M y brother is asleep on the couch at his in-laws’ summer house in Norway. The room is full of the light of the afternoon sun. From the TV, there is the soft rumble of a stadium crowd then silence, followed by the distinctive knock of a cricket ball on wood. For a moment the crowd gets louder and the players on screen shuffle around, but nothing changes and a commentator’s sharp, low voice cuts through.

I realise he’s watching the first Test of the Ashes. It’s 2023 and I’m visiting for the first time since Covid. I estimate it has been at least 15 years since I saw, or heard, a game of cricket. When Ponting, Warne, Gilchrist and McGrath lit up Australian screens. When my dad was still alive and I was young enough to be home when he’d watch it. Why Australia will win v why England can w

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