The tension squeezes tighter as the captains emerge, both in their pristine blazers - Ben Stokes in blue and Pat Cummins in green. Farewell to … The northern Test venues, Warner, any pretence of trying to make the players get through their stipulated 90 overs in a day, Khawaja, Stokes’s career as a Test match all-rounder, Robinson’s reputation as the next great English seam bowler, Broad, of course, oh and Lord’s air of grace and civility, if not, apparently, its divine right to host two Tests a year. If we were surprised, then perhaps we have not been paying close enough attention. Repeatedly Stokes tells us of his commitment to doing whatever it takes to entertain, discomfort the opposition and win in the swiftest fashion. Ben Stokes plays a shot during England’s Test series against Pakistan in December 2022. The 3-0 series win is a high point in his reign as captain. Photograph: Fareed Khan/AP Australia face the prospect of some fine batting conditions on Saturday. England can look forward to some hard yakka. Although the pitch seems like a featherbed now, there is a suggestion of low bounce and turn.

What can we expect in 2025? It’s helpful to think of the Ashes as two separate contests: one a closely matched battle of equals, the other a kind of organised bloodsport. Unless England can unearth at least three genuine pace bowlers – or somehow get the 30-year-old Jofra Archer fit again – Australia are going to win so hard. Andy BullHarry Brook, pictured in action in the Test against New Zealand in February 2023, has been one of the emerging stars under Stokes and McCullum. Photograph: Marty Melville/AFP/Getty Images Australian Florence Morphy gave the small terracotta urn to England captain Ivo Bligh as a trophy and symbol of her love. The pair would eventually be married, while the two rival teams had something tangible to compete for. They became fashionable in the 1960s, according to David Long, the author of The Hats That Made Britain: A History of the Nation Through Its Headwear, “when seemingly anything new and unusual was hip”. Popular with hip-hop artists such as Run-DMC and LL Cool J, latterly their currency has “grown out of festival culture” – they became synonymous with Britpop in the 90s, when the Gallagher brothers and Damon Albarn were rarely seen without one.

Speak to those who have faced the first Ashes salvo and they fall into two camps. Those who say "it's just another ball" and the others that call them bluffers. Bazball verdict It did not regain the urn but it did exactly what it promised, so you can’t really argue against it. Thrills, spills and an Ashes that threatened to explode our brains on a daily basis. Failure doesn’t matter, it turns out, when you fail this entertainingly.The next six weeks will see a clash between an England team who have won 11 out of 13 Tests and the newly crowned Test world champions but it runs deeper than that. England are enchanting, riding the wave of hope and expectation from fans that believe in them again. David Warner v Stuart Broad. Steve Smith's path to becoming the most prolific Ashes run-getter since Don Bradman. Broad and James Anderson's final stab at the Aussies. Moeen Ali's return. Travis Head's moustache. Zak Crawley's outside edge. Rob Key gave the diagnosis when he swapped the role of commentator for England team director at the start of last season. He made a bet with himself that, despite the flatlining results that prompted regime change, the team were blessed with good players who were trying too hard, wanted it too much and in a jaded struggle through the pandemic’s fug of fixture fulfilment, were “suffocating”.