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The legendary Australian batsman was the subject of the initial serious read I remember going through as a child. To a primary school student, the injustice of an English captain instructing his teammates to target a talented Aussie was unfathomable. And so, like many, I developed a dislike for England.

Anticipation for the Ashes? It goes without saying. Cricket’s calendar makes this a rare treat to watch two of the top cricketing nations test and taunt and tease each other over what we hope will be 25 days of interrogation with the red Kookaburra.

According to the celebrated all-rounder reminded us last week at the launch of the ballot for the 150th anniversary Test, the Ashes has a unique appeal. “Historically, fans globally tunes into the Ashes,” he said. “It's about heritage, it’s the competition, you know that’s it all flat out.”

In England, those two tightly fought contests – marked by Steve Smith’s mountain of runs and Ben Stokes’ Headingley masterpiece in 2019, and the controversial Long Room incident of 2023 – have met the expectations of what an Ashes contest should be. However, they have not had the same cultural impact on the other side of the world when half of Australia nods off before the afternoon session begins.

On Australian soil, the Ashes has been less flat out than just flat for more than a decade. Fans down under anticipate their team to win and win handily, as it has been since the nineties. Scott Boland’s 6-7 at the MCG wasn’t born from a fierce duel, it was a comical English collapse reinforcing perceptions. A true rivalry should not be so one-sided.

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England's squad were met in Perth by a predictable front page in the local tabloid, “Baz Bawl”, accompanied by a description of the widely respected Ben Stokes as “arrogant”. The publication then had a dig at “Mediocre” Root, aka “Flop Root in Australia”. This sufficed to prompt a predictable Fleet Street reaction, enabling the press to extract every last drop in the days before the series begins.

On the other hand, the previous Border-Gavaskar Trophy between the Aussies and India sparked something all by itself. The spiritual peak was that MCG experience, a moment that will linger forever. The numbers, too, overwhelmed. Over 800,000 were present across the series, the fourth highest for any series in Australia and the top for any non-Ashes contest. Audiences were entranced, similar to the TV bump for India’s tour of England this year, and multiple periods drew more than two million TV fans.

In recent weeks, the emotional if unofficial farewells of two Indian legends at the SCG made one-day cricket truly significant. Compare the news title following the previous occasion England came here for a white ball tour: “Record-low MCG crowd for Australia-England ODI raises fears for ODI cricket's survival”.

India’s Rising Influence

Even though rain ruined the short-format games with India, what play we saw indicates Australia are some way off the short form’s global benchmark. For the women's game, at the global tournament last month, the home side defeated the defending champions. The multi-format series kicking off in February-March is shaping up as a unofficial world title decider.

One might to overlook the colorful fan groups that flock to India’s matches – and not just Tests – as a mere result of the huge expat community of the planet's largest country. But, to financial analysts and television executives, they are an elixir.

The world’s largest democracy now means more to Australia than its historical roots, given the countries share an ocean, shared colonial history, and increasingly their peoples. India will likely overtake the UK, per official statistics, as the source of the largest group of immigrants as soon. The struggling defence pact is prompting a realignment of security priorities acknowledging the rising power of regional giants, a change that long ago happened in the cricketing world.

The former Australian skipper, who also coached India, noted last week that England was “our biggest traditional rival”, but also that “to be fair, if not for India, the sport would suffer”.

The Ultimate Test

Before Australia claimed the trophy last summer, India had held it for a decade. On the subcontinent, Australia haven't triumphed in over two decades. Even if the home side win back the urn easily this summer, losing the five-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy in India in the coming years would make this period incomplete.

That elusive victory on the Indian soil remains the ultimate test for today's players, and a setback against England this summer – put down to unfortunate bowler injury, similar to past incidents – would only fuel the story.

The tourists have not secured a victory in Australia for almost 15 years, and despite the history, it cannot sustain a one-sided contest indefinitely. So, with a vibrant Indian team having recently departed, the English squad have much to play for. Win the series and remain significant. Alternatively lose the urn and with it an irreplaceable asset: the right to Australia’s greatest rivalry. We beg the English, just be good.