Big Day….

There are two reasons why today is a big day; firstly it’s my first father’s day which my 5 week old baby boy and I celebrate together for the first time. The second reason is the one-day international today in Bristol as England takes on an Australian side, which for the first time in years appears mortal.

Last weeks inaugural Twenty20 match - where England roundly thumped the visitors - was written off as a fluke, and laughed off by Aussie captain Ricky Ponting. This was followed by a crushing one-day defeat at the hands of lowly Somerset, and finally capped by yesterday’s thriller at The Oval where test crickets’ whipping boys Bangladesh hit the Australian attack all over the ground.

What is clear is that these games were not test matches where the all round superiority of the players from down-under would have shone through. An informed friend commented last night that regardless of the result, Bangladesh could face the Aussies a hundred times at test match level and not record a single win. Over a 4 or 5 day test, class will prevail and the opportunity of the second innings means that such surprise results are rare.

Sadly for England the Ashes will be contested over a series of 5 difficult and tense tests, and Australia will look to dominate from the off. But the question is now being asked is whether the Aussies are rocking? Is this the inevitable demise of this team? With McGrath and Warne aging, is the Australian attack now blunted? Lee remains one of the fasted bowlers in the world but he’s expensive and lacks the precision of McGrath and Gillespie. Hayden, Ponting, Martyn, and Gilchrist is the best batting line up in the world bar none, but they have failed to show this certainty this summer.

England and crucially Vaughn must stick in and turn the knife. Being magnanimous is all well and good but the Aussies have never offered us such respect. We know noble sportsmanship has gotten us nowhere, as Botham has shown in the past only rattling the Aussies and by playing up your successes will you have the psychological edge.

So lets take this chance to further humiliate this visiting colossus and lets start by sharpening our knives….