A couple of miles south of Birmingham’s bustling Bullring sits the city’s very own bear pit, at least as far as visiting Australian cricketers are concerned.
The Ashes begin on Thursday at Edgbaston, a ground where none of the current tourists have tasted victory bar their mentor Steve Waugh, who captained the last team to do so in 2001, and their coach, Justin Langer, who was running the drinks.
Some 15 visits since have been a case of pain or rain across all formats, with a draw and nine defeats. Just three weeks ago their one-day side were hit by Chris Woakes, Jofra Archer and a wall of Brummie noise when handed a first defeat in a World Cup semi-final.
The atmosphere that heady day was nothing out of the ordinary. Warwickshire’s home may have changed over time – moving from traditional English cricket ground towards the stadium end of the spectrum in 2011 with its multistorey pavilion end and looming “e” floodlights – but if anything this has simply amplified an already raucous character.
Add the fact that England’s men have claimed victory in their past 11 internationals there and it is little wonder Ian Bell, the five-times Ashes winner and lifelong Bear, feels his home ground would be talked up like one of Australia’s strongholds if we were not so English about these things.
“The atmosphere is intimidating for opposition players and that’s probably something we don’t talk enough about in England,” Bell said. “It’s a Gabba-style cauldron – Edgbaston is our equivalent. The Aussies love starting a series in Brisbane and, as a touring side, if you don’t perform you simply can’t live with them there. Edgbaston has that same dynamic for us.
“It’s the one ground where Australia know they will get stick – a place where you have to be able to laugh it off or you are in for a seriously tough time.”
England, while slightly vexed by their batting during the victory against Ireland at Lord’s last week and still coming down from their World Cup high, will be comforted by the fact the Ashes start here. They love the facilities (not least the football pitch on the Colts Ground) and conditions have tended to suit their strengths.
What sets Edgbaston apart, however, is the volume. As Graeme Swann once remarked: “It’s the closest you get as a cricketer to knowing what it’s like to be a professional footballer.” While limited-overs games can descend into mass karaoke – the World Cup matches transcended this, not least the cacophonous group game between Pakistan and New Zealand – Test cricket requires none of the gimmickry.
The bars are plentiful but home‑side inspiration is the only real ingredient required, such as Jimmy Anderson’s series-changing spell in 2015 or Graham Onions taking two in two balls during the draw in 2009.
Writing in the Guardian four years ago, Jason Gillespie said the atmosphere for day one of the 1997 Ashes Test “was like no other cricket I had experienced” when Australia were 118 all out before lunch.
But Bell, still on the mend from a torn ligament in his foot and hoping to resume his county season soon, fancies Edgbaston to have been at its loudest on the Saturday of the 2005 Ashes Test, specifically Andrew Flintoff’s famous over to Ricky Ponting which he observed from short-leg.
Bell said: “I don’t know if it’s because I was new to the side but I just couldn’t believe the noise. But even when the game is in a quiet period, there’s always something going on in the Eric Hollies Stand. It’s probably the only ground in the world where you’ll look into the crowd and suddenly spot Spider‑Man climbing a pillar.”
The Eric Hollies Stand, named after the leg-spinner whose googly denied Don Bradman a three‑figure Test average, will once again be a factor; rebuilt in 2003, its collection of fancy-dressed revellers and amateur comedians are always ready either to pounce on Australian misfortune or perhaps attempt to induce it.
For Dennis Amiss, another Warwickshire great who sampled the Gabba’s white heat in 1974-75 when Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson delivered one of their most hostile spells, the Hollies is about gamesmanship and banter rather than anything more sinister.
“It’s always been a partisan crowd but they participate more than ever now – if they spot an opportunity to have a pop, they take it,” Amiss said. “My favourite example was seeing an Australian fielder walking backwards towards the boundary rope and suddenly the Hollies started to ‘Beep, Beep, Beep’ like he was a lorry reversing.”
While the atmosphere will likely be in a similar vein this week – loud, pro-England and with some words for the visitors – boos for David Warner, Steve Smith and Cameron Bancroft (if selected) are pretty much a given too, even if some 16 months have passed since the sandpaper scandal.
Whatever Joe Root says on the subject during the pre-match press conference on Wednesday – and Eoin Morgan’s roundabout instructions during the World Cup were essentially “let ’em have it” – it is likely coming once more.
Bell said: “They’ll cop it but I don’t think it will affect them. Warner and Smith are world-class players, not just because of technique but through their temperament. I worked with their coach, Justin Langer, at Perth Scorchers and he creates strong team environments, one where they will go out there knowing they have the full backing of their teammates too.”
Amiss said: “They booed them in the World Cup semi-final and so it will probably happen again. But I believe it will be banter, not nastiness. And don’t forget the Aussies are tough people. They could well be spurred on rather than put off.”
The pair are probably right but that will not stop Edgbaston from trying.
