I was confident England would win the Ashes … and then I saw the Aussies

U ntil a couple of weeks ago I was pretty confident about England’s chances of winning the Ashes, but a combination of Jack Leach’s injury and watching Australia win the World Test Championship final has got all sorts of doubts creeping in. Still, I can’t wait for the series to start and I’m delighted that it’s happening at Edgbaston, home of the raucous Hollies stand. It’s going to be buzzing and Ben Stokes’s team will absolutely love that sense of occasion.

The visitors will get plenty of stick, which won’t be anything new for most members of the Australia side, but it will be significant. There’s no doubt the crowd will be England’s 12th man and the team might need them.

There has been a lot of talk about Australia’s bowling, but their batting deserves more focus. This England team has a clear identity and real certainty about how they want to bat as a group. Australia take it differently, but there is no less clarity: every individual knows how they want to approach the game. David Warner is very busy, takes advantage of width, tries to get on the front foot early; Usman Khawaja tends to hang back but will pull if it’s short; Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith – they all seem to have a very proven, consistent method of playing at international level.

Beyond them Travis Head produced a fabulous knock at the Oval and Alex Carey looked good in both innings and had a real rhythm to his batting. There’s no uncertainty there: it is a group full of players who have scored significant international runs and know what they’re doing.

That’s not to say the bowlers won’t be a danger. I expect Scott Boland to play in the first Test, given his form and the fact that England will be carrying a few scars given the impact he made in