Why England

The dilemma of the New Zealand cricket fan is often which team to support in an Ashes series.  It is often a tricky one; England’s often patronising nature vs. Aussie arrogance.  England often has the more likeable individuals, Australia usually plays the more exciting cricket.

In 2015 however the choice is easier.  A totally scientific Twitter poll earlier today was near unanimous in its feedback.  This year it is England.

This is a particularly ugly Australian team who seem to thrive on being cricket’s version of Pebbles Hooper while England showed in the recent series against New Zealand that they can actually play positively too.

@Sportsfreakconz You do know who Brad Haddin plays for right?

— Graham Johnny (@G_RayJones) July 6, 2015

Brad Haddin has meticulously crafted his image of being as obnoxious as possible.  Up until a year ago he was just an average keeper who was a confirmed cheat.  Now he is the self-appointed spokesman for all that is unlovable about Australian cricket, and in doing so has become a bit of a silly parody.

@Sportsfreakconz there is no circumstance that cheering on the Australian cricket arseholes is ok.

— Simon Bishop (@Sidawg2) July 6, 2015

There is lot more to this Australia team than just Brad Haddin though.  David Warner’s dredging up of the Aussie pub altercation with Joe Root last week was made even more hilarious by his whinging that too much was made of the incident.

He also dragged Steve Finn into it, which showed that snitching behaviour made famous by Matthew Hayden.  You would have thought that snitching was un-Australian, but apparently not.

Then there is Shane Watson.  And Johnson’s posturing.

England, on the other hand, are far more dignified in the post Kevin Pietersen era.  They seem a happy bunch, have an inked-up New Zealander in their ranks, and go into the series as underdogs.

If they can nullify Starc, and take on Johnson then they are in with a chance.  And should they take a lead in the series then the fun will really begin.  Well, we can only hope anyway.

Tomorrow, someone puts the case for Australia.  Seriously.