Until a couple of weeks ago I was pretty confident about England’s chances of winning the Ashes, but a combination of Jack Leach’s injury and watching Australia win the World Test Championship final has got all sorts of doubts creeping in. Still, I can’t wait for the series to start and I’m delighted that it’s happening at Edgbaston, home of the raucous Hollies Stand. It’s going to be buzzing and Ben Stokes’s team will absolutely love that sense of occasion.
The visitors will get plenty of stick, which won’t be anything new for most members of the Australia side, but it will be significant. There’s no doubt the crowd will be England’s 12th man and the team might need them.
