England take on Australia in the first Test of the 2015 Ashes at the Swalec stadium in Cardiff on Wednesday. The Three Lions are looking to win their third straight home Ashes series against the World Cup champions and Test world no 2 Australia.
But, wait, hold on. Didn't they just play each other a few months ago?
Yes, 18 months ago, to be precise, which doesn't sound too recent, but if you consider the fact that this is their third five-Test series in the last two years, you aren't the only one who is complaining of an overdose of Ashes cricket. Why can't they space the series out more?
The original schedule was such that each team gets a chance to host each other every four years, which was the norm, but England wanted a change in calendar for their last away series so that their players were given enough time to prepare for the 2015 World Cup in Australia.
How did that work out? Didn't they just...?
Yes. Bangladesh.
So, here they are in the European capital of sport, squaring off for the first of what could be five dreary Test matches.
However, that's unlikely to be the case. Even if you're not a pom or a convict, as Australian and English fans dearly call each other, here are four reasons this series still promises to be a humdinger.
"New" England's first real test, against "Dad's Army":
England may have been humiliatingly whitewashed Down Under 18 months ago, they may have been kicked out of the 2015 World Cup in the group stages itself – by Bangladesh, no less – but ever since they hosted New Zealand in May for an Ashes apéritif, they have been labelled the "new" England by the media.
England drew a gripping two-match Test series one-all before beating the World Cup finalists in the five-match one-day series and only Twenty20 international with a brand of aggressive cricket that was never before associated with them. This included posting their highest ever ODI score of 408. New head coach Trevor Bayliss has promised that the "bright, attacking style of cricket" will continue in the Ashes.
However, the English media are often fickle in that regard, whether they are playing up their team or trashing it. New Zealand may be a formidable opposition, but the next three months, in which England will face Australia in five Tests, five ODIs and a T20I will really prove whether this is indeed a "new" England.
The Aussies, on the other hand, have been handed their own moniker – not by their media, but by one of their own. Former Australian fast bowler and current head coach of Yorkshire county, Jason Gillespie, labelled the touring squad "Dad's Army"– after the hugely popular British sitcom – and not without reason. Nine out of Australia's 17 squad members are in their fourth decade of life (the number was 10 before pace bowler Ryan Harris announced his retirement last week owing to a recurring injury).
Australian captain Michael Clarke, 34, was quick to brush away his compatriot's jibe, but it will be interesting to see how his ageing squad manages itself to last five Test matches. Needless to say, with 30-plus-year-olds of the likes of Clarke, Mitchell Johnson, Brad Haddin and Shane Watson, the Aussies have enough firepower to put England in all sorts of trouble.
Mitchell square
Australia have three Mitchells in their squad – Johnson, Starc and Marsh. While all three are capable of causing destruction, it's the former two who would be the subject of nightmares for the English batsmen.
The last time Mitchell Johnson played in England, in 2009, he was largely underwhelming, at least compared to the recent standards he has set himself. Taking 20 wickets at 32.55, Johnson was the butt of jokes among England fans and even admitted to being abused in Australia during the 2010-11 series, when he managed just 15 wickets at 36.93.
So low was his self-confidence that Johnson wasn't even picked in the squad the last time Australia were on English shores in 2013. However, the Queenslander has turned his career around since to become one of the most feared fast bowlers in the world. The English fans this time around are unlikely to pick on someone who took 37 wickets in the 2013-14 Ashes at 13.97.
Clarke has thrown down the gauntlet. "When he sees a big series or a big opportunity, he really looks forward to it," said the Australian captain, of his trump card. "He's fit, healthy and excited about what lies ahead. If he can bowl the way he's bowled since we landed in this country, he can have a huge impact."
Mitchell Starc, meanwhile, missed the 2013-14 Ashes series due to a back injury, but returned to take 22 wickets at 10 runs apiece in the World Cup, rightfully earning himself the man of the tournament gong. Capable of clocking 90mph, Starc will get the new ball in this series and has already warned that he will be coming hard on the English batsmen.
"I have probably gained a yard or two but for me it is that consistency, which is what I was questioned about for a long time and tried to find," he said. "There is that confidence in myself now that in a pretty dead, lifeless wicket I can produce consistently. Now over the last six months, it is really getting to the point where it needs to be in terms of being able to swing the ball for a while. It is all merging into one and I am starting to see results."
