Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, if Freddie doesnt get you, Harmy must

The ashes series begin tomorrow amidst much expectation from both teams. The general opinion is that there was an overdose of one day cricket this summer but I for one feel that the one day tournaments have done England a huge favour. The Aussies land in England and thought they would win every game this summer. The dominance and sense of invincibility one usually associates with this Australian team is definitely missing. They have been made to struggle and fight very hard for every single victory they've achieved so far.

The twenty-20 game was crucial as it gave the self belief to the English cricketers. England usually turn up to games against the Aussies fearing the result and with a sense of deja vu. Times have changed and Vaughan now commands an English team which are mentally very tough and for once whisphers that the Ashes may come back home may not be misplaced. Australia, for all that Mcgrath might tell you, are on the decline. When great teams fall, its the fielding which goes first and that has been on view the past few series they've played.

Previous selectors would have definitely gone for Graham Thorpe with a safety first attitude but the present lot have shown great courage by going for Kevin Pietersen who might just prove to be the difference between both the sides. England's batting now has a touch of class to it, and more importantly has men in good form. Trescothick,Strauss,Vaughan,Pietersen,Bell,Flintoff,Jones make a good batting line up and are now used to making big scores. Critics might write them off saying England performed against weaker teams like the West Indies and Newzealand but the fact of the matter is England played brilliant cricket and won almost every single test. Newzealand were a very competitive outfit and a hard side to beat under any conditions. The fact that England steamrolled them speaks for their capability.

At the end of the day, test matches are won by bowlers, as you need 20 wickets. Harmsion,Simon Jones,Hoggard and Flintoff make a good quatret and should pose problems for the Australian top order. If Harmison bowls as well as he did in the Carribean, Hayden and Langer will not have the smugness about them that they usually do have!

England will begin the Lords test knowing that they have a real chance here of winning the Ashes and the era of Aussie dominance might just be over. I for one strongly believe so and would predict an English win, against the odds.