The PlanetCricket View: Australia ? They Are Back!

[War]

Potentially they could be since the signs are good especially in the bowling. But given the stress they put many ardent AUS supporters through between S Africa 2009 - Ashes 2010/11 (although it wasn't helped by the fact that a poor selection panel was around then) - I am still taking a series by series approach.

Since i thought they may have been back after they won 2-1 in S Africa 09, but we all know what happened then - but i dont expect similar woes to follow mainly because things have changed with the behind the scenes people due to the argus review.

 

[Owzat]

Hmm well England didn't 'comfortably handle' the 2009 Ashes, arguably they got lucky. They won 4 of the 5 tosses, they were generally outscored during the series (and their selectors weren't idiots at The Oval), yet they still won. A couple of batting collapses at The Oval and Lord's gifted them the series really. A drawn series would have been a more appropriate result I think. Then Australia would have retained the Ashes and England might have come down under in 10/11 feeling more pressure to perform than they did when they were holding the urn. Ah well, a man can dream... Damn that Monty Panesar and his broad bat

Apart from Cardiff, England have handled the aussies as comfortably as can be expected. Notice I didn't say easily or use another expression suggesting it was easy, but then people's slant on words can differ.

Compared to what went before it was a relative walk in the park.

 

[sifter132]

AH yes I understand. Quite right, 2009 proved that the gulf between the teams no longer existed.

As to the larger point of the thread, it will come down to how consistently the flashy new super awesome bowlers can produce - and to a lesser extent how solid the batting order can be, particularly after Ponting and Hussey leave.