Lanna Hill: Risk-averse Ashes side must channel the mongrel of old greats that redefined pressure

I’m a big cricket fan, and I can’t wait to be in the stands for the first few days of the West Test. I love the game; from the fast bowlers of the Eighties, and the formidable West Indies sides, to the Warne era that redefined pressure.

My old favourites carried heat, and I have to admit I’ve always been biased toward the bowlers.

Warne: the flawed genius who could turn a match in one over and start a moral panic in the same week.

McGrath: the metronome — relentless, ice-cold, surgical in his accuracy.

Gillespie: theatre and tempo, hair flying.

None of them would survive today’s media cycle intact. But they had what we’re still hungry for: presence. You knew who was in charge.

I remember the first time someone told me I had a bit of mongrel. I didn’t take it as a compliment then — but I do now. Mongrel isn’t cruelty; it’s refusal — the decision not to be agreeable when the moment calls for edge.

The culture needed to change. The old boys’ world carried damage — drinking, sexism, bullying — Sandpapergate didn’t appear out of nowhere. But in the process, with duty of care rightly front and centre, broader role models celebrated, and every sentence instantly judgable, visible edge has become costly.

You can still lead with it; you just have to pay for it in scrutiny and restraint. And you can hear the difference. Post-match comments default to neutral; risk sounds like a data set, not a feeling in the gut.

Professionalism is undeniable, but somehow the tone has become sedated. We’ve become skilled at managing how leadership looks, less comfortable letting it look risky.

That doesn’t mean bringing back sledging or cigarettes in the sheds. Mental health support, diversity and higher standards are good.

The challenge is keeping leaders who are also a little dangerous in the best way — willing to take heat for a decision, to say one unscripted thing that actually means something, to keep a visible personality that hasn’t been through 14 rounds of approval.

Modern mongrel isn’t rage; it’s clarity. It’s the captain who trusts feel over formula — moving a fielder to a spot no analyst predicted and living with the result. It’s keeping a bowler on because momentum hasn’t quite shifted yet.

The declaration that dares the opposition to prove you wrong. It’s the leader who reads what’s really happening, and backs themselves to own the fallout instead of outsourcing the blame.

Test cricket is still a mirror, and over five days, you can’t outsource presence. If you’re in charge, the crowd senses it; if you’re hiding, they sense that too. No comms plan can protect you when instinct meets consequence in real time.

It’s not that today lacks courage — there are gutsy, interesting leaders — but the gravitational pull is toward caution. We ask for authenticity and punish the first sign of it; we say “be brave”, then measure bravery against a brand guide.

I’ll be in the stands, watching for texture more than totals: who changes the rhythm, not just the numbers; who speaks plainly without swinging at people. I didn’t always value mongrel. I do now, because I’ve seen what the good version looks like.

It’s not swagger and it’s not spite. It’s bringing your full weight to a moment and accepting the consequences without flinching. If cricket can keep that lesson and keep its standards, that’s progress worth cheering from the stands.

Lanna Hill is a strategist, speaker and founder of Leverage Media