Bailey Macnamara | 12:00am BST 17 August 2025
The final time England received an away Take a look at match within the Males’s Ashes, Barack Obama was in his first time period as United States president and the UK was within the first yr of a coalition authorities!
It was January 2011, Mitchell Starc was bowling to the left and to the precise, and England had been wrapping up a 3-1 Ashes collection win whereas Graeme Swann led the gamers in a sprinkler fashion celebration dance.
However since then, 15 Checks have handed between Australia and England down-under and the latter haven’t been in a position to notch up even one victory! They’ve managed one attract each of the final two however the total report reads 13 defeats in one of the crucial one-sided match-ups seen of late.
In fact, the chirping has began forward of the up-coming collection in November, however why wait till then to witness a contest which in a single specific sport would most likely be halted by the referee after day one of many first Take a look at.
A Journey To Bulawayo
Cricket followers of a one-sided fixture ought to instantly divert their eyes to the south west of Zimbabwe the place the Chevrons are at the moment internet hosting New Zealand within the second Take a look at. This and all different worldwide video games might be discovered on FIRST’s record of cricket websites.
The primary sport of the collection was over inside three days with the Black Caps triumphing by 9 wickets and there’s each probability that this Take a look at will conclude sooner quite than later as soon as once more.
That consequence adopted an analogous sample seen since a drawn Take a look at in December 2000 with New Zealand profitable all seven matches on this format in the course of the quarter of a century which has adopted and all bar one by a really vital margin!
Zimbabwe vs New Zealand, July 2025 – NZ received by 9 wicketsZimbabwe vs New Zealand, August 2016 – NZ received by 254 runsZimbabwe vs New Zealand, July 2016 – NZ received by an innings & 117 runsNew Zealand vs Zimbabwe, January 2012 – NZ received by an innings & 301 runsZimbabwe vs New Zealand, November 2011 – NZ received by 34 runsZimbabwe vs New Zealand, August 2005 – NZ received by an innings & 46 runsZimbabwe vs New Zealand, August 2005 – NZ received by an innings & 294 runsNew Zealand vs Zimbabwe, December 2000 – Match drawn
In fact, there are many causes for why New Zealand are so dominant over Zimbabwe, however the Black Caps ought to be given credit score for taking up the African aspect as England’s conflict with them at Trent Bridge earlier this summer season was the primary in Take a look at cricket since 2003 when a sure Jimmy Anderson made his debut!
The Ashes Awaits
And speaking of Jimmy, or really, ‘Sir’ Jimmy as we should always say, this 2025/26 Ashes tour would be the first time that England haven’t had him in and across the squad this century!
Okay, he made his Take a look at debut in opposition to Zimbabwe at Lord’s in 2003 however was known as up and made his worldwide debut in the course of the triangular ODI collection which was positioned in between the third and fourth Checks – how occasions change.
In order that takes us again to the memorable 1998/99 Ashes tour when below the captaincy of Alec Stewart England managed to attract on the Gabba, received on the MCG and loved a Darren Gough hat-trick in Sydney though they did go on to lose that Take a look at and the collection 3-1.
Everybody remembers that Jimmy was a giant a part of the 2010/11 victory, famously telling Mitch Johnson to “shhhhh” earlier than and after taking a wicket, however in the identical approach that Stuart Broad writes off the 2021/22 collection because it concerned covid bubbles, possibly Australia ought to simply write off the 3-1 defeat as they’d essentially the most uncompetitive squad ever seen.
How a few drawn collection? You recognize, those which we now have had for the Males’s Ashes within the UK the final two occasions in 2019 and 2023, to not point out the not too long ago concluded epic between England and India contesting the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy.
Effectively, the final drawn Males’s Ashes collection in Australia was the 1965/66 collection which noticed three video games shared and one victory for either side.
Neglect a one-sided Males’s Ashes, it’s time to finish sixty years of damage.
Deliver again the drawn-down-under particular!
