By The Pioneer Australia
The Men’s Ashes is a strange beast. Hyperbole abounds as every pundit claims this as the most anticipated series of all-time (Surely the 2006/07 series in Australia, following the wonderful 2005 Ashes, is the most anticipated in this era?), but it’s hard to not be excited about what is to come.
This might be a fool’s errand, but the team at The Pioneer Australia have put together a bunch of predictions for the Series.
Panel
Daniel Lang – Founder and Managing Director
Bo Nicholson – Managing Director
Ethan Jones – Chief Sports Writer
Aaryan Shah – Sports Writer
Series Result
Daniel & Ethan – Australia to win 4-0
Bo – Australia to win 2-1
Aaryan – Australia to win 3-1
While Australia have some question marks over their batting order, they are nothing compared to the instability in England’s top 3, and our panel expect Australia to get the job done at home, with a match or two being affected by rain.
Most Runs for Australia
Daniel & Ethan – Steve Smith
Bo – David Warner
Aaryan – Marnus Labuschagne
Some pretty safe bets here, while Bo expects David Warner to finally vanquish his demons against Stuart Broad. The rest of the panel have gone for the reliable Twitch Twins to score bulk runs through the middle of the Australian innings.
Most Wickets for Australia
Daniel – Nathan Lyon
Bo – Pat Cummins
Ethan & Aaryan – Josh Hazlewood
No Mitch Starc!? You’d think Shane Warne was ghost-writing this article! Bo expects Cummins to lead from the front, Daniel wants to see Lyon bowl bulk-overs and take multiple scalps per innings, while the rest of the panel are hoping Josh Hazlewood can continue his recent good form across formats. Ethan did want to mention he thinks Starc will come close, so we can confirm there is no Shane Warne here…
Most Runs for England
Daniel – Rory Burns
Bo, Ethan & Aaryan – Joe Root
The predictable choice here is Joe Root; a class player in the form of his life in this format. Daniel has gone a bit more brave, electing ungainly opener Rory Burns, who averages 32 in Tests, but a healthy 47 from his most recent County season.
Most Wickets for England
Daniel – Ben Stokes
Bo & Ethan – Stuart Broad
Aaryan – Ollie Robinson
Hard to know if Daniel is predicting Ben Stokes to go Flintoff circa 2005 with the ball, or whether he just thinks the all-rounder will take the most wickets because everyone else will be getting smacked everywhere. With 4 left-handers in Australia’s top 7, Stuart Broad was a little too tempting for Bo and Ethan, while Aaryan has plumped for relative rookie Ollie Robinson, who has 28 wickets from his 5 Tests so far, not mention 33 wickets from 6 matches in the County Championship just gone.
Player of the Series
Daniel & Ethan – Steve Smith
Bo – Pat Cummins
Aaryan – Joe Root
Steve Smith and Pat Cummins are such obvious and boring predictions. Let’s talk about Aaryan going for Joe Root, despite him predicting a series loss for England. Root must score a truck-full, while everyone else is leaving them on middle….
One Last Bold Prediction
Daniel – No batter will score more than one century in the series.
Bo – Jhye Richardson will take at least 10 wickets.
Ethan – Usman Khawaja gets a chance opening with Warner (he already should be), scores a 100
Aaryan – Mitchell Starc to not return to the team after the Adelaide test.
What are your predictions for the upcoming series? Let us know in the comments below!
Pioneer Australia 
Ok Bo, you’ve got me hooked!
Series result will be 2-1 Australia with two tests ending in draws (with Australia in a commanding position) because of rain.
Most Aus runs – Labuschagne. Just so focussed on re-doing his last effort against the old enemy.
Most England runs – Malan. Will outscore Root just. They will be the backbone of the one England win and the only consistent resistance Australia will face.
Most Aus wickets – Pat Cummins. Can take ’em bowling on a road. Daylight second.
Most England wickets – Ollie Robinson. Will be the only England bowler to play all 5 tests.
Player of the series – Pat Cummins.
Captain Pat, Captain Pat, Captain Pat and his baggy green cap!
One Last Bold Prediction – Jack Leach won’t play another test for England after this Ashes series.
One More Last Bold Prediction – Cameron Green to notch a maiden ton this series.
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It looks like a bunch of these predictions could be on!
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