Shane Warne, Kylie Minogue, Ramsey Street, Crocodile Dundee, last year your boys took one hell of a beating!
I’m talking, of course, about the Ashes. England re-gained the famous little urn after beating the old enemy Australia 2-1 in the 2009 Ashes Series in England. As sweet as the victory was, it was always expected. A settled England side were always favourites to beat an inexperienced Australian team very much in transition on home soil. The coming series in Australia, however, should be a completely different kettle of fish.
The Aussie side has now matured and grown over the last year or so. Led by their mercurial skipper, Ricky Ponting, they have only lost one test match since their crucial defeat at the Oval in August last year. The job of replacing the likes of Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist was always going to be hard for any emerging group of players, but after a period of transition the team has finally gelled and come to manage the sky-high expectations of Australian cricket fans. After pretty much letting Australia’s big stars get on with it when he first took over the captaincy, Ponting now has a new team upon which he needs to assert himself. This is very much his team, and has brought all the players through to become a world-class unit. The bowling attack will be led by the rapid left-armer Mitchell Johnson, with youngsters such as Doug Bollinger and leg-spinning all-rounder Steven Smith in tow. The batting line-up is much more experienced, with Ponting and fellow veterans Michael Clarke and Simon Katich being joined by the likes of Marcus North and Phil Hughes. Behind the stumps, Brad Haddin has finally emerged from the sizeable shadow of the great Adam Gilchrist to show how good a player he is with both bat and gloves. This is without doubt a highly competitive Aussie outfit, and with home advantage they will be expecting to re-gain what they believe is rightfully theirs.
However, from the other side of the world comes an England team we can all be proud of. Andrew Strauss will lead what many are calling one of the greatest England teams to have ever taken the field. Some say that England haven’t tested themselves enough against the best teams in the world and don’t deserve their praise, but Ashes victory last year coupled with World Twenty20 success has brought a feel-good factor to English cricket. Strauss’ team is a mixture of experienced batters and young, dynamic bowlers. Strauss will, as always be supported at the top of the order by deputy Alistair Cook with further aid coming from experienced campaigners like Paul Collingwood and Ian Bell. Jonathan Trott, who scored a century on his Ashes debut last year, will occupy the number 3 spot, and who can forget the enigmatic Kevin Pietersen. After a dip in form last year, KP is starting to show signs of recovery just in time. Wicketkeeper Matt Prior’s recent form has catapulted him into the company of the likes of Haddin and India’s MS Dhoni as one of the world’s best glovemen. But it’s with the ball where England really shine. In Graeme Swann, they boast the world’s best spin-bowler, with able back-up provided by fan’s favourite Monty Panesar. England also has a collection of quick bowlers who are young and dangerous. James Anderson is among the best swing-bowlers around and the fast, bouncy Aussie wickets will suit the likes of Stuart Broad and Steven Finn down to the ground.
This is without doubt England’s best chance to win an Ashes series in Australia for many decades. Strauss and team director Andy Flower have assembled their team over the last year especially for this moment and their careful planning may well pay off. A rapidly-improving England against a rejuvenated Australia: dare you miss it?
By: Matt Turner
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