England 2005 vs 2012

I too wish to apologise, all I was really trying to say is that all teams have ups and downs and that the closeness of that series indicates that the gap between England and the rest may not be as great as some may perceive. I personally look forward to the next ashes as I have for the first time in years a good feeling about the direction in which Australian cricket is moving and am quietly confident a new look Australia team may be able to challenge for the top spot in the not too distant future.

thanks for correcting me duncan my bad. I was thinking of the great series at the start of the century. Will the likes of ponting (37) hussey (36) Haddin (34) still be key ingredients to your success in the upcoming ashes back to back series? Personally i dont think this squad or any squad at present is capable of dominating the sport such as the aussies and WI's did so brilliantly.
Even if you are able to as you put it 'challenge for the top spot' i don't believe your current squad has the capabilities to rule the roost.
You are rebuilding and that takes time i mean look how long it took england to reach the top. I do feel you will come back strong but i cannot see it happening in england though perhaps a stronger defence may be upheld down under.

I don't think Haddin will be that much of a loss and apart from this most recent series Ponting hasn't really contributed much in the last 2 years and Hussey should play for another 3 years (I hope). Batting is going to be the big problem for Australia for the next few years, I guess we'll just have to see who gets unearthed and I suppose there is always the possibility that Hughes and Khawaja may come good despite their problems. As we know Bell and Cook didn't have the greatest starts to their careers and struggled particularly against the Aussies and now they are phenomenal players. On the plus side the fast bowling stock seems in good order and I'd watch out for youngsters like Mitchell Marsh and James Faulkner as well as Pattinson and Cummins.

With Hughes & Khawaja being dropped doesn't mean they won't around scoring runs by the next ashes series and beyond....the Waugh twins and Chapell bros. and many more got dropped before showing what they are made of.
I hope Ponting travels to England, because if he does he will have a lot to prove and could be the difference between winning and losing, as long as he continues his current run I can't see why not.

By the time the ashes series in England arrives our up and coming young quicks will have another summer under their belt to correct the little things needed to make a very good bowler.

thanks for the comments guys! Was wondering if you could give me any feedback on the quality of the article and perhaps offer advice, improvements or criticisms as I am a young budding journalist so this would be very helpful thanks.

Duncan, I don't know about you, but I see the 2009 England team as a very different one that plays now. Then we were still obsessed by Freddie, and many have strange theories as to how that impacted on Jimmeh's performances. Whatever the reasoning, Anderson is a different bowler since 2009. Bell, Cook, Broad, Prior, and Swann have all improved immeasurably, and we found Trott, Tremlett, Finn and Bresnan.

The Aussie team we played in 2010/11 hadn't moved on from 2009. England did. But, the Australia team of today has certainly moved on, and like you I don't expect a repeat of the 3-1 thumping in the next Ashes.

hazsa, I would even argue that the Australia team actually regressed between 2009 and 2010/11, whereas obviously England improved hugely in that period.

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Clarke is maturing into the player everyone knew he could be, much like Bell. Would you write off Ponting and Hussey? It's not inconceivable that such an Ashes tour would be their swansong.

But, 1-3 look very weak, so you may be right!

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