5 international cricket series to look forward to in 2015

While this season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is coming to an end on Sunday, cricket fans need not worry as there is no shortage of action in the coming months with plenty of mouthwatering international contests to look forward to. Whether it is the Ashes series starting in July or the series between arch-rivals India and Pakistan scheduled for December, one can expect to see some top quality cricket from some of the best cricketers in the world today.

Here are 5 international tours to look forward to this year:

1. New Zealand’s tour of England (May-June 2015)

England have to quickly find their best form to overcome New Zealand

New Zealand begin their tour of England on May 21 with 2 Test matches, followed by 5 One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and 1 Twenty20 international (T20I). Going into the series, England are in a state of turmoil following the sacking of head coach Peter Moores and the perennial controversy surrounding Kevin Pietersen’s future.

On the other hand, New Zealand are coming on the back of a successful World Cup campaign where they were only beaten by Australia in the final. It would be particularly interesting to see how England batsmen cope with the fast bowling pair of Trent Boult and Tim Southee, who have tasted a lot of success in the recent past and are arguably the best in the world. Since January 1, 2014, Boult has picked up 38 wickets from 10 Tests at an average of 29 while Southee isn’t too far behind with 35 wickets to his name. In addition, they have one of the best captains in the world currently in the form of Brendon McCullum, who has played an instrumental role in turning New Zealand into one of the top sides in world cricket.

2. The Ashes (July-August 2015)

The coveted urn that England & Australia will be battling for

The 2015 Ashes series in England is undoubtedly among the most highly anticipated series in the coming year. England will begin their attempt to regain the coveted urn from Australia on July 8 in Cardiff, the venue of the first Test match. While Australia are once again a formidable force and considered strong favourites to emerge victorious, it shouldn’t be forgotten that England are an extremely competitive unit in their own backyard and have won the last 3 Ashes series on home soil.

The series could well come down to how well the English batsmen handle the Australian pace bowling attack of Mitchell Johnson, Mitchell Starc and Ryan Harris, who are widely expected to be their first-choice pacers.

3. South Africa’s tour of India (Oct-Dec 2015)

South Africa won’t be pushovers on Indian soil

India are all set to host South Africa later this year for a full series which would include 3 Tests, 5 ODIs and 2 T20Is. Though the venues and dates have not been released yet, it has been confirmed that the series will take place between October-December 2015. If there is one team which has tasted success consistently away from home, it is South Arica – illustrated by the fact that they haven’t lost an away Test series since 2006. The last time they visited India was in 2010 when they drew the 2-match Test series 1-1 but lost the ODI series 2-1.

Possessing players of the ilk of AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla, Faf du Plessis and Dale Steyn, India will be foolish to expect anything less than a hard-fought contest once again.

India, however, have themselves been very consistent at home in the past few years and would be disappointed with anything less than a series win. It would also be the first major test for newly-appointed Test skipper Virat Kohli.

4. England’s tour of South Africa (Dec 2015-Feb 2016)

South Africa will be expected to cement their status as the best Test side in the world

England’s tour of South Africa, which is slated for December-January, will include four Tests, five ODIs and two T20Is, starting with the traditional Boxing Day Test at Kingsmead in Durban. The series would be a stern test for England as not only have they have been in patchy form lately, but they will be coming up against the No.1 ranked Test side in the world.

Considering that this will be South Africa’s first four-match Test series in six years at home, they will perhaps be as determined as ever to put on a show for their fans and illustrate why they occupy the top of the rankings.

Meanwhile, the fact that England won’t have the likes of Graeme Swann, Paul Collingwood and Kevin Petersen, who all did well the last time England were in South Africa (2009/10) when they drew in which the 4-match Test series 1-1 and won the ODI series 2-1, is only going to make their task harder.

5. India’s tour of UAE to play against Pakistan (Dec 2015-Jan 2016)

India and Pakistan haven’t seen much of each other recently

Although there has been no confirmation on the venues and exact dates for the series, there have been extensive discussions between the two concerned boards in recent weeks with the approval of the Indian government and the broadcasting rights being the only stumbling blocks in the series getting the go-ahead. However, these should only be minor obstacles with it hopefully only being a matter of time before the two nations resume their cricketing rivalry.

The series is expected to comprise of two Tests, five ODIs and two T20Is. Bilateral cricketing ties between the two countries were brought to a halt after the ghastly Mumbai terror attacks in 2008 until Pakistan toured India in 2012-13 for three ODIs and two T20Is.

While tensions always exist when it comes to contests between India and Pakistan, one hopes from a neutral perspective that fans get to see some nail-biting contests and pave the way for further such matches in the coming years.