'Let the Ashes summer of love begin'

And so the next chapter in sport's greatest love story is set to be written.

Whether it is Ben Stokes or Pat Cummins getting their hands on the Ashes urn at The Oval at the end of July, they will be holding a (replica) romantic gift.

The concept of the Ashes was formed by a mock obituary in an English newspaper in the summer of 1882, but it was only the following winter in Australia that a real prize came into existence.

Australian Florence Morphy gave the small terracotta urn to England captain Ivo Bligh as a trophy and symbol of her love. The pair would eventually be married, while the two rival teams had something tangible to compete for.

Over the intervening 140 years, England and Australia have become the best of enemies. Three Lions and Baggy Greens coming together at regular intervals to measure their cricketing excellence and celebrate everything we like and dislike about each other.

At Edgbaston on Friday, the perfect dance partners take to the floor once more.

Eighteen months ago, in a series that ended with Ollie Robinson bowled from closer to square leg than his own stumps, the distance between the two teams seemed every inch the 10,000-plus miles between London and Sydney.

In the aftermath of the 4-0 defeat down under, England were accused of a drinking culture and too much golf. Now, on the back of 11 wins in 13 Tests, they have prepared for this series with a golfing trip and a few drinks.

The change has come from the kiss of life given to England's Test cricket by captain Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum. With fun, fearlessness and huge dollop of derring-do, they have turned England into the most exciting team in cricket, possibly all of sport. The prospect of England meeting Australia, the newly crowned world champions, creates the most tantalising Ashes series in years.

Intrigue abounds, not least over whether England can swashbuckle their way to success against an Australian bowling attack that is pound-for-pound the best on the planet.

But, to question England's method would be to miss the point. For them, aggression is not a choice, it is a necessity. It is how they play because that is their best chance of being successful.

Beyond that, England's attitude strikes right to the very heart of sport's actual existence. What is the point if it is not entertaining?

Stokes always says that results come at the bottom of his list of his priorities and, perhaps, at this very moment in the history of the game, the result of this particular Ashes series is not as important as the style with which it is achieved.

Test cricket is under greater attack than ever, the primacy of the oldest and longest format of the game threatened by the rise of franchise leagues from the United States to the United Arab Emirates.

T20 and other short formats are here to stay, a cash cow to be milked by players, administrators and broadcasters alike.

Only by reiterating its value, its capacity to captivate and compel, and its unique ability to create drama and tension can Test cricket survive and thrive. What better opportunity than the most hyped Ashes series for a generation?

Plenty of the current England players say their earliest cricketing memory is the 2005 Ashes epic. The same will go for many of the crowd at Edgbaston on Friday. The class of 2023 have a similar opportunity to inspire.

There are grumbles about the schedule - the series is slotted into a seven-week period and completed before August, the earliest ever finish to an Ashes in the UK. But, the opportunity to exist outside of the domestic football season creates a unique shop window for Test cricket to show off.

At the heart of it all is Stokes, who has become the centre of the English cricketing universe.

Already the all-rounder has a body of work rivalled by few in British sport - match-winning performances in two World Cup finals and one of the finest innings ever played in Test cricket at Headingley four years ago.

Despite those sizable personal achievements, it could be that revolutionising Test cricket not only in England but eventually across the world is the most important part of his legacy.

If not, he will at least go down as the first England captain to do his pre-Ashes press conference wearing a bucket hat.

Stokes is the headliner of all-star ensemble cast about to tell a story overflowing with subplots.

David Warner v Stuart Broad. Steve Smith's path to becoming the most prolific Ashes run-getter since Don Bradman. Broad and James Anderson's final stab at the Aussies. Moeen Ali's return. Travis Head's moustache. Zak Crawley's outside edge.

Predicting what will happen is more difficult than ever, even if the Test Match Special team have given it a good go.

What we know is it is 22 years since Australia have won in this country. In that time, England have never failed to win at least two Tests in a home Ashes. For any team to win an Ashes series away is incredibly difficult, even if that team does happen to be the world champions.

England are enchanting, riding the wave of hope and expectation from fans that believe in them again.

There is a concern that they have been sucked into an age-old mistake by overlooking Mark Wood for the first Test. An attack of Anderson, Broad and Robinson looks one-paced, while Moeen was hit out of the Ashes four years ago, when he was still a regular Test cricketer. Then again, skipper Stokes has proved to be a conjuror of 20 wickets on even the flattest pitches.

Their buccaneering batting is made all the more thrilling by the risk of it going spectacularly wrong, like watching a tightrope walker tiptoe between skyscrapers. England are likely to fall in a heap at some point this summer, but when? The longer they delay the collapse, the more chance of lifting the urn.

Australia are formidable, though not unbeatable.

Marnus Labuschagne, Smith and Head are ranked as the top three batters in the world. Cummins is a magnificent fast bowler, off-spinner Nathan Lyon has nearly 500 wickets and all-rounder Cameron Green looks like a cricketer hewed from granite.

But what about the fallibilities of openers Warner and Usman Khawaja? How will Head cope when England stick the ball into his soup strainer? Will the Aussies get rattled when England get after them?

Here we go. Five Tests of worrying about Stokes' knee, reminding Glenn McGrath he predicted 5-0 and wondering why Smith leaves the ball like a man inventing a new form of dance. Seven weeks of watching Crawley from behind the sofa, marvelling at Scott Boland's accuracy and hoping Moeen's comeback has been worth it.

This is cricket's most storied and fabled contest, drawing the most eyeballs, broadcast hours and column inches. The perfect partners doing the big dance with the lights on brightest.

Let the summer of love begin.

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