The battle of the captains in waiting
The fate of the 2015 Ashes is likely to be decided by the performances of both teams' vice captains – England's Joe Root and Australia's Steve Smith. After being dropped for the final Test of the 2013-14 series, Root has scored 1,318 runs in Tests and established himself as the, well, root of England's middle order. His exploits against New Zealand recently should cause the Aussies some concern. The 24-year-old hit a counter-attacking 98 at Lord's to turn England's fortunes around from an ominous 30 for four. He followed it up with a 71-ball century in England's record-breaking total of 408 in the one-dayers, before signing off with a 46-ball 68 in the only T20I.
Smith, on the other hand, has been recently promoted to one-down in the Australian line-up and responded by hitting 199 and an unbeaten 54 in Jamaica last month, before smashing another century in Australia's warm-up match against Kent. His scintillating form with the bat, scoring 1,052 runs in his last six Tests, has elevated him to the top of the world Test rankings for batsmen.
The idiosyncratic baby-faced batsman had scored his maiden Test century in the final Test of the 2013 Ashes as Australia ended up 0-3 losers. He will be looking to carry on and turn that scoreline around this time.
Captain Cook's last stand?
England skipper Alastair Cook was on the brink of losing his captaincy, if not his place in the team, last summer. The opening batsman could manage to score only 246 runs in 10 innings Down Under in 2013-14 and had gone almost two years without lodging a century, before he broke his drought in the Caribbean in May.
Scoring 875 runs in his last 10 Tests at 58.33 have bought Cook some more time, but another poor series with the bat against Australia could get him in the firing line again. Cook, 30, is a veteran of five Ashes series and even averaged 127 in one of them, back in 2010-11. So it isn't that he doesn't know how to score against the Australians.
One of the most obvious confidence players, Cook needs to continue his current run of form and protect England's largely inexperienced middle order. His form with the bat automatically translates into his captaincy, which has been criticised of leaning towards the defensive.
As former England batsman and commentator Geoffrey Boycott put it, for England to have a chance in this series, head coach Bayliss's "most important job will be to encourage Alastair to be less cautious, help him to take a chance now and again, be innovative and original, and above all try to think two steps ahead of the game."
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But, wait, hold on. Didn't they just play each other a few months ago?
Yes, 18 months ago, to be precise, which doesn't sound too recent, but if you consider the fact that this is their third five-Test series in the last two years, you aren't the only one who is complaining of an overdose of Ashes cricket. Why can't they space the series out more?
The original schedule was such that each team gets a chance to host each other every four years, which was the norm, but England wanted a change in calendar for their last away series so that their players were given enough time to prepare for the 2015 World Cup in Australia.
How did that work out? Didn't they just...?
Yes. Bangladesh.
So, here they are in the European capital of sport, squaring off for the first of what could be five dreary Test matches.
However, that's unlikely to be the case. Even if you're not a pom or a convict, as Australian and English fans dearly call each other, here are four reasons this series still promises to be a humdinger.
"New" England's first real test, against "Dad's Army":
England may have been humiliatingly whitewashed Down Under 18 months ago, they may have been kicked out of the 2015 World Cup in the group stages itself – by Bangladesh, no less – but ever since they hosted New Zealand in May for an Ashes apéritif, they have been labelled the "new" England by the media.
England drew a gripping two-match Test series one-all before beating the World Cup finalists in the five-match one-day series and only Twenty20 international with a brand of aggressive cricket that was never before associated with them. This included posting their highest ever ODI score of 408. New head coach Trevor Bayliss has promised that the "bright, attacking style of cricket" will continue in the Ashes.
However, the English media are often fickle in that regard, whether they are playing up their team or trashing it. New Zealand may be a formidable opposition, but the next three months, in which England will face Australia in five Tests, five ODIs and a T20I will really prove whether this is indeed a "new" England.
The Aussies, on the other hand, have been handed their own moniker – not by their media, but by one of their own. Former Australian fast bowler and current head coach of Yorkshire county, Jason Gillespie, labelled the touring squad "Dad's Army"– after the hugely popular British sitcom – and not without reason. Nine out of Australia's 17 squad members are in their fourth decade of life (the number was 10 before pace bowler Ryan Harris announced his retirement last week owing to a recurring injury).
