Johnson lacks bite

Australia's main strike bowler needs to be a fairly intimidating figure, a scary Merv Hughes or Dennis Lillee sort. The Aussies' current number one bowler, Mitchell Johnson, has always talked an aggressive game but against England he's always looked more bark than bite. Johnson's performances during the first Test at the Gabba have been far from what Australia are going to need if they are going to regain the urn.

With Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus both performing admirably at the Gabba, Johnson could find himself scrapping to keep his place for the next Test. Doug Bollinger has been Australia's most consistent bowler over the past year and was unlucky to be left out of the side for Peter Siddle. The Aussie management may be having a serious think about reinstating him for the Adelaide Test. Indeed, the Ashes cricket odds suggested Bollinger could be the home side's top wicket-taker.

Not only did Johnson bowl inaccurately at the Gabba, but he wasn't smart or aggressive either. Johnson's lack of swing may also come into any decision, as this is an asset that Bollinger has in his artillery. Anyone who has placed an Ashes bet on Australia will know they have to take more wickets if they are going to win Tests.

Johnson is always raved about by the Aussie media but whenever he faces England, he seems to completely lose his game. His Test record is up there with the best, 166 wickets in his 38 matches at an average of 29, while against the English its nearly ten runs higher.

Without a strike bowler, Australia look a very average bowling attack and one which England can continue to attack. That is unless Johnson can find the form that makes him so revered by the Aussies at any other point in the year.

Is Swann suited to Test cricket away from English soil?

Graeme Swann is clearly a top-class bowler, as well as a man on a mission to show that he can perform well on Australian soil, but is he the man to perform on Aussie wickets?

Yesterday, he looked anything but and was hit for 34 runs off just four overs. Although this may not have been quite so bad in a 20/20, it's simply not acceptable in Test cricket and particularly when there is so much national pride at stake. The Ashes betting suggests England would have a good chance of retaining the urn, but players like Swann will need to do their bit.

Admittedly, it is still early days in the 2010 Ashes series, but the fact remains that this is not anything that has massively shocked the cricketing world, with many experts predicting Swann would prove to be unable to cope with Aussie wickets.

Should Swann fail to get a few wickets under his belt soon, and some better bowling figures to boot, England's selectors may have to start thinking about whether a man who has often been seen as their best bowler is worthy of retaining a place in the team. Anyone who has bet on England to win the Ashes will be worried about the situation.

However, if he can get the wicket of his tormentor Mike Hussey, then perhaps he can begin to show doubters he is not just another English spinner who can't handle Aussie wickets, but one of the best cricket players in the world.

England given short, sharp shock

They may have had the perfect preparation and gone into the game high on confidence, but England where given a stark reminder of just how difficult it will be to win in the Ashes down under.

One day one at the GABBA, a ground Australia haven’t lost at in 22 years, England actually began well â€" winning the toss and electing to bat on a decent looking surface.

As those following the livescores last night will tell you, that air of optimism was blown away within three balls when captain Andrew Strauss attempted to cut a Ben Hilfenhaus delivery that was too close to his body and the ball flew to Mike Hussey at gulley.

In a series that will no doubt be close and keenly contested (hopefully) England know they will have to stand up and be counted and win mini-battles throughout each contest.

Sadly for England fans they lost everytime on day one, with Australia clawing themselves into contention on each occasion England looked to be settling into the game.

None more so than at 197-4, when with England set for a decent score Peter Siddle dismissed Alastair Cook, Matt Prior and Stuart Broad in successive deliveries for an historic hat-trick that left England reeling.

Siddle became the 11th Australian to take a hat-trick, the fifth in Ashes and the first against England since Shane Warne at Melbourne in 1994.

The Victorian paceman, playing on his 26th birthday, continued to torment England and soon snared Graeme Swann lbw before debutant Xavier Doherty finished England off with two late wickets.

It was the sort of day England feared most. A score of 260 is a poor return on what was a decent pitch and those keeping up to date with the latest Ashes scores tonight will know that England’s bowlers have to dig themselves out of a massive hole.

