England Expects Every Man Will Do His Duty

The cans of Red Bull have been purchased, the excuses for falling asleep at work lined up and the talking is almost over. At 00.00 GMT tomorrow, Andrew Flintoff will lead out 11 proud English warriors as we attempt to defend the Ashes on Australian soil for the first time in 20 years (Well, 8 English warriors plus two South Africans and a Papua New Guinean). The general feeling is that injuries have now made this an impossibility, with Australia's price to win the Ashes shrinking from 8/11 last September to 1/5 on the eve of the first test. There are numerous betting opportunities on offer however, so at least we can have an interest if it all goes tits up.

Favourite for top England batsman is KP, but in the absence of any real competition from Vaughan or Trescothick the sensible pick has to be the reliable Strauss at 3/1. Ian Bell has made real strides since last summer and would also be recommended as a saver at 5/1. We will have to see if he is fit for the first test before investing however.

Ponting is another reliable scorer, and with Langer losing form he is my pick for top Aussie at 5/2. A lot of punters are heavily backing Warne for top Aussie bowler at 5/4 after his 40 wickets last summer and Glen McGrath's lack of match fitness. I think Lee is value at 11/4 and prefer to take this in the knowledge he will be main strike bowler.

England's bowling is in disarray with Jones injured, Flintoff, Harmison and Giles coming back from injury and Monty Panesar not filling me with the upmost confidence. The ball only swings for 10-15 overs in Oz, so Hoggard is not going to take as many wickets as in England. A small punt on Harmy to by top bowler if he lines up in the first game at 3/1 is a tentative pick.

There are not many drawn tests in Oz, so scores of 3-1 (6/1) and 4-1 (9/1) to the home side look likely. I may do an accumulative bet laying the draw in each test, but will be checking the weather forecast prior to every game to avoid a repeat performance of laying the Old Trafford draw last year!

We are in for a great series, and hopefully Bell and Jones will shine in the first test to hit back at the undue criticism they received last series. Jones's batting in tandem with Flintoff was a real innings builder, and his rebound catch of Ponting in the Old Trafford test was top drawer. Now even Warne has had a pop at his catching in the press - maybe Warney has temporarily forgotten the moment he dropped the Ashes? (pic above)

If you want to watch the best moments of last summer, check out Sky's site below. Also check out the Aussie version of the Barmy Army (Monty - can't catch or bat - LOL), and the place we would all rather be at midnight tomorrow - The Brewhouse.

http://survey.sky.com/herewegoagain/

http://www.thefanatics.com/index.php?action=results&poll_ident=143

http://www.thebrewhouse.com.au/