Everything you need to know ahead of the Ashes

THE greatest rivalry in cricket is back, so we have put together everything you need to know about the five Test series.

Dan Elsom

@elsom_dan

4 min read

July 7, 2015 - 7:41AM

NewsComAu

Ryan Harris will not join Michael Clarke and the rest of the Australian team in the battle to keep the Ashes, after retiring due to injury.

IN THIS year’s Ashes series, Australia has the arduous task of attempting to hold onto the urn on foreign soil while dealing with the pressures of touring, unfamiliar pitches and of course, the Barmy Army.

However, if this series is anything like their 2013/14 demolition of England, the Aussies will be raising the tiny trophy again by the time the Fifth Test rolls around.

A 5-0 victory in the 2013/14 home series saw Australia regain the Ashes after three consecutive series of English dominance.

But can Michael Clarke’s men retain the Ashes on English soil — a feat not achieved since Stephen Waugh led Australia to a famous 4-1 series victory in 2001?

In the lead-up to tomorrow night’s First Test, we’ve put together everything you need to know about history’s greatest cricketing rivalry.

News_Image_File: Australia will be looking to replicate their 5-0 thrashing of England from last year’s series.

SQUAD LISTS

Australia:

Michael Clarke (captain), Steve Smith, David Warner, Shane Watson, Chris Rogers, Shaun Marsh, Adam Voges, Brad Haddin, Mitchell Marsh, Peter Nevill, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Lyon, Fawad Ahmed, Peter Siddle.

News_Image_File: Young gun Pat Cummins was called into the Ashes touring squad to replace the retired Ryan Harris.

England:

Alastair Cook (captain), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Gary Balance, Ian Bell, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Steven Finn, Adam Lyth, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Mark Wood.

News_Image_File: England batsman Joe Root is anticipated to score a lot of runs in the coming test series.

FIXTURES

First Test

8 July 2015

Sophia Gardens, Cardiff

11am Local Time

TV Coverage: All five days on Gem from 7:30pm AEDT

Second Test

16 July 2015

Lord’s, London

11am Local Time

TV Coverage: Thurs, Fri, Sun, Mon on Gem from 7:30pm AEDT, Saturday coverage on NINE from 7:30pm AEDT

Third Test

29 July 2015

Edgbaston, Birmingham

11am Local Time

TV Coverage: All five days on Gem from 7:30pm AEDT

Fourth Test

6 August 2015

Trent Bridge, Nottingham

11am Local Time

TV Coverage: All five days on Gem from 7:30pm AEDT

Fifth Test

20 August 2015

The Oval, London

11am Local Time

TV Coverage: All five days on Gem from 7:30pm AEDT

THE LEAD UP

Australia

Australia come off the back of a convincing 2-0 series win over the West Indies in June. After wrapping up the first test in just three days with a nine-wicket victory, the Aussies secured the Frank Worrell Trophy in Jamaica with a dominant 277-run win. With such strong momentum off the back of this series, Michael Clarke’s side is in good shape heading into the Ashes series.

News_Image_File: Steve Smith became the world’s number one ranked Test batsman following Australia’s dominant series win over the West Indies.

England

Cook’s side also heads into the Ashes with a recent series win under its belt, having beaten New Zealand 2-1 in their home tests in May and June. England will be wary however, having lost to the Kiwis in the middle Test by nearly 200 runs at Leeds — a game they were expected to dominate. Nevertheless, victories in both ODIs and T20 matches against New Zealand will give the Poms confidence that they can turn out a good performance on home soil this season.

THE LAST ASHES

2013/14 Series

In the most recent series, held on Australian soil, the home side regained the Ashes after bringing an end to a three-series-long English reign. The Aussies won back the urn in the third Test at the WACA in Perth, bowling out the Poms on day five to win by 150 runs. Despite already claiming the series, Australia went on to dominate their Northern Hemisphere rivals in the fourth and fifth tests in Melbourne and Sydney respectively.

News_Rich_Media: Australia reclaim the Ashes 2013/14

WHAT THE CAPTAINS SAID

Clarke

Michael Clarke is keen to break the drought of three consecutive Ashes losses in England. He sighted winning away from home was Australia’s primary goal for this Ashes series.

“My focus is about where we’ve come to over a period of time as a team and what our next major goal is and that’s having success in the UK,” he said.

“There’s not too many things this team hasn’t achieved, winning in England is one of them.

“So for a lot of the players who are experienced and have played a lot of cricket for Australia I think it would be fantastic to win over here.”

Cook

Alastair Cook is looking at the Ashes as a possible chance to secure his career’s “biggest achievement.” After a difficult few years as England captain, Cook says his side had a good chance to steal the urn.

“If we did win the Ashes at The Oval that would be remarkable, and something I would be very proud of — it would be my best achievement.

“We have a good chance of winning. It is going to be a highly competitive series and we will go in as underdogs because they are the best side in the world.

“But in our home conditions and with what has happened over the last five or six weeks, and the support we are getting, we have a really good chance.”

News_Image_File: Alastair Cook is confident his side can regain the urn in front of a home crowd.

THE ODDS

First Test

Australia: $1.90

England: $4.20

Draw: $3.50

Series

Australia: $1.36

England: $4.50

Draw: $9.00

Leading run scorer

Steve Smith: $4.50