The Ashes 2023: Three Players to watch out for in first Test between England and Australia

England are all set to host the first of the five-match The Ashes against Australia at the Edgbaston in Birmingham on Friday, the 16^th of June from 3.30 PM. Notably, the Aussies are coming with a high confidence boost after winning the coveted title of the World Test Championship 2023 against India.

Australia defeated India by a big margin of 209 runs to lift the WTC title for the first time in the history of the tournament. But the WTC champions might get a tough fight against the quality lineup of England including the likes of the legendary pacer James Anderson and the veteran batter Joe Root.

With said that, here we’ll have a look at the three players who could be the crucial factors in this all-important opening Ashes Test.

Harry Brook

The young batting sensation Harry Brook from Yorkshire has amazed everyone with his outstanding performances in a very short span during quite a small but illustrious career in Test cricket. Brook has appeared in the 11 innings of the 7 Tests, he played so far in England.

In these batting appearances, Brook has batted brilliantly and has scored 818 runs with a swashbuckling average of 81.80 including four centuries and three half-centuries to his name. The 24-year-old batting prodigy might be a game-changing factor in the favor of England during the first Ashes Test against Australia.

Travis Head

The Adelaide-based star wicketkeeper-batter Travis Head is quietly filling the void of a wicketkeeper-batter for the Australian team which is almost there since the retirement of the former legendary wicketkeeper-batter Adam Gilchrist. Head has performed excellent in the last 9 Tests, he played for England.

He has scored 941 runs with an amazing batting average of 72.38 including a famous and decisive knock of 163 runs in the World Test Championship 2023 final against India. He could provide great stability to the middle-order of the Australian batting lineup in the first Ashes Test against England.

James Anderson

The most capped pacer in the history of Test cricket James Anderson (179 Tests) is on the second spot in the list of most capped players in the history of Test cricket. He is just behind the former legendary Indian batter Sachin Tendulkar who had played 200 Tests in his career of 24 years.

Notably, James Anderson is still performing even while nearing the age of 41; he has scalped 34 wickets with a brilliant economy rate of 2.41 in his last 8 appearances for the three lions. Anderson’s experience might play a match-defining role in England’s favor.