The Australian team may not be the same invincible unit of international cricket that it was famous for being for so long; but anyone that underestimates this team will do so at their own peril and certainly the English team cannot afford to do that now; their wins against the West Indians notwithstanding. Meanwhile Aussie captain Ricky Ponting has come out in favour of test cricket in direct contradiction of the sentiments expressed by his West Indian counterpart Chris Gayle. Far from thinking test cricket outdated, Ricky Ponting has come out in favour of this format of international cricket and was quoted in the cricket news as saying that this is the ultimate form of the game. He seems to agree with English captain Andrew Strauss when he says that I've always viewed Test cricket as the ultimate form of our game and nothing's changed for me there. Saying that this was the “pinnacle” for his team, he expressed great enthusiasm, looking forward to the upcoming Ashes series in July. He credited his team with making test cricket as enjoyable a spectacle as possible and expressed the view that the 2005 Ashes (which the English team won) invigorated test cricket the world over. He is expecting the upcoming Ashes to enhance the interest of spectators in international test cricket as well. Over the years we have known some unbeatable Australian sides with some of the best players in international cricket in the side. The same cannot be said about the present Aussies outfit which is by contrast a rather inexperienced looking side with all the big names a part of the glorious Aussie past. However the English team is also known to have its share of problems, from infighting to injury to lack of form among some of the players. So the English would do well not to, in any manner underestimate the Australians. They still have a very competent seam attack led by Mitchell Johnson who is also very handy with the bat. Add to this the fact that Stuart Clark will be relishing the prospect of bowling in English conditions which are very favourable for his kind of bowling. And Brett Lee is now just about hitting form so the bowling attack looks very solid indeed. They do have a bit of trouble with the spin bowling department, and more than one commentator in the cricket news has pointed out that recalling Shane Warne would be an excellent solution to the problem. In the IPL the spin wizard has displayed not only that his uncanny ability with the ball is undiminished, but that he is an excellent leader with a terrific cricket brain. As for the Aussie batting they still have quite a lot of experience in the side with Ponting arguably one of the best in the game of international cricket still, and names like Michael Clarke and Michael Hussey still available for the team. As of now it does appear as though it could be anyone’s Ashes this year the teams appear well balanced and eager to get at one another.   read more »