They’ll bank on Ben!

This is the hardest Ashes series to decipherFirst there are the controversies to be assessed on both sides the Tim Paine crisis and the Azeem Rafiq Yorkshire debacle Then neither team have played much serious cricket in the build up and therefore itrsquos hard to equate the successors in each sideHowever itrsquos still the Ashes and therefore one team will gain an advantage over the other It seems that England have to quickly establish their credentials at The Gabba or they will be overrun by an ascendant Australian teamEngland have that opportunity in the first Test There is an unknown quantity about the pitch Ben Stokes is making his comeback as a full allrounder and Pat Cummins is yet to establish his captaincy credentials The last point is the most crucial for AustraliaCummins the right choiceCummins is the right choice as captain as he is by far the most inspirational cricketer in Australia If a teammate is not inspired by Cummins heartfelt leadership then hersquos playing the wrong gradeHowever Steven Smith as vicecaptain is a controversial choice How come Smithrsquos leadership punishment carries a different weight to that of David WarnerCheating is cheating and both players indulged in the controversial crime at Newlands in 2018 That being the case their punishment should be identical but itrsquos not I can only assume Smith received the lesser leadership punishment because someone at Cricket Australia CA didnrsquot like Warner Like and dislike cannot be part of any selection dilemma and CA should have made a complete break from the past with a brand new leadership duoIn addition England need to establish authority quickly at The Gabba If Stokes can then put himself in the mind of the Australians this will undermine their confidence and may create some unwanted doubts in Cummins as a leaderEven if England donrsquot win the first Test they need to finish the game on top to head into the Adelaide daynight affair with a full headofsteamPsychological advantageIf on the other hand Australia win or at least establish authority in Brisbane a shaky English outfit will struggle to regain a winning psychological advantageJoe Rootrsquos leadership qualities are tenuous at best As a captain he lacks imagination which can be a necessary quality in AustraliaEnglandrsquos best hope is that Stokes can establish himself as a player of authority and his advice will be well received in the Test side Stokesrsquos assertive nature if Root accepts his input would make a big difference to Englandrsquos onfield leadershipAustralia have three established stars with the bat Warner Smith and Marnus Labuschagne They have three others who are a gamble with Cameron Green the most likely to succeed Marcus Harris and either Usman Khawaja or Travis Head are the players who are most likely to be found wantingAustraliarsquos biggest attribute is a strong attack which will fare well if Alex Carey provides the expected input as rsquokeeper England on the other hand have an attack well suited to home conditions but one that has plenty of question marks concerning a series in Australia If Stokes establishes his credentials as an aggressive bowler in Australia this will improve Englandrsquos chances immenselyOn the batting side only Root and Stokes are confirmed English players of Ashes quality The rest of the side need to make their mark and have a question against their name The most changes in the series are likely to occur in the England batting and if this happens Australia will have triumphedAustralia doesnrsquot have much wiggle room in their batting and this is one reason why a hard fought game in Brisbane is criticalIn the long run I expect Rootrsquos leadership to wane over the series and Cummins to establish his authority by the end of the five matches If this happens Australia will comfortably finish the series winner