The Ashes 2023: England arrive amid the noise needing another Headingley miracle

Ben Stokes is revisiting the country of his astir celebrated Ashes moment

Recovered yet? Didn't deliberation so.

The sound ever since Australia wicketkeeper Alex Carey spotted Jonny Bairstow dozily walking retired of his crease and under-armed the shot onto his stumps has lone added to the consciousness of occasion.

The boos whitethorn person stopped filling the aerial astatine Lord's but successful the days since, England person been branded "cry babies" with Australia accused of "tarnishing cricket forever".

Of course, neither are true.

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At his pre-match quality league connected Wednesday, progressively terse Australia skipper Pat Cummins fielded question aft question astir events astatine Lord's.

"Do you regret it? No. Would you bash it again? Yes."

At 1 signifier Australia's media manager stepped successful to determination the speech along, doing truthful to small effect.

"Have you thought successful the past fewer days that had you withdrawn the entreaty it mightiness person been a affirmative measurement for the game?" Cummins was earlier asked.

"I don't deliberation that is the purpose of playing cricket," was Cummins' abbreviated reply. These Australians are not for turning.

And that leaves Headingley and its Western Terrace, already a spot portion sports stand, portion brew plot - primed to play its relation successful 2023's Ashes soap opera.

The hype is specified you fractional expect to spot England manager Brendon McCullum starring the fist pumps successful beforehand of his Yellow Wall astatine the extremity of time one, oregon spot a hooded antheral with a shot headdress and megaphone chanting "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, cheat, cheat, cheat".

Extra information has been brought successful by the hosts, fixed the fearfulness of things taking a much sinister turn. The Australians person asked for an other oculus to beryllium enactment connected their families aft the dispiriting and unnecessary maltreatment successful the Long Room astatine Lord's.

Yorkshire's Joe Root, who knows these parts and its locals amended than most, made the clearest telephone for sense.

"Support England," helium said. "It doesn't request to beyond that, it should ne'er spell beyond that."

If this is to beryllium the commencement of England's unprecedented turnaround - retrieve they person ne'er travel from 2-0 down to triumph the Ashes earlier - past Headingley is the perfect spot to start.

This is crushed wherever the terraced streets extracurricular its walls incorporate thoroughfare creation depicting miracles past - 'Stokes 135*, 'Leach 1*' and 'Botham 149*, Willis 8-43' splashed successful paint.

Stokes scored 135 not retired successful the 2019 Headingley Ashes Test, combining with Jack Leach to unafraid a thrilling one-wicket win

It is conscionable little than 4 years since Stokes' Headingley Ashes epic.

There volition apt beryllium 10 survivors connected the tract this week - 5 Australians and 5 English. The 2 men who present pb arsenic skipper were those who played retired that Test's last act.

"I've seen it astir 1,000 times successful the past 4 years," Cummins said.

"I've conscionable walked done the changing country and the archetypal happening you deliberation of is 2019, which was a pugnacious Test lucifer but besides a fantastic Test match. So, mixed emotions I think.

"I retrieve astatine the clip thinking, 'if I bent it extracurricular disconnected determination mightiness beryllium a accidental to nick it'."

Instead, Stokes chopped away, chopped distant for four, and England's Ashes hopes were kept live for the travel crossed the Pennines.

"I find myself speaking astir it a batch each clip I travel present due to the fact that it ever gets asked but yea we've had immoderate some beauteous peculiar memories present arsenic a team," Stokes said.

England request those memories to spark a revival and for a repetition to travel disconnected this week, Stokes has to anticipation his scrambling selections wage off.

A squad including 4 specializer batters, a wicketkeeper astatine fig six and 3 all-rounders looks much similar an England XI from the Trevor Bayliss era, alternatively than Brendon McCullum's.

After 16 months away, having been injured and past overlooked, is Chris Woakes inactive the dependable cricketer - the Mum's prime to beryllium your champion antheral - helium erstwhile was?

Meanwhile, Harry Brook flirted with the greats successful his archetypal 10 Tests but has since looked person to a mortal. He is yet to capitalise connected 3 starts successful the bid and has present been asked to bat astatine fig three, a presumption helium has not filled adjacent for his region since 2018.

They volition anticipation Australia's measured yet relentless propulsion towards this bid has been unsettled.

Roy Hodgson was a twelvemonth into his tenure arsenic England manager and Brexit 3 successful the region erstwhile Nathan Lyon past missed a Test. His torn calf means the bespectacled Todd Murphy, with conscionable 4 Tests down him, takes his spot for the remainder of the series.

England, the bid and an epoch of English men's cricket request things to autumn the hosts' mode this week.

Lose the Ashes astatine the earliest accidental and, contempt the stunning highs, overmuch of what Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum person brought to English cricket volition beryllium called into question.

More broadly, this summertime was billed arsenic a biggest for a procreation - a accidental to bring much eyeballs onto the crippled - but an Australia triumph present would spot it autumn level by the 2nd week of July.

And let's beryllium honest, nary substance the stresses, the frustrations oregon the increasing database of beingness admin pushed to 1 side, we each privation a fewer much weeks of this.