Why England Will Win the Ashes

This winter sees the England cricket team go down under to defend the Ashes that they won back on home soil only last year. However, they’ve failed to come back from Australia with the treasured urn in almost a quarter of a century.

So, the question is, why should English cricket fans be getting so excited about this tour? It’s only four years since England suffered a 5-0 whitewash in Australia when they supposedly had their best squad and best chance of success in decades.

This time it really is different though. Since Andy Flower replaced Duncan Fletcher as coach in 2007 England have made nothing but forward strides in all three forms of the game. In that period Australia have only gone backwards. In fact for the first time in living memory England go to Australia while actually sitting above their Ashes rivals in the ICC World rankings.

Belief

For me, half the battle in beating the Aussies on home soil is actually believing that you can beat them. In the last Ashes series in Australia, England dominated the 2nd test match in Adelaide, with a 310-run partnership between Paul Collingwood and Kevin Pietersen putting the visitors into a real position of strength. However, England failed to do their jobs in the second innings and lost the test match. This, for me, was largely due to the fact that they lacked the bottle and belief to complete the job.

With this current set of players it’s a different story. Andrew Strauss as a leader has done a truly remarkable job and Andy Flower has instilled a belief into his players that they can beat whatever is put in front of them. There’s no sterner test of those characteristics that a trip down under.

It’s often about which individual players step up to the plate and put in the performances that’s needed. Indeed, England’s last Ashes success away from home was largely down to the performances of Chris Broad and Ian Botham. So, who should England look to for inspiration this time around?

James Anderson has been England’s number one strike bowler for some time now. However, I really don’t believe he will be the one to do the damage. As a bowler that relies on favourable, swinging conditions, Australia probably isn’t a place where he can shine as a bowler.

I’m really excited about Steven Finn. The more I see him, the more he reminds me of Glenn McGrath. He’s a tall, ‘bang it in’ sort of bowler who bowls a consistent line and length, frustrating batsmen and taking wickets. We’ve not seen much of him in England colours so far but I’d say he’s a certainty to play all five tests and he’s my tip to be England’s leading wicket taker.

Quality in every department

England are much stronger in the spin department this time around. They’re stronger than their last visit to Australia and for the first time in my lifetime I can say England have far better spin options than their opponents. While Graeme Swann doesn’t have the incredible skills and variations of a Shane Warne, what he does have is a superb cricketing brain and the ability to outthink the opposition. This is where he picks up most of his wickets and it’s why he’ll be England’s second top wicket taker in this series, with Stuart Broad close behind him in third.

From a batting point of view I really do think the stage is set for Kevin Pietersen to announce himself in the test match arena once again. He’s had a really poor year by his standards but class is permanent. He’s a big game player and in these 5 test matches I’m convinced he will return to form, holding England’s innings’ together and ending the series as England’s top run scorer.

Andrew Strauss has plenty on his plate as captain in trying to keep hold of the urn, but expect him to be in the runs. Not least because he too is a class act at the top of the England order, but because I simply don’t think Australia have the bowlers to cause damage at the start of England’s innings’.

As for Australia, man for man they clearly had the better squad four years ago. However, this time things look a little different. Several players have retired since then, such as Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer, Damien Martyn, Brett Lee, Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath. The Aussie’s current bowling attack looks a little threadbare without the latter three and taking 20 England wickets will prove difficult.

Lacking experience

The loss of so many players hasn’t just made them weaker in terms of ability, they’re also badly lacking in players with Ashes experience. This is a big problem for Australia and it’s a big part of why I don’t think they’ll be able to stop England taking the urn home with them.

Captaincy is key and while doubts have surfaced over Ricky Ponting’s ability as captain in the last couple of years, Andrew Strauss’ reputation as a captain has done nothing but rise.

Of course it goes without saying that England need everyone fit and with as few off the field distractions as possible if they’re to achieve their goals. During the 2002/03 Ashes tour England lost Simon Jones, who ruptured knee ligaments in the field on the first morning of the first test.

During the last tour down under England player the entire series without their captain, Michael Vaughan, who was missing with a knee injury. Andrew Flintoff stepped into the role but it never really worked, and the extra responsibility on his shoulders seemed to affect his form with bat and ball too.

Furthermore, frontline spinner Ashley Giles was forced to return home to be with his ill wife. England really could do without these unhelpful events causing problems this time around.

England have all the key ingredients to make this series a success. They’ve got great players, players better than their opponents. An inspirational leader on the pitch in Andrew Strauss and a knowledgeable coach off the field in Andy Flower, who has instilled a belief into his players that they can win an Ashes series down under.

Series Prediction: Australia 1, England 3

Come on England – make the nation proud again and bring back those Ashes to where they belong!