Ashes 2023: Top 5 player battles to watch out for

Steve Smith and Ben Stokes. (Photo by LINDSEY PARNABY/AFP/Getty Images)

England and Australia are set to restart their Test rivalry when they lock horns in Ashes 2023, which is scheduled from June 16 in England, as the old foes will be fighting out for the famous urn.

Australia have the urn since they won the home series in 2017-18. In 2019, the team from Down Under drew the series 2-2 in England before registering a thumping 4-0 series win at home in the last edition of the Ashes. The Pat Cummins-led side will be looking to continue their recent domination over England while the latter would be desperate to reclaim the urn in familiar territory.

As the cricket world eagerly waits for the Ashes to get underway, here is a look at five potential players battles that could play a key role in deciding the outcome of the series.

Top 5 player battles to watch out for in Ashes 2023:

5. James Anderson vs Marnus Labuschagne

James Anderson vs Marnus Labuschagne contest will be another one that will have a big bearing in the series. Labuschagne has played two Ashes series so far and did well on both the occasions. In 2019 when he famously replaced Steve Smith as a concussion substitute, he scored an impressive 353 runs at an average of over 50 to help Australia draw the series.

A couple of years later in 2021, he starred with the bat again for his team and finished the series as the second highest run-scorer after scoring 335 runs, behind Travis Head. He will be eyeing another successful series with the bat against the Ashes rivals.

For England, the onus will be on their old warhorse Anderson to ensure that Labuschagne does not have another prolific series. Anderson has not bowled much against the right-handed batsman and will be looking to make an impact in the forthcoming series.

4. Stuart Broad vs David Warner

This is one battle that almost every cricket fan is looking forward too. Stuart Broad tormented David Warner when Australia visited England in 2019, as he dismissed the Australia opener as many as seven times in 10 innings.

Overall, the England veteran has dismissed Warner 14 times in Tests and will be looking to continue his domination. Warner, on the other hand, will be desperate to make amends. The Australia star has already announced that he is set to retire from Tests during the next home season, which means the upcoming one will be his last Ashes series.

He will be keen to make a big impact in his last Ashes series as a player and Australia will be banking on him to give them good start. If Warner manages to negate the threat possessed by Broad and give Australia some solid starts, it could very well play a key role in deciding the outcome of the series.

3. Mitchell Starc vs Jonny Bairstow

Jonny Bairstow perhaps defines England’s new aggressive approach in Tests, famously called ‘Bazball’, better than any other English player. The wicketkeeper-batter has been one of the flagbearers of the new method that has transformed England’s Test cricket.

Bazball is all about caring little for the defensive approach in the most traditional format and taking the attack to the opposition. And Bairstow has done extremely well with the bat since Brendon McCullum took charge of the team. In the last home season, the right-handed batsman smashed 681 runs with the help of four centuries, with an average over 75 and a strike-rate of almost 100.

Stopping Bairstow would be crucial for Australia if they wish to retain the Ashes and one man who can do the job for them is their ace pacer Mitchell Starc. The left-arm pacer has dismissed Bairstow nine times in Tests, more than any other bowler, and will be eyeing more success against him in the upcoming series.

2. Nathan Lyon vs Ben Stokes

Another battle that many are looking forward to watch in the upcoming Ashes 2023 is the battle between England captain Ben Stokes and Australia’s spin star Nathan Lyon. The off-spinner would be operating in tandem when Stokes would usually come out to bat. The kind of player Stokes is, he can change the course of a game in a blink of an eye.

The fast-bowlers generally do not operate in the middle-overs, when Stokes will come out to bat on most of the occasions. The reason behind it is that they get very little assistance from the pitch and the old ball. In such a scenario, the onus will be on Lyon to ensure that Stokes does not take the game away from Australia.

Lyon also has a good track record against the England captain as only India ace Ravichandran Ashwin has dismissed Stokes more times than Lyon. While Ashwin has dismissed Stokes 11 times, Lyon has sent him back to the pavilion nine times in 23 innings.

1. Stuart Broad vs Steven Smith

One batsman who can ruin England’s dreams of reclaiming the Ashes is Steven Smith. The former Australia skipper is one of the modern-day greats and enjoys a stellar record against England. He is the only active batsman in the list of top ten highest run-scorers in the Ashes history. This particular stat makes his impact on this series crystal clear.

The last time Smith played an away Ashes series, he registered scores of 144, 142, 92, 211, 82, 80 and 23 to help Australia avoid a series defeat in England for the first time since 2001. The right-handed batter has not looked at his best in recent months but his stunning record against England could make him regain that form.

The English team-management will be praying that Smith does not regain his prolific form against them and one bowler who can stop him from doing that is Stuart Broad. While Broad has not dominated Smith, he definitely knows a thing or two about getting the latter out. No bowler has dismissed Smith in Tests more than Broad (nine times). In favourable English conditions, Broad would be keen to earn the bragging rights of his duel with Smith.