The men’s Ashes is a long way off in traditional months and weeks notation. Talking about it at this distance is a breach of protocol, a red flag, signal for a weary roll of the eyes. It’s Big Three pandering, disrespectful to more marginalised nations, a diminishing of the contests in between.

It also involves reaching rudely across the Women’s Ashes, which kicked off over the weekend in Sydney, all set to be a genuinely fascinating spectacle. Australia have the numbers, the stars and the endless all-rounders. England have depth, reliable medium pace, dogged spin, and the quickest bowler in Lauren Filer, who was genuinely challenging in South Africa, but struggled to plant her feet during a rain-addled warmup this past week.”

Some pre toss reading for your delectation:

Continue reading...