England Confident

The Ashes begin tomorrow and England are confident of rekindling the spirit of 05, and avoiding the humiliation of 06-07. The team will be announced tomorrow, the only deliberation being whether to include Panesar or Onions at number 11. The team will be:

Strauss

Cook

Bopara

Pietersen

Collingwood

Prior

Flintoff

Broad

Swann

Anderson

Onions/Panesar

It will be fascinating to see who Strauss goes with for the final bowling spot. The common consensus is that the pitch will turn, though not as much as originally reported, and offer a little in terms of pace and bounce to the quicks. I think Strauss will go for two spinners - he and Flower have had that plan in mind for months and today Strauss told the press that an extra spinner "allows you more control and gives you more options". It would be a brave move, especially given Panesar's form, but I believe it's a gamble that could give England a major advantage. Australia are now likely to play one spinner, but before the injury to Lee were widely expected to field an all pace attack. 

It is currently raining in Cardiff, but the forecast for the next few days is good.

You can have any other tournament you want but to have the chance to play in the Ashes is everything

Andrew Flintoff