10th July the day the first ball will be bowled in this double ashes year so let’s wet the appetite just a little more with a look into one of the biggest battles will be key for both teams.
This summer and winter England battle Australia in a double ashes series the cricket is going to be great and the battle fierce. During both series there are going to be many mini battles that will be vital for each team to win for me the biggest and most exciting one is going to be the captains battle Cook v Clarke.
When any new side gets a new captain there are always the same pundits asking the same questions, will it affect his batting/bowling? How will he deal with the added pressure? When it comes to both captains in question here both have answered these questions emphatically with it will affect my batting I will become unbelievable, how will I deal with the pressure with ease lead from the front just watch me bat.
Michael Clarke or pup as he is called took charge of the Aussie test side on March 30th 2011 taking over from the legend that is Ricky Ponting. Clarke since being given the honor of leading the baggy green has matured into someone worthy to fill the shoes of the great Ponting. Clarke for me can do anything he likes with his bat in hand and is one of the greatest players of spin I have watched live, he is reliable and extremely focused when it comes to his batting and he will need to lead the run scoring chart this summer for Australia to be successful. Since taking the test captaincy he has scored 9 centuries with 4 of these what England call a daddy hundred his 329 not out against India in Sydney was one of the greatest knocks I have ever seen.
Alistair Cook replaced one of the most successful England captains in the modern era Andrew Strauss as test captain on 29th August 2012 following the decision by Strauss to retire. He had previously captained the team before on a tour of Bangladesh and also on the one day stage but this was the first time he had to step up and lead his side in the test arena looking towards the future. Cook was thrown in at the deep end as his first tour as captain was to be held in India a place where England had not secured a test series victory since 1984-85. Of course as with all records they are made for breaking and the tour of India was one where Cook led his side to a test series victory, Cook also broke the record for most test centuries for England taking his personal total to 23 and also became the first captain to score a century in each of his first five tests.
Of course the series starting in July is different to any other series both Cook and Clarke have ever lead there side into battle for. This is an Ashes series this is a series when the crowds will be different to anything these players have ever seen before. England going all out to win the series and the precious urn for a third consecutive series, Australia battling until the last ball to take the urn back down under. Cook and Clarke have never captained in an Ashes series before and for me Clark is the captain that is under the most pressure when it comes to the series. He will be seen as the key wicket for the England bowlers if they get him early as we have seen in recent times the Aussies don’t seem to have much more.
I can’t wait to for the Ashes and each day there seems to be someone else talking about it bring on July and let’s keep our fingers crossed that the Aussies bring some nice weather over so we can experience a full 25 days of battle. The battle between the captains is going to be one that is just as exciting as the overall series and for me which ever captain scores more runs, makes the more aggressive field placing will be the one stood with his hands on the urn come the 5th test. So I say bring on the summer and then later the winter this is going to be one year of cricket not to miss out on.
Thanks for reading
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