Former England captain Michael Vaughan said that though the India v Australia Test rivalry in the form of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) remains intriguing, for him the Ashes between England and Australia is the greatest cricketing rivalry.
This comes after India held the BGT for a decade until Australia broke the streak by winning the 2024-25 BGT at home by 3-1 recently. But for Micheal Vaughan, these series have been the best to watch, the sheer history of the Ashes still puts it ahead.
“No, England versus Australia is the greatest rivalry. The greatest series at the minute is Australia versus India. The rivalry of the Ashes goes back 150 years. You know, this recent modern rivalry is the best series in the last 20-odd years actually. You'd say that India versus Australia has been the best series to watch, both home and away. I think the most contested, never quite sure what's going to happen. But in terms of rivalry, surely the Ashes is still the biggest rivalry. 50, 60 years, this rivalry carries on,” Vaughan said on Club Prairie Fire.
Vaughan said that the major issue with the Ashes is England's inability to compete in Australia. England last won the Ashes in Australia in 2011. That series also represented England's final Test victory in the country, with Australia winning the next three series 5-0, 4-0, and 4-0.
"The problem with the Ashes is my team has not managed to travel down under and compete. We compete very strongly at home and that makes it a great contest. The last two series in the UK have been tremendous, right up there with any kind of series.
But the problem with the English side getting on a plane and that 24-hour journey, it's been a problem, and we've not been able to compete. So in terms of the contest, it's been nowhere near home and away," Vaughan said.
Vaughan stated that India and Australia have been competitive both at home and away, making it the rivalry that currently produces the finest in Test cricket.
However, he stated that the same cannot be true for this series, in which India won the first Test but subsequently faltered.
"Whereas India, Australia, the contest has been very, very good, both home and away. So, the best contest in the world, but it's not the biggest rivalry. But let's be honest, India won the first game in Perth and played great but since then, they've been blown away, really. They'd have lost in Brisbane; the series would have been done and dusted by now.
You've got to say this series, as much as it's been brilliant cricket, a lot of it, particularly the last three games, has been very one-sided. Australia has managed to get the upper hand and play some great cricket, and India has not been able to find a way of kind of throwing a punch back. They've thrown a shoulder barge back, but they haven't been able to throw a punch back." Michael Vaughan concluded.
