What about the contest!

As much as the Englishmen might hope that they can upstage a not-so-invincible Austrailan side in the current Ashes series, one would have to say the chances of that happening are pretty bleak if the first test was any sign of things to come. The inept batting display especially in the second innings is a real cause for concern. All the top order batsmen, with the exception of Kevin Pietersen, were clueless when confronted by Shane Warne's guile. And that is of course after most of the damage was inflicted by the peerless Glenn McGrath.

As much as I hate to admit it, the combination of Warne and McGrath is probably one of the best that will ever be and Australia will definitely struggle to fill in their shoes once these two hang up the boots. Even the other real superstar in their team, Adam Gilchrist, is not going to be around for too long. Ideally for England, the first two names mentioned above should not be participating in the next Ashes series for them to have a realistic chance of victory.

However, stranger things have happened before. England can definitely boast of a very lively pace attack with Harmisson, Jones and Flintoff. All of them will have to be at their best right through the series for England to do well. England has dominated in the last two years against most of the other test playing nations and one hopes they have the ability and the spirit to bounce back from defeat against an opposition which is in a different league altogether compared to all the other teams England has beaten. From a neutral perspective, an English victory in the second test will really liven up the series and might produce a memorable Ashes contest for a change.