Bazball, poor selection revive world's biggest Test rivalry

The ongoing Ashes series, with its fair share of controversy, has been a celebration of Test cricket at its finest

- Sumit Chakraberty

The ongoing Ashes series in England is heading into an anticlimactic end this Thursday, after the English weather had the final say on who retains the Ashes urn. The fourth Test at Old Trafford, Manchester, got washed out in the last two days, leaving Australia with an unassailable 2-1 lead before the final Test. The Ashes tradition ordains that the current holder will retain the urn even if England win to square the series at the Oval in London.

Nevertheless, despite the weather robbing us of a denouement, this has been the most riveting Test series since India's mind-blowing comeback to win 2-1 in Australia in 2020-21. What makes it an apt showpiece of the drama of Test cricket is the contrasting approaches of two equally matched, talented sides. Bazball is the name of England's attacking style and it has met its bete noire in the hard-nosed Aussie pushback.

Australia pulled off two narrow wins at Birmingham and Lord's, thanks in part to England going over the top with their attacking style. England neutralised one of those losses by coming out on top in a close finish on a challenging pitch at Headingley, Leeds. Then we saw what England is capable of in the fourth Test at Old Trafford, before rainy Manchester denied the hosts an equalising victory.