Tristan Lavalette Pace Trio Represent The New Golden Era

After 18 years of agony and embarrassment, Australia finally depart the UK with the Ashes.

It was their primary goal when they arrived all those months ago in May. Unlike England, their priority was not the World Cup. Sure, it would have been nice to defend their title but the Ashes took precedence. Since their embarrassing loss in 2015 – when they had been hailed as almost the second coming of The Invincibles – Australia’s brains trust had been planning for this series.

Duke balls were introduced into the Sheffield Shield season. Players were encouraged to play County cricket and better prepare for the English conditions. Pat Howard, the former general manager of team performance, was a maligned figure and eventually purged in the aftermath of the ball-tampering saga but deserves some credit for this victory.

Truthfully, Australia and England are flawed Test teams and their wild swings helped conjure a captivating series. In terms of quality, it wasn’t anywhere near the 2005 gold standard although it hardly matters for Australia.

This isn’t a great Australian team, most certainly not their batting lineup. But they had Steve Smith whose greatness papered over the cracks with his once in a lifetime batting masterclass. Smith aside, Australia’s major advantage was their attack.

England, of course, were shortchanged without Jimmy Anderson but Australia’s collection of blue chip quicks proved overwhelming. It’s something that had been envisioned since the start of the decade and finally came to fruition.