Can the Poms contain the Aussies?

KICK BACKS

Every couple of years there is a sporting event which England cricket fans greet with a mixture of anticipation and trepidation. It is of course the Ashes series in which Australia have had a nasty habit of knocking over their opponents in recent times, with one notable exception.

In 2005, after years of humiliation, England prevailed 2-1 in what has been hailed as the best series ever, even surpassing Botham's Ashes in 1981. It was the first time Australia had been seriously challenged in nearly 20 years. England's ultimate triumph made it sweeter for the long-suffering home fans, but it was the manner in which the matches were played which made it so exceptional.

There was none of this "safety first" stuff which one tends to associate with Test cricket, although to be fair, Australia had long abandoned that approach. The 2005 series was virtually non-stop aggression, in-your-face attacking cricket which kept spectators on the edge of their seats. It also provided three nail-biting finishes which no film script could possibly have manufactured.

Of course things went back to normal the following year when Australia whitewashed a pitiful England side 5-0.

Since then Australia have lost some of their finest players, most notably the best spinner ever in Shane Warne, the finest batsmen-wicketkeeper in Adam Gilchrist, a top opening bat Mathew Hayden and a brilliantly accurate fast bowler Glenn McGrath. In the last series in Australia more than half of England's wickets were taken by Warne and McGrath.

Nonetheles there is definitely a sense of anticipation in England. The series, which kicks off at the unlikely setting of Cardiff's Sophia Gardens on Wednesday, looks to be wide open. Both sides have an 'average' look about them and there is no overwhelming favourite.

There are a lot of unfamiliar faces in the Australian squad, but this should not be taken as a sign of weakness - they are all good players. A key to Australia's success will be whether left-handed opener Phillip Hughes can keep up his magnificent record he produced playing for Middlesex where in three matches he hit three centuries at an average of 145.5. Now that's not shabby.

On the bowling side it will be important that key strike bowler Mitchell Johnson gets some decent support, with Peter Siddle and Brett Lee most likely joining him in the attack. One thing for sure is that England will be delighted they don't have to face Warne.

Anyone who follows England knows that they are totally unpredictable, except when it comes to mid-innings batting collapses which they've perfected into almost an art form.

They will be hoping to get decent starts from the opening pair of captain Andrew Strauss and Alistair Cook, but it will not be easy. The Aussies know the weak points of every England batsman and you can be sure they will exploit them in every way possible.

Unfortunately for England the tail appears as long as ever and as we have seen all too often, a promising score can suddenly become a very disappointing one as the wickets tumble.

England have a decent, well balanced bowling line-up which should make good use of the local conditions. Much depends on James Anderson maintaining his recent good form and one of the spinners doing well, most likely Graeme Swann.

It has been suggested that, over the years, people in England, especially the spectators have not taken cricket seriously enough. This may be true, although playing the Australians is regarded as something special.

Back in 1992, when trying to rally the nation to her cause, the then prime minister Margaret Thatcher trumpeted: "The world's a better place when we beat the Australians at cricket."

Traditionally England and Australian cricketers have had a slightly different approach to things, with the English regarding the Aussies as somewhat uncouth, while the Aussies tend to see the English as stuck up and in some cases, absolute twits. After all, they are Poms.

The great Australian fast bowler Dennis Lillee caused bit of a stir in 1972 when he greeted Queen Elizabeth at Lord's with: "G'Day, howya doing?" In contrast, Colin Cowdrey introduced himself to Australian fast bowler Jeff Thompson when he went out to the crease in the 1974/75 tour of Australia with a polite: "I don't think we have met. - my name is Cowdrey." It was one of the few times Thompson was lost for words.

Thompson could never really get on with his opponents from the northern hemisphere. When asked what he thought of England he once commented: "I dunno...maybe it's that tally-ho attitude. You know, 'there will always be an England', all that Empire crap they dish out. But I could never cop Poms."

Former England captain Ted Dexter had his own view on his opponents. In 1972 he commented: "I have on occasions taken a quite reasonable dislike to the Australians."

It promises to be an intriguing series and if it is half as good as the 2005 edition there will be no complaints.

Let's just hope the weather holds up in Cardiff - it can get a bit damp in that part of the world at this time of the year.