Ashes Watch

By John Fuller
October 9 2006

I have struggled ever since that momentous fifth day at the Oval to compare the regaining of the Ashes with anything else in the sporting stratosphere.

Yes, thrashing the American again at the Ryder Cup while the best golfer the world has ever known stands around glumly is fun, watching Mr Wilkinson's drop goal sail over for the umpteenth time in slo-mo has its merits...but for pure drama, the Ashes win is just streets ahead.

Everything slotted neatly into place from the crushing Twenty20 loss via humiliating defeats to Somerset and Bangladesh, Ricky Ponting losing his marbles and Shane Warne dropping Pietersen...it was not to be for the Aussies.

But fast forward to the end of 2006 and they are positively frothing for revenge. They have moved serenely through opposition ever since like a tornado in green and gold while England's sub-continent adventure was adject (Sri Lanka) then memorable (India) before Andrew Strauss and his team found their feet against Pakistan at home by August. But here's what worries me...

Freddy Flintoff is not just a leader but the lynchpin and heartbeat (insert invirorating adjective here, I'm struggling) of everything England aims to do. Whether he will be able to cope with the pressure of retaining the Ashes, bowl 90mph for four months against the best in the world, whack a dozen centuries and have time for a beer is a question left unanswered. Throw in a dodgy ankle and to be brutally honest, I'd have picked Strauss.

Marcus Trescothick is at the top of the pile. Our scalp the Aussies will be gunning for from the first ball. He has experience on every continent, has thrashed centuries against the very best Test bowlers and it is paramount he is on supreme form in Oz. Except, as has been all-too-publicly shown, he is suffering from stress and his comeback and subsequent form are further weighty inponderables for Duncan Fletcher.

Then we hit the bowling which is what really worries me. No Simon Jones, Fred is on the comeback trail and yet to prove himself again and Steve Harmison's radar has temporarily gone off the chart. He is a matchwinner, no question but he needs to be pranging Australian helmets from that first Canberra game. As for the back-up, Mahmood, Jon Lewis, Saj Mahmood and Liam Plunkett...it remains the weak link Ponting's men will exploit.

So, can we win? I think retaining the Ashes will be a bigger achievement than winning them but it can be done. But in order for that to happen then fitness and form need to be firmly in England's favour. The good news is that Paul Collingwood, Alistair Cook and Ian Bell all have proved their credentials with apt timing and then there's the Monty factor. Yes, they'll go after him but he's a matchwinner and the crowds will love him.

November is nearly upon us. It'll be dark, cold and the winter nets, let alone the domestic cricket season, will be months away. But the Ashes are coming and highlights will be on the Beeb so life really can't get much better for cricket fans in the coming months. We need to start with a bang so here's hoping the Australian PM's XI won't know what's hit them...