Bailey MacNamara |
The last time England won an outside test match in the Male Ashes, Barack Obama was in his first mandate as president of the United States and the United Kingdom in the first year of a coalition government!
It was in January 2011, Mitchell Starc was on the left on the left and right, and England filled a victory in the 3-1 Ashes series while Graeme Swann led the players in a jet style celebration dance.
But since then, 15 tests have passed between Australia and England at the bottom and the latter has not been able to win a single victory! They have managed a draw the last two, but the global record indicates 13 defeats in one of the most unilateral matches seen recently.
Of course, the chirping started before the series to come in November, but why hitherto until then to attend a competition which, in a particular sport, would probably be interrupted by the referee after the first day of the first test.
A trip to Bulawayo
Cricket fans of a unilateral match should immediately look south-west of Zimbabwe where the rafters are currently hosting New Zealand during the second test. This and all other international games are on the list of First Cricket sites.
The first match in the series was finished in three days with the black caps triumphant by nine counters and it is likely that this test ends as soon as possible.
This result followed a similar model seen since a test drawn in December 2000, New Zealand winning the seven games in this format in the quarter-century that followed and all the bar by a very important margin!
- Zimbabwe vs New Zealand, July 2025 – NZ won by nine counters
- Zimbabwe vs New Zealand, August 2016 – NZ won by 254 points
- Zimbabwe vs New Zealand, July 2016 – NZ won by a round and 117 points
- New Zealand vs Zimbabwe, January 2012 – NZ won by a round and 301 points
- Zimbabwe vs New Zealand, November 2011 – NZ won by 34 points
- Zimbabwe vs New Zealand, August 2005 – NZ won by a round and 46 points
- Zimbabwe vs New Zealand, August 2005 – NZ won by a round and 294 points
- New Zealand vs Zimbabwe, December 2000 – Match Drawn
Of course, there are many reasons why New Zealand is so dominant on Zimbabwe, but the Black Caps should be attributed for having taken the African side while the shock of England with them at Trent Bridge earlier this summer was the first of the test cricket since 2003 when a certain Jimmy Anderson made his debut!
The ashes await
And talk about Jimmy, or in fact, “sir” Jimmy as we must say, this 2025/26 Ashes tour will be the first time that England does not do it in and around the team this century!
Okay, he made his test debut against Zimbabwe in Lord’s in 2003, but was called and made his international debut during the Triangular ODI series which was placed between the third and fourth tests – how times change.
This therefore brings us back to the memorable 1998/99 Ashes when under the captain of Alec Stewart England managed to draw at Gabba, won at MCG and appreciated a triplet of Darren Gough in Sydney, although they had this test and the 3-1 series.
Everyone remembers that Jimmy was a large part of the 2010/11 victory, saying to Mitch Johnson of “Shhhhh” before and after taking a counter, but in the same way that Stuart Broad did not write the 2021/22 defeat as he implied coasted bubbles, perhaps Australia should simply harm the 3-1 defeat.
And a designed series? You know, those we have had for the Male Ashes in the United Kingdom these last two times in 2019 and 2023, not to mention the recently concluded epic between England and India to challenge the Anderson-Tendulkar trophy.
Well, the last male series of Ashes in Australia was the 1965/66 series which saw three shared games and a victory for each side.
Forget the ash for unilateral men, it is time to end sixty years of injury.
Bring back the special fired below!