Australian captain Michael Clarke, 34, was quick to brush away his compatriot's jibe, but it will be interesting to see how his ageing squad manages itself to last five Test matches. Needless to say, with 30-plus-year-olds of the likes of Clarke, Mitchell Johnson, Brad Haddin and Shane Watson, the Aussies have enough firepower to put England in all sorts of trouble.
Mitchell square
Australia have three Mitchells in their squad – Johnson, Starc and Marsh. While all three are capable of causing destruction, it's the former two who would be the subject of nightmares for the English batsmen.
The last time Mitchell Johnson played in England, in 2009, he was largely underwhelming, at least compared to the recent standards he has set himself. Taking 20 wickets at 32.55, Johnson was the butt of jokes among England fans and even admitted to being abused in Australia during the 2010-11 series, when he managed just 15 wickets at 36.93.
So low was his self-confidence that Johnson wasn't even picked in the squad the last time Australia were on English shores in 2013. However, the Queenslander has turned his career around since to become one of the most feared fast bowlers in the world. The English fans this time around are unlikely to pick on someone who took 37 wickets in the 2013-14 Ashes at 13.97.
Clarke has thrown down the gauntlet. "When he sees a big series or a big opportunity, he really looks forward to it," said the Australian captain, of his trump card. "He's fit, healthy and excited about what lies ahead. If he can bowl the way he's bowled since we landed in this country, he can have a huge impact."
Mitchell Starc, meanwhile, missed the 2013-14 Ashes series due to a back injury, but returned to take 22 wickets at 10 runs apiece in the World Cup, rightfully earning himself the man of the tournament gong. Capable of clocking 90mph, Starc will get the new ball in this series and has already warned that he will be coming hard on the English batsmen.
"I have probably gained a yard or two but for me it is that consistency, which is what I was questioned about for a long time and tried to find," he said. "There is that confidence in myself now that in a pretty dead, lifeless wicket I can produce consistently. Now over the last six months, it is really getting to the point where it needs to be in terms of being able to swing the ball for a while. It is all merging into one and I am starting to see results."
The battle of the captains in waiting
The fate of the 2015 Ashes is likely to be decided by the performances of both teams' vice captains – England's Joe Root and Australia's Steve Smith. After being dropped for the final Test of the 2013-14 series, Root has scored 1,318 runs in Tests and established himself as the, well, root of England's middle order. His exploits against New Zealand recently should cause the Aussies some concern. The 24-year-old hit a counter-attacking 98 at Lord's to turn England's fortunes around from an ominous 30 for four. He followed it up with a 71-ball century in England's record-breaking total of 408 in the one-dayers, before signing off with a 46-ball 68 in the only T20I.
Smith, on the other hand, has been recently promoted to one-down in the Australian line-up and responded by hitting 199 and an unbeaten 54 in Jamaica last month, before smashing another century in Australia's warm-up match against Kent. His scintillating form with the bat, scoring 1,052 runs in his last six Tests, has elevated him to the top of the world Test rankings for batsmen.
The idiosyncratic baby-faced batsman had scored his maiden Test century in the final Test of the 2013 Ashes as Australia ended up 0-3 losers. He will be looking to carry on and turn that scoreline around this time.
Captain Cook's last stand?
England skipper Alastair Cook was on the brink of losing his captaincy, if not his place in the team, last summer. The opening batsman could manage to score only 246 runs in 10 innings Down Under in 2013-14 and had gone almost two years without lodging a century, before he broke his drought in the Caribbean in May.
Scoring 875 runs in his last 10 Tests at 58.33 have bought Cook some more time, but another poor series with the bat against Australia could get him in the firing line again. Cook, 30, is a veteran of five Ashes series and even averaged 127 in one of them, back in 2010-11. So it isn't that he doesn't know how to score against the Australians.
One of the most obvious confidence players, Cook needs to continue his current run of form and protect England's largely inexperienced middle order. His form with the bat automatically translates into his captaincy, which has been criticised of leaning towards the defensive.
As former England batsman and commentator Geoffrey Boycott put it, for England to have a chance in this series, head coach Bayliss's "most important job will be to encourage Alastair to be less cautious, help him to take a chance now and again, be innovative and original, and above all try to think two steps ahead of the game."