Player vs. Player Ashes Preview | Thebigtip

With the English Ashes squad announced last week it is time to analyse the pros and cons for each side and make an early prediction of the potential outcomes of the much anticipated series.

The English are on a high right at this moment; they have not lost a Test Series since February 2009, have won the T20 World Cup and seem to be vastly improved in ODI. Their confidence under Andrew Strauss and Andy Flower has soared, so much so that the media in England is already talking up their prospects in Australia.

What they have lacked in the past when travelling to Australia is a bowling attack that will take the 20 wickets needed to win a Test match. They have occasionally achieved this, but not consistently. It is why this year’s series will be the closest for some time – the selected English side is probably the strongest bowling line up since the John Snow lead attack in the early 1970’s.

On Australia’s behalf, they will go into the series knowing that England has not looked like winning an Ashes series away from home since the 1980’s. They will enjoy the fact they are playing on bouncy fast wickets for only the second time in a year and a half.

The squad will also be back to full strength with Nathan Hauritz, Ryan Harris and Peter Siddle returning into the fold. Playing a series in India will also be in their favour. Not only will it give the players hard cricket before the Ashes it will help develop the still internationally inexperienced bowling attack.

The best way to analyse the Ashes series is to take a look at the head to head match ups and see where each team’s strengths lay.

It will be doubtful whether either side will change from their team structures. Australia tends to have four bowlers with a few part time options if necessary, which, in the form of Shane Watson and Marcus North, have changed games recently. England on the other hand has almost always opted for five bowlers. In Australia this will definitely be the case.

Starting from the top of the order we have:

Simon Katich vs. Andrew Strauss:
Both gritty left handers with set game plans. This may not be a pivotal dual in the series because both players are expected to be very consistent in their output and may simply nullify each other’s impact. The only downside for Strauss is that he has a poor record in Australia averaging less than 25 with one score over 50. He seems to get dried up easily on the pacier wickets and with the added burden of captaining his side abroad the points may shade to Katich 1-0.

Shane Watson vs. Alastair Cook:
On paper it is a clear win to the Australian as he has the added benefit of effective bowling. If the batting is the only gauge however the two come much closer. Watson had a great season last year but a few rash shots sprinkled with a few good balls has seen him lose a bit of momentum, so much so, that a few are calling for him to move back down the order.

If Watson has had a bad time of it the Cook has been much worse. The English summer produced 226 runs in ten innings and of that 110 came in a single outing. Plagued with bad technical attributes, his worst record by far is against Australia where he is fed spells of balls outside off stump, invariably edging one of them. Since then he has captained his country and massacred Bangladesh, but he seems to go missing in a fight against quality opposition.

The points then go to Watson, 1 for his batting and 1 for his bowling. 2-0.

Ricky Ponting vs. Jonathon Trott:

Probably the most interesting battle of the series, if only for Ponting’s form abyss. There is always talk of older players retiring after a big series like this, yet for the Australian captain it is not an issue as he wants to play on further. However he must make more runs by starting properly. England has a tall bouncy bowling attack and without a doubt they will pepper him early with short stuff. His reactions are fading and he may just be in trouble to maintain his spot after this series.

Trott has gone from strength to strength and seems one of the world’s more dependable number threes at the moment. A compact technique and a steeled temperament will see him as the biggest thorn in the Australians’ side. He may not score the most number of runs but he will be very close to the top in number of balls faced.

On points and form this has to be given to Trott 1-0.

Michael Hussey vs. Paul Collingwood:

Like Strauss and Katich, this match up will not be too significant to the overall outcome of the series if they play to the level they are expected to.

Hussey has come back down to earth a little since his unbelievable start to Test Match cricket but he still averages over 50 and more importantly over 60 in Australia. To combat that Collingwood is a rare breed in that he averages significantly more away than at home and he has scored big against the Aussies before.

There will not be too many highlights in this battle and it is difficult to separate them. It may well be a draw 1-1.