These days it is difficult to get through any summer without mention of the "A" word but, with another momentous winter in the offing and the Australian team arriving here fresh from a close encounter with the Irish, and with five one day internationals against England pending, the subject seems inescapable.the
Australia may no longer be the pre-eminent Test side, and were victims in the final when England won the World Twenty20 in scintillating fashion in the Caribbean currently, but they hold the 50‑over World Cup until the next tournament, which begins in February, and for some while have had a strangehold over England in that format.
The last time the teams met, in the aftermath of England's Ashes victory last summer, Australia won six of the seven matches and, with one eye inevitably on the winter Test series, they have no intention of relinquishing this particular superiority, despite England's rapid one-day improvement in the last year.
Today the Australia captain, Ricky Ponting, who was not part of the T20 side, said that, while he did not think the forthcoming series would have any direct impact on the winter Tests, it was always something that would be in the back of the mind, especially with young players attempting to make their way after the fragmentation of the great Australian side that dominated the game for the last decade.
Australia, of course, will be attempting to win back the Ashes, just as they were minded to do in such devastating fashion after England's 2005 success, and Ponting, whose team will be playing two Test matches and two T20 internationals against Pakistan while in England, as well as the one-day series against England, said that while focusing on these matches everything will be leading up to getting ready for late November in Brisbane.
"Whenever there is a big series coming up," he said, "the build up starts a fair way out – and for the Ashes it's already started. It is likely on all of our minds a little bit. It's exciting for the game – there's nothing bigger as far as I'm concerned than an Ashes series and, when it's in Australia as well and we need to win it back, it adds a little more to it.
"I'm expecting the guys to be in exactly the same frame of mind as they were for the return bout last time. Pretty much from now until the Ashes are over and done with in the middle of January everything we do will have some sort of focus on the Ashes series. There will be no excuses for us come late November."
While saying that a five match ODI series will have little direct bearing on the outcome of the Ashes, Ponting acknowledges an chance for some members of his squad to play themselves into the spotlight. "It's a great chance for guys to get exposure, like Doug Bollinger and even Cameron White," he said. "We've got to impose ourselves right from the start and gather some momentum for the series.
"Our guys have one day experience and some of them are finding the one dayers a good way to settle into international cricket. This series offers them a great chance. Sometimes the young guys try a little bit too hard when they first come into the side. I tell them to back themselves and find a way of adapting to international cricket. All Australian players love playing against England and I think we will look that over the next few weeks.
"We've had a actually good run, winning World Cups and Champions Trophies and the next World Cup is not very far away, although we've got a lot of cricket to play between now and then. We've got a pretty great idea about how our squad will look at the World Cup. We've had a good run and there is a actually good feeling around the group. We've got a very skilful group of players who can adapt to conditions well."
There will be a opportunity to reacquaint themselves with the England players, although England have already opted to keep Steven Finn out of the firing line. "We already know each other pretty well," admitted Ponting. "We've played a fair bit against each other and now we're going to play a little bit more but I like that. There won't be much we don't know about England by the end of the summer."
Australia may no longer be the pre-eminent Test side, and were victims in the final when England won the World Twenty20 in scintillating fashion in the Caribbean currently, but they hold the 50‑over World Cup until the next tournament, which begins in February, and for some while have had a strangehold over England in that format.
The last time the teams met, in the aftermath of England's Ashes victory last summer, Australia won six of the seven matches and, with one eye inevitably on the winter Test series, they have no intention of relinquishing this particular superiority, despite England's rapid one-day improvement in the last year.
Today the Australia captain, Ricky Ponting, who was not part of the T20 side, said that, while he did not think the forthcoming series would have any direct impact on the winter Tests, it was always something that would be in the back of the mind, especially with young players attempting to make their way after the fragmentation of the great Australian side that dominated the game for the last decade.
Australia, of course, will be attempting to win back the Ashes, just as they were minded to do in such devastating fashion after England's 2005 success, and Ponting, whose team will be playing two Test matches and two T20 internationals against Pakistan while in England, as well as the one-day series against England, said that while focusing on these matches everything will be leading up to getting ready for late November in Brisbane.
"Whenever there is a big series coming up," he said, "the build up starts a fair way out – and for the Ashes it's already started. It is likely on all of our minds a little bit. It's exciting for the game – there's nothing bigger as far as I'm concerned than an Ashes series and, when it's in Australia as well and we need to win it back, it adds a little more to it.
"I'm expecting the guys to be in exactly the same frame of mind as they were for the return bout last time. Pretty much from now until the Ashes are over and done with in the middle of January everything we do will have some sort of focus on the Ashes series. There will be no excuses for us come late November."
While saying that a five match ODI series will have little direct bearing on the outcome of the Ashes, Ponting acknowledges an chance for some members of his squad to play themselves into the spotlight. "It's a great chance for guys to get exposure, like Doug Bollinger and even Cameron White," he said. "We've got to impose ourselves right from the start and gather some momentum for the series.
"Our guys have one day experience and some of them are finding the one dayers a good way to settle into international cricket. This series offers them a great chance. Sometimes the young guys try a little bit too hard when they first come into the side. I tell them to back themselves and find a way of adapting to international cricket. All Australian players love playing against England and I think we will look that over the next few weeks.
"We've had a actually good run, winning World Cups and Champions Trophies and the next World Cup is not very far away, although we've got a lot of cricket to play between now and then. We've got a pretty great idea about how our squad will look at the World Cup. We've had a good run and there is a actually good feeling around the group. We've got a very skilful group of players who can adapt to conditions well."
There will be a opportunity to reacquaint themselves with the England players, although England have already opted to keep Steven Finn out of the firing line. "We already know each other pretty well," admitted Ponting. "We've played a fair bit against each other and now we're going to play a little bit more but I like that. There won't be much we don't know about England by the end of the summer."
