The highly prestigious Ashes test series is widely broadcasted throughout the cricketing world as England and Australia face-off every two years in an effort to crown the winner of the fabled Ashes Urn at the conclusion of the five test series between two of the most respected cricket nations.

The 2023 rendition of the Ashes has already provided fans with a multitude of impressive plays and outstanding individual performances from both the Aussie and English squads with Australia already asserting their dominance during the early games of the test series.

It has been a challenging tenure for England during the past decade in terms of claiming Ashes title glory as the Three Lions have only won one of the five test series which came back in 2015, and things could not have gotten off to a worser start for England in the 2023 series.

Australia would narrowly edge out England by a two-wicket score of 668 to 666 at the Edgbaston Cricket Ground in Birmingham, before they claimed a 2-0 lead following a decisive 43 runs win at the Lord’s Cricket Ground in London, which left many to doubt whether this current England side is truly capable of staging any sort of a major comeback following their two underwhelming performances.

However, looking to avoid an embarrassing 3-0 deficit which ultimately would have concluded the series, England would stage a much-needed three wickets win at Headlingley Stadium in Leeds which certainly looks to have reinvigorated some major confidence in a previously deflated England squad.

With England now trailing 2-1 in the series and on the brink of losing out on another Ashes urn honor, these next few games have become must-win contests to avoid a calamitous showing that will allow Australia to claim a third series win in the past four competitions.

• Can England’s squad stage a comeback?

In the latest Ashes parlay odds, presented on the DraftKings sportsbook, Australia are currently ranked as the favorites at -250 to seer off England within the next two games, whilst the Three Lions are still well within a chance of winning the series but are ranked at +400 to mount a comeback with the possibility of a draw still being lively at +550.

While the odds are certainly not in England’s favor at this current juncture, there is still enough talent in the current setup to stage a major comeback and return back to title glory at the conclusion of the event.

Without question the most recognizable and respected England player is the veteran skipper Ben Stokes who has remained at the heartbeat of the squad for a number of seasons which included being a major part of the last England squad to win the Ashes eight years ago.

Stokes is also a fabled winner of the ICC Cricket World Cup and the T20 World Cup back in 2019 and 2022 respectively whilst also being one of the game’s most illustrious players throughout his tenure donning the three lions crest.

Vice-Captain and right-hand bat Ollie Pope is already making a considerable amount of ground to become one of the top stars in the current England squad as his performances have improved dramatically ever since Stokes took up the occupation to become captain.

Stokes is not the only candidate who remains a part of the current England squad for the 2023 Ashes that also won the series back in 2015 as 35-year-old cricketing legend Moeen Ali and fellow teammates Jimmy Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad and Joe Root all remain a major part of the selection.

Alongside the veteran experience provided by some of the nation’s most prolific and beloved cricketing icons, the squad also consists of other intriguing talents such as the red-hot Ben Duckett who has quickly established himself as one of the best players to be featured in the Ashes this season as well as the likes of Harry Brook, Matthew Potts, Josh Tongue, Dan Lawrence and Zak Crawley who will also be looking to make a name for themselves at the conclusion of this year’s event.

• How does this squad compare to past England Ashes’ teams?

There is no denying that this current roster brings a wealth of experience and young talent that has set many cricket fans to be excited for the potential future of this group, yet there are clearly some glaring deficiencies that this squad will need to overcome should they hope to win the series.

While these faults may still be very observant to England fans, it remains evident that the team could still find success in the latter stages of the tournament given their recent success at Leeds, with a trip to Old Trafford in Manchester being scheduled for game four and the necessary game five being a return to London at the renowned Oval ground.

 

Overall, there is still plenty of optimism within the England camp that they can stage a remarkable comeback and likely upset the Aussie’s to finally claim some much needed success in the competition which has been absent for a prolonged period of time.