Fasten Your Seatbelts For The Ashes 2009

The wait is finally over and the Ashes 2009 series is about to get underway. It feels like an age since the 5-0 whitewash down under in 2006/07. During that series England got most things wrong while the Aussies did everything right. This time things should be a little different. Australia is without a host of players who have retired. England will be glad to see the back of Warne, McGrath and Gilchrist to name but three.

The two sides are relatively evenly matched on paper with several players being new to the whole Ashes experience. It promises to be a series with some interesting battles between batsmen and bowlers. Australia is not a team of mugs as the recent series win in South Africa proved. They are still up there in number one spot with the Springboks and India competing to dethrone them.

The spin department is the obvious weakness Australia has to overcome. In contrast England has an embarrassment of riches with Swann, Panesar and Rashid competing for a place. If the pitches are conducive to spin this summer, the aforementioned trio will play a major role in deciding the outcome.

England also has options in the fast bowling department. Anderson and Broad will continue to develop and Flintoff will have a point to prove after the last Ashes series. The captaincy of Strauss will be crucial especially if he finds himself in a position to declare. Positive and aggressive cricket is essential if you want to succeed against Australia.

For the Australians batsman Philip Hughes and bowler Mitchell Johnson have impressed in recent months. Both players will be eager to make their mark on an Ashes series. Johnson in particular has starred with the ball but has also demonstrated a flair for batting which promises to give him all rounder status.

The series should be very close with a 2-1 score line looking the most likely outcome. Whether it is to be in favour of England or Australia is debatable. Much depends on Flintoff and Pietersen and whether they can remain free from injury. If those two players enjoy a productive summer then it is hard to see England losing. Fasten your seatbelts and let us hope we are in for a repeat of 2005. That will do nicely.

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