England look to attack Australia’s soft middle

There is a good chance England will have been looking at Australia’s under pressure middle order and seen a chance to pile more pressure on the batsmen. Australia’s middle order has been the envy of the world for much of the past decade. The current crop have had a tough year and have all faced their own issues in keeping their places in time for the opening Test.Australia’s vice-captain Michael Clarke is still a doubt according to some studying the Ashes betting odds going into the opening match of the series, after struggling with his back injury.

That aside, Clarke has had a disappointing year by his high standards and was particularly poor in the recent 2-0 series loss in India. In the two Test matches against the Indians, Clarke’s weighed in with a whopping 35 runs, although he was clearly struggling with his back during the series.

Clarke has done enough throughout his career for England not to underestimate him. The same can be said of Mike Hussey, who came in for his fair share of criticism leading up to this week. Despite ‘Mr Cricket’ being one of Australia’s most consistent run scorers over recent years, Hussey is under pressure to start scoring runs for the Aussie’s or he could face being dropped.

Marcus North can be grateful for his gutsy 128 in the second Test against India. Before his century the batsman’s place in the side had come under intense pressure from Ashes online betting pundits after a poor run of form.

With young batsman Usman Khawaja know a member of the squad all the batsman are going to need to find their form quickly or face being dropped.

Alternative Australian Ashes XI

Amidst all the talk of the Australians England are facing, here is a side of those who didn’t even make the 17-man squad.
1) Mark Cosgrove
A big left-handed biffer, ‘old school’ in fitness and South Australian to boot: there is rather a lot of Darren Lehman in Cosgrove. His talent, which earned him three ODIs four years ago at the age of 22, is beyond question, as is his hunger for runs â€" just ask Glamorgan fans â€" but Cosgrove’s physique just doesn’t fit the template of a modern cricketer.

2) Phil Jaques
Fearless and superb at scything the ball through the offside, Jaques was likened to Adam Gilchrist by Steve Waugh. When given his Test opportunity in 2007/08, Jaques proved he had his technique was good enough, but was injured at the most inopportune of moments; despite averaging 47 in Tests and making 108 in his last innings, he now lacks even one of the 25 Australian contracts. As he scored two hundreds in three days in tour matches during England’s last visit, England may be slightly relieved.

3) Brad Hodge
There are strong suggestions in Australia that Ricky Ponting does not get on with Hodge: conspiracy theories are needed to explain how someone averaging 56 in Tests, including scoring 203* against South Africa, could have been limited to six. Having retired from first-class cricket last year, Hodge’s one-day form has been jaw-dropping, with seven hundreds in his last 16 games and an average of 86 over these, yet he hasn’t played an ODI for three years.

4) David Hussey
Many are saying one Hussey in the Aussie Test side is one too many â€" but it might be one too few. David is the Stuart Law of his generation â€" except Law at least got one Test cap. He averages an extraordinary 55 at first-class level, while plundering his runs at a strike-rate of 71, but perceived weaknesses to the short ball have counted against him.

5) Cameron White (captain)
Apparently you need to be more than cocky, blonde and Victorian to be a successful leg-spinner. White played all four Tests in India in 2008, whilst batting at number eight â€" but if another Test appearance comes, it will be in the middle-order, where his propensity for six-hitting in the limited over’s formats is so impressive.

6) Andrew McDonald
A wicket-to-wicket bowler who puts the military in military medium, MacDonald is not the most glamorous cricketer Australia has ever produced. But his nagging style proved effective in four Tests against South Africa in 2009, whilst his batting is adaptable and increasingly effective, as three state centuries at 93 this season so far attest to. He made his Test debut at six, and is a much better player now; the perception that he lacks sufficient talent may just need revisiting.

7) Luke Ronchi (wicket-keeper)
New-Zealand born, Ronchi’s audacity with the bat resembles the best of Brendan McCullum. That much was shown as he blitzed 64 off 28 balls in his second ODI innings, against West Indies in 2008. A collapse in form followed, but an average of 47 in state cricket last season suggested he could rival Tim Paine to succeed Brad Haddin.

8) Jason Krezja
Krezja is the owner of probably the most extraordinary Test debut figures in the history of the game: 12 for 358. On debut in India two years ago, he bled runs but always turned the ball enough to threaten the perennial tormenters of spin bowling. Still raw, Krezja needed confidence instilled in him, but was instead dispensed with after one poor Test. Self-belief shattered, a place in the Tasmanian side now often eludes him. His career is a textbook study of how not to handle a spinner.

