pack. The veteran spinner showed in the very first innings of Ashes 2023 that he is ready for the counterpunch. Lyon will bargain wickets for quick runs against a side that is hell-bent on taking on spinners. The offie will get to operate against a barrage of left-handers in the opposition camp. His round-the-wicket angle to right-handers has proven to be stifling. He will certainly be Australia’s main weapon in picking key English wickets.
#2 Travis Head
He won the Player of the Match award in the 2023 WTC Final. Travis Head on the back of his stupendous form in the past 18 months has entered the top 3 ICC rankings. He was the player of the series when England toured Australia in 2021-22. It was his aggressive means of scoring that put England on the back foot consistently. Head will be keen to do more of the same in a series that is touted to be a fast scoring one. He doesn’t have a great record overseas. Head will be keen to course correct in this Ashes series.
#1 Steve Smith
He is the world’s number two-ranked batter. Steve Smith is undoubtedly this generation’s best Test batsman. He is among the elite list of batsmen who have had a fine record in England. It was in the 2013 Ashes in England when the world first saw the potential of Smith the batsman. There has been no stopping him ever since. He had a 700+ series in the 2019 Ashes wherein he featured in just 4 Tests. Smith will continue to be England’s number-one nemesis this series. Until he is at the crease, Aussies will continue to breathe easy.
