Tristan Lavalette

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 encourag...