9) Brett Lee
With his arch competitiveness and generous sporting spirit, this Ashes series would cherish Lee â€" and how he would cherish it. Reoccurring injuries have forced his first-class retirement but he could well terrorise England in the ODIs after the Tests, just as he did last year in England.

10) Shaun Tait
After the 100mph slingers, hostility and stump-shattering accuracy in the ODIs in England this year, there was much talk Tait would end his premature first-class retirement, with Ponting encouraging him to showcase his reverse-swinging skills in Tests. The rumours were ended by the realisation his body wouldn’t be up to it. As with Lee, English fears over the ODI devastation he could cause will be outweighed by relief he won’t be appearing in the Tests.

11) Darren Pattinson
Pattinson could conceivably have been appearing for either side this winter, having lived in Australia from the age of six before playing a Test for England in 2008; and his brother will play for Australia within a few years. Made a scapegoat for England’s defeat, Pattinson has enjoyed a brilliant few months, including a championship for Notts and 8/35 in a game for Victoria. England should be getting advice from him on bowling to Australia’s batsmen in their conditions.

If Freddie says we'll win - we will!

He often got his own way on the field and England fans will be hoping he gets his own way off it.

Andrew Flintoff has boldly predicted England will win down under and retain the Ashes for the first time in 24 years.

The 32-year-old, who retired in September following a long battle with a knee injury, believes England simply have the better players and singled out Graeme Swann, Kevin Pietersen and James Anderson as potential match winners.

Indeed Swann is highly tipped to be among the top wicket takers in the series. The 31-year-old has come on leaps and bounds in recent years and is now one of the best spinners in the world and the Ashes betting offers reflect this.

For the first time in decades England now have the better spinner going into an Ashes test, the looming spectre of the legendary Shane Warne will hang heavy over debutant Xavier Doherty at the first Test in Brisbane.

James Anderson is another who has added consistency to his game in recent years, but questions still remain about his ability to bowl in non-swing-friendly conditions.

A master under cloudy damp skies on green tinged pitches, the challenge is on for the Lancashire star when bowling under the bright blue skies of Australia.

Kevin Pietersen goes into this game perhaps under more pressure than anyone in the England side. The England batsman, who has just signed for Surrey for the 2011 season, has been in patchy form for his country this year and was dismissed cheaply in the final warm up game against Australia A and anyone looking at the Ashes best odds would have been worried by this.

That dismissal, from left arm spinner Steve O'Keefe, has reportedly prompted the Aussie selectors to go with Xavier Doherty for the first Test in the hope Pietersen's woes will continue.

But if Pietersen is one thing it is a fighter and nothing motivates him more than a clash with Australia. I wouldn't bet against KP being amongst the runs when the action kicks off in Brisbane on Thursday.

Unconscious Bias of Australian Selectors

If we assume for a moment that the Australian selectors are making decisions that they consider the best for Australian cricket, and not merely to piss me off (and I am not yet convinced of this argument, but anyway), I wonder whether there is an unconscious bias towards batsmen.

Recently, Australian cricket has been plagued by batting collapses, and an underperforming middle order. North and Hussey in particular have been considered by most judges (other than the selectors) to be under pressure to hold their places for over 12 months. However, in spite of losing our last three tests, the only change (other than the return from injury by Haddin) that appears likely for the first Test is the dropping of Hauritz (and potentially Bollinger evidently).

While I don't think Hauritz should be anywhere near our national team, why is a bowler the sole victim of our recent poor form? Haurie's form against India was crap, but he was actually better than expected last summer. Why does his two failures in India result in his dropping, whereas Hussey's three years of underperforming doesn't similarly result in demotion?

If you look at the composition of the panel, all are former batsmen. I wonder whether they are, perhaps unconsciously, more sympathetic to the plight of struggling batsmen than bowlers? Would a selection panel made up of Shane Warne, Geoff Lawson, Terry Alderman and Merv Hughes (hypothetically) been as likely to drop a bowler as our current group? Should there be a better balance between former batsmen and bowlers on the national panel, as there appears to be both currently and historically a strong trend towards former batsmen being selectors rather than bowlers.