Just because the last two Tests of the Ashes series are again dead does not mean that they are not brimming with life, gravitas and meaning. No Ashes Test can be fully, incontrovertibly and certifiably dead.

For a start, this time, these Tests are Australia’s common cause. The most frequent adjective heard about the country in the sombre aftermath of the Bondi Beach massacre is “divided”. Cricket can’t be a panacea, but it can and does bring people together in a purpose outside and greater than themselves. It’s a trivial purpose in the scheme of things, but shared nonetheless. Who knows, it might even drown out screeching politicians?

Whether or not the Ashes is alive, the Boxing Day Test is always an occasion.Credit: Chris Hopkins

In an Ashes series, that sense of fraternity can be extended to the Barmy Army. They’re as mad as only Englishmen in the midday sun can be, but let’s admit it: they’re admirably mad. Let’s also admit that the state of the series makes them somehow less grating. They can sing until they’re hoarse, but Australia still will hold the Ashes when they go home.

Boxing Day at the cricket is a tradition, which makes it significant outside the scoreline in any one series. It’s a secular feast day, with all the rites. Christmas solemnities dispensed with, we........

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