The Ashes is the oldest rivalry in the history of cricket. England and Australia are the two teams that compete in The Ashes once in every two years. The two nations host the series alternatively, and each series comprises five matches each. The Australian cricket team currently holds the Ashes urn because they won the 2017/18 series by 4-0.
Then, in 2019, when the Aussies visited England they managed to pull off a 2-2 draw and retained the Ashes urn. Now, Joe Root and co. will aim to regain the trophy. Interestingly, there are two South Africans (Michael Neser and Marnus Labuschagne) and one New Zealander (Ben Stokes) in the squads of the two teams for The Ashes 2021/22. Not many fans would know that several Indian origin players have also played in The Ashes. Here is a list featuring such players.
1. Nasser Hussain – Played 23 Matches in The Ashes
Born in Madras, India, Nasser Hussain moved to England and captained the country’s cricket team. Hussain played a total of 23 Test matches against the Australian cricket team during his Test career, where he scored a total of 1,581 runs at an average of 38.56. Hussain’s strike rate against the Australian side in Test cricket was 42.58.
2. Monty Panesar
Another Indian origin cricketer who represented England in The Ashes was Monty Panesar. The former England left-arm spinner played six Tests against the Australian team, where he picked up 14 wickets, with his best figures being 5/92. Panesar’s economy rate in those six games was 3.84.
3. Ravi Bopara
All-rounder Ravi Bopara is another Indian origin cricketer who turned up for the England cricket team in the Ashes series. Bopara did not achieve much success against Australia. He played four matches, where he got an opportunity to bat seven times. The all-rounder scored only 105 runs at an average of 15. He bowled 8.2 overs but could not take a wicket.
4. Mark Ramprakash – Played 12 Matches in The Ashes
Former England cricketer Mark Ramprakash played 52 Test matches for the country, with 12 of them coming against the Australian side. Ramprakash scored 933 runs against the Aussies, his highest aggregate against any team. Mark’s batting average versus Australia was 42.41. He slammed one hundred and six fifties against the Australian team.
5. Stuart Clark
Former Australian pace bowler Stuart Clark’s father was born in Chennai. Clark played a lot of matches for Australia, and seven of them were against the England Test cricket team. Clark picked up 30 wickets in those games at an economy rate of 2.56. His best figures were 4/72.
6. Robert Woolmer
Born in Kanpur, Robert Woolmer turned up for England at the international level. The all-rounder played 10 Test matches against the Australian cricket team, where he scored 663 runs and picked up three wickets.
7. Lisa Sthalekar – Played in Women’s Ashes
Former Australian women’s cricketer Lisa Sthalekar was born in Pune. She played a total of eight Test matches for Australia Women, seven were against England Women and 1 against India Women.
