January
Hackles are raised after, across seven full days of training and playing, the Australians barely mention the Ashes, and at no stage appear to constantly obsess about the still-distant series at all. "You can tell we've really got into their heads," a source tells the Mirror. "Ten months to go, and we have literally terrified them into silence."
February
After his thrilling form in 2024, when he scored six centuries, five fifties and averaged 55.57 across 31 Test innings, Joe Root lays down a marker in his first international appearance of the year, and his first white-ball appearance for his country since 2023. A swashbuckling 41 against India in the first one-day international in Nagpur ends only when he hits his own wicket attempting an outlandish novel shot swiftly nicknamed the "quadriginoctuple frap ramp" because of its obviously hypercaffeinated nature. "He's already the second highest-ranked batter in the squad," beams Jos Buttler, "and if he starts nailing shots like that it's only a matter of time before he overtakes the Netherlands' Max O'Dowd and the involuntarily retired Jonny Bairstow and moves into the world's top 50."
March
This story is from the January 02, 2025 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the January 02, 2025 edition of The Guardian.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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