Ashes 2023: Australia vs England, 1st Test – Player Records and Milestones to Watch

Harry Brook, Pat Cummins and Steve Smith. (Photo Source:Philip Brown/Popperfoto/Popperfoto via Getty Images and Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

One of cricket’s greatest and oldest rivalries ‘The Ashes’ is back as England locks horns with rivals Australia in the first of the five-match Test series beginning on Friday, June 16, 2023, at Edgbaston in Birmingham. The home side is coming on the back of a one-off Test victory over Ireland while the Aussies are in seventh heaven after defeating India in the World Test Championship (WTC) final at The Oval in London.

Speaking in detail about the summit clash, Travis Head was the standout performer for the Kangaroos for his counter-attacking century in the first innings. The left-hander smashed 163 off just 174, which included 25 fours and a maximum. Head led the platform for a big total of 469 as Pat Cummins and his side eventually won the contest by a big margin of 209 runs.

The English side suffered an embarrassing 4-0 (5) loss in the last Ashes series played down under in the 2021/22 season. Though, in home conditions, captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum would hope to play out another exciting series with ‘Bazball approach’ in full swing.

Notably, both arch-rivals played out an entertaining series back in 2019 when England and Australia won two games each with one game ending up in a draw. Steven Smith had a stupendous run as he smashed 774 runs in just seven innings at a staggering average of 110.57 with three centuries and as many fifties. So after the completion of the WTC Final, Test cricket is all set to witness yet another Ashes series being played between two of the fiercest rivals.

Meanwhile, here are some of the important stats and numbers ahead of the 1st Test between England and Australia in The Ashes 2023:

Head-to-Head: Both teams have met each other 356 times in the history of Test matches, with England winning on 110 occasions and the Australians on 150 while 96 encounters ended up in a draw.

53 – Steven Smith (8947) needs 53 runs to reach 9000 runs in Test cricket.

28 – Cameron Green (972) requires 28 runs to reach 1000 runs in Test matches.

14 – Usman Khawaja (486) needs 14 fours to complete 500 fours in Tests.

6 – Ben Stokes (194) requires six scalps to reach the milestone of 200 wickets in Test cricket.

106 – Smith (14894) requires 106 runs to complete the landmark of 15000 runs in international cricket.

86 – Moeen Ali (2914) needs 86 runs to get to 3000 runs in the longest format of the game.

10 – Mark Wood (90) requires ten wickets to get to 100 wickets in Test cricket.

4 – Jonny Bairstow (46) is four big hits away from completing 50 maximums in Tests.

1 – David Warner (199) is one grab away from reaching 200 catches across formats.

6 – Stokes (294) is six scalps away from getting to 300 wickets in international matches.

5 – Ali (195) requires five wickets to get to 200 wickets in the Test format.

5 – Stokes (95) needs five wickets to get to 100 wickets in Tests at home.

2 – Joe Root (98) is two sixes away from completing 100 maximums across formats.

6 – Chris Woakes (94) requires six scalps to reach 100 wickets in Test matches at home.