Matthew Hoggard: "Do we mind it not being exciting cricket if England come away winning the Ashes 5-0?"

In an interview with The Cricketer, the former England swing bowler says the hosts must focus on winning cricket rather than forming part of an exciting Ashes series

The names of Eoin Morgan and Joe Root remain illuminated and are still the central focus on the scoreboard at Edgbaston, which serve as a stark reminder of England's dominance against their Ashes rivals in the World Cup semi-final earlier this month.

However, when the two sides meet again at the same venue in red-ball cricket on Thursday for the first Ashes Test of this series, a more closely contested fixture that has gone down in cricketing annals as the very pinnacle of Test cricket comes to mind.

England were favourites, seemingly overcome and then went on to snatch victory from the claws of defeat in Birmingham in the 2005 Ashes series, but unlike Eoin Morgan's men's comprehensive display on July 11, there were moments when Matthew Hoggard believed the match had stormed out of the control of the side he played in.

"I thought we had lost on those two occasions," Hoggard, speaking as SportNation.bet's Ashes ambassador, said. 

"When Simon Jones dropped the very difficult chance down at third man, I thought 'there we go, that was our chance'. I remember Brett Lee smashed the ball out to the cover boundary where we had left a fielder [Kevin Pietersen], if that had been two yards either side of him that would have been four.

"It was a very pressurised situation and a very, very tight game, but thankfully [Michael] Kasprowicz gloved the ball down the legside and the rest is history.

"You think you are going to win easily and then you think you have lost and then obviously you then do win and it is a huge sense of relief, you could see with the celebration and the punches and how everybody went mad, how much it meant."

^{Hoggard was part of the winning 2005 Ashes squad: David Dawson} 

Similar jubilatory scenes arrived this year when England followed up their World Cup semi-final victory over Australia with a thrilling win over New Zealand at Lord's in the final, which reinforced hopes that the tournament would leave behind a certain legacy and inspiration for the following generation.

However, Hoggard believes that the England side themselves will require little geeing up for the Ashes series and that their focus must be on devastating winning cricket rather than enduring the peaks and troughs that the former swing bowler's side experienced 14 years ago.

"Yes we will go in confident, we are World Cup champions, but I think the inspiration will come by playing Australia in the Ashes. That is a big enough incentive to come and it is all about coming up with game plans and plans that you are comfortable with to make sure that you go forward and succeed.

"There is a lot of cricket that is going to be played in a short period of time, it is going to be fast and furious and it doesn't matter if it doesn't live up to the highs and lows of what has been before, what we need from England is to come back out with a victory.

"If it is a 5-0 drubbing and it isn't exciting cricket, do we mind that? Do we mind coming away with England winning 5-0? I think the biggest thing for English cricket is to be successful in the Ashes. It doesn't matter if you have five really exciting games or five games where it is one-sided, I think the important thing for England is to come away with an Ashes victory."

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England's preparation to emerge victorious by late September began with an unconvincing victory over Ireland at Lord's, with batting deficiencies exposed in the top order once again.

Nevertheless, while Hoggard admits that the Ireland game was the red-light warning that Joe Root's men may have required, he praised the fighting qualities of the home side to eventually win the game.

"The Ireland game came at a great time. I still think there were enough players coming in that weren't involved in the World Cup and therefore had no way that it would affect them.

"We have had a game in between the World Cup and the Ashes which I think is fantastic and that was a wake-up call.

"Ireland have put a good case forward as to why they are a Test nation and they did themselves no disservice by the way that they played but it also highlighted how well England can battle and get back into the game and win it."

England's fightback came courtesy of Chris Woakes and Stuart Broad, who between them took all 10 Ireland second-innings wickets in their 143-run victory, and Hoggard believes the duo should be uncontested starters for Birmingham, especially given the doubts surrounding Jofra Archer's fitness.

^{Hoggard believes England should not risk Jofra Archer in Birmingham}

"I think you go in with Broad and [James] Anderson because they have been there and done it, and they are the leading wicket takers for England.

"I think it might be a game too early for Jofra, who needs to come back into full fitness. We don't know what the nature of his injury is, and he hasn't bowled more than 10 overs in a game for weeks and months.

"Then you go with Woakes and afterwards you have got [Ben] Stokes and Moeen Ali."

The series will not only be the first set of Test matches for Archer, but will also mark the start of the World Test Championship.

The competition involves the top nine nations from the ICC Test rankings, with points awarded for Tests played between all nations home and away before the top two at the end of the schedule between 2019 and 2021 playing in the final.

However it is the final showdown which Hoggard maintains needs addressing and could give way to a negative brand of cricket.

"They have to do something to make Test cricket prevalent and make sure every game means something.

"I like the idea of having a World Championship but I don't like the idea that the final being one game only and that if it is a draw then the top side wins because that just means that the team that finishes top doesn't have to try and win the game and that could end up in boring cricket.

^{Hoggard has backed Joe Root to deliver further success for England this summer: David Dawson}

"That needs a little bit of tweaking but I love the idea of having a Test Championship."

England will be led by Joe Root seemingly throughout the inaugural tournament, and while stating that his fellow Yorkshireman can only achieve his goals with the help of his teammates, Hoggard does expect him to lead England to victory and complete a glorious and triumphant summer.

"You want the captain to make a mark as a player first, so you would like him to be scoring runs in this series but then again you are only as good as the players that you have got around you.

"You look at Ricky Ponting when he lost all the players in 2006/07, Australia went through a transitional period, did that make Ponting a bad captain and thought of less in cricketing terms? I don't think it did. 

"Joe Root is in a good place and that he has got some very good players around him, the only question is who will play in the top order with him.

"I think it is going to be a close one but I think England will win the series 3-2. England's bowlers will prove too strong and I think they will last the distance better than the Australians."

Matthew Hoggard is SportNation.bet's Ashes ambassador this summer. For the best enhanced offers throughout the series and Hoggy's top tips, click here. Please gamble responsibly 18+