Can Australia repeat WTC 2023 heroics in upcoming Ashes 2023 against England?

The Pat Cummins-led Australia are on a mission in England. After thrashing India by 209 runs in the World Test Championship finals at The Oval team is now set to face arch-rival England in the five-match Ashes Test series. Ahead of the prestigious series Australian team would be expected to replicate their WTC finals performance against England too.

Notably, since 2001 Australia has failed to win Ashes in England and their comprehensive victory against India may boost their confidence. However, speaking about the same Australia skipper Pat Cummins revealed that they have practised hard in the last two months for this tour and are hopeful to get one more title here. “The last couple of months our preparation has been preparing for six Test matches over here. We’ve seen it as one big tour with two huge titles to play for and good to tick the first one off (feels great),” Cummins told reporters after Australia completed a 209-run victory over India.

“Whether we like it or not, Ashes tend to define eras and teams. I think the great thing about this final is we feel like we’ve played awesome cricket for the last two years and being there at the end holding the trophy feels well-deserved. That’s great for our team and in a way Ashes are bloody hard to win. It’s not going to be easy but if we were to win it, that is legacy-defining stuff”, he further added.

Test cricket is the heart of cricket – Pat Cummins

Speaking further about the impact of the Indian Premier League and how the team adapted to the situation, Cummins said that this victory is more satisfying because of it. He believes that his team played well as they lost just three or four matches out of 20. He said, “To make it to the (WTC) final you’ve got to win everywhere in the world. I think this cycle was 20 Test matches. I think we might have only lost three or four and out of the 20, the boys were fantastic the whole way through. We adapted well and that’s what makes it so satisfying.”

Notably, the Indian team was asked to chase 280 runs with seven wickets in hand on Day 5. But once again Indian batters were disappointed with their minimal performance as they got bundled up in the first session itself. Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, and Ravindra Jadeja all succumbed to the pace attack led by Pat Cummins and Scott Boland. India will now face West Indies in July for two-match Test series starting from July 12.