Ashes fervour is sure to maintain melodrama of this crazy summer

The melodrama cannot be sustained throughout the Ashes, can it? A tied World Cup final against New Zealand, which captivated fans and their families in their millions; 85 all out against Ireland followed by a face-saving demolition of their flimsy batting line-up on the third day when they were bundled out for 38. This is crazy stuff but still the simple answer is “Yes”.

All the ingredients are there for more heated, frenetic melodrama at the end of an unforgettable season that should be providing a long-standing legacy for the game in this country – though I’m afraid this is far from guaranteed. Some of those ingredients are entirely wholesome. This is the Ashes and they always stir the emotions. Some great cricketers will be competing against one another. The Australia pace attack would test the best players of any era. England still retain their greatest ever wicket-takers. Admittedly, there will be a few batsmen who might have struggled to find places in the great English or Australian sides of the past, but it will be all the more intriguing if one or two of them manage to take centre stage.

Other elements that add to the drama may not be quite so benign. Even at the start of the series there will be some tired cricketers – on both sides – in the wake of the World Cup. The length of a few fuses will already be diminished. Once the Tests start they come thick and fast. It all begins at Edgbaston on Thursday; it will be over at the Oval by 16 September. By which time at least one of the teams will be at the end of their tether.

The Spin: sign up and get our weekly cricket email.

On the England side even the most phlegmatic of men have been looking a bit flustered. Joe Root was surprisingly stern after the Ireland match and quick to state that the Lord’s pitch was “substandard”. Trevor Bayliss, usually so laid-back that he never raises his eyebrow let alone his voice, acknowledged that even the coaching staff were a bit weary with the schedule, so what must it be like for the players? “We could have done with two or three more days [of rest] after the World Cup but we knew that was the case,” he said after the Ireland match, which he acknowledged was “embarrassing” for two days.

There is a bit of tension around. Ashes series define reputations. In his past six weeks in charge Bayliss – even though he is far less concerned about receiving plaudits for his work than almost anyone else in the game – knows that. He would love to leave on a high after two unprecedented English triumphs – World Cup and the Ashes – in the same summer.

Root, still scarred by the last Ashes encounter, is aware of that too. Likewise some of the other players will be feeling the heat as well. Two different characters with the same problem head for Birmingham. Rory Burns, a calm, analytical man, knows he is out of rhythm with the bat and with a slightly quirky technique that matters even more than usual. Meanwhile, Jonny Bairstow comes off a pair at Lord’s against Ireland when he was seeing it, not like a football, but a helter-skelter marble. Moeen Ali may be not be overflowing with confidence either.

Joe Root (Yorkshire) captain, Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), Jimmy Anderson (Lancashire), Jofra Archer (Sussex), Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Rory Burns (Surrey), Jos Buttler (Lancashire), Sam Curran (Surrey), Joe Denly (Kent), Jason Roy (Surrey), Ben Stokes (Durham) vice-captain, Olly Stone (Warwickshire), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire).

As for Australia, after their bowler-friendly preparations near Southampton, they head to Birmingham in a far better state than one could have imagined 12 months ago. The ostracisms have been completed. Cameron Bancroft, who has eyes steely enough to stare straight back at those of Justin Langer, who oversaw his development in Perth, is back alongside Steve Smith and David Warner. They will expect some flak, at Edgbaston especially, and they are unlikely to be disappointed. The hope is it does not go beyond pantomime booing and that the intensity of the cricket soon takes over. At least now there is strength in numbers among the prodigals.

David Warner and Steve Smith can expect some jeers from the English crowd. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

There will be no shortage of melodrama. There may be a shortage of runs given the frailty of England’s top order and Australia’s middle. But it will surely be compelling with the scope to enhance the game, which has already shown signs of recapturing the wider public’s imagination post World Cup.

We have been told that the 2019 Vitality Blast has had a record start with full houses around the country; a joint release from Lancashire and Surrey reports that sales are up 300% at Old Trafford and 88% at the Oval, where full houses have been commonplace in recent years. They are keen to point out that the number of families attending is “particularly pleasing”. Beyond the urban centres the fans are flocking to their county grounds. This is great news and a Lazarus-like recovery for what was deemed to be such a mediocre competition not so long ago.

The England and Wales Cricket Board are clearly keen to exploit this surge of interest and have announced that they are investing £772m in the game from 2020-2024. They explain that “there will be £255m of committed investments into centrally administered strategic activity to futureproof the game”.

Any ideas what that means? The best guess is that much of this sum will be spent trying to persuade everyone what a good idea The Hundred is. At this point the bubble of optimism bursts as the sleepwalk towards a stupid schedule in 2020 reaches its destination. It would be much simpler just to win back the Ashes.