The Greatest Contest of All

There's sport, and then there's sport.

Two and a half years after winning back the Ashes in a five-nil clean sweep, The Aussie cricket team is on the eve on their defence... and this series promises to be a cracker.

For the Aussies, much of the old guard is gone. Only four players remain from the side that last toured England in 2005. Greats such as Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer, Adam Gilchrist, Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath are gone. In their place are a host of fresh faces, some of whom have already excelled at test level, and others with the promise to. Talk about being thrown into the deep end.

Brett Lee's unfortunate injury leaves Australia with a bowling attack who have never played a test on English soil. Much speculation is being made about these men; some have questioned if they are up to the challenge, while others have written them off already. I have no doubts about the ability of players like Mitchell Johnson and Stuart Clark to make an impact. Johnson in particular was fabulous last summer, while Clark has proven time and time again that he truly is a class bowler in the McGrath mould.

With the bat we have a fresh opening combination in Simon Katich and Phil Hughes. Katich is experienced and dependable, while Hughes is an exciting young player with limitless potential. He could very well be the anchor of Australia's test opening combination for the next ten years.

It's great to see Brad Haddin becoming confortable in the wicketkeeping role. Adam Gilchrist is a hard act to follow, however Haddin seems to finally relishing the role with the realisation that all that is expected is for him to play his own natural game. But much will depend on the form of skipper Ricky Ponting. We all know what he is capable of with the bat, however we also know that for him, runs have been elusive of late. Let's hope he can rediscover the spark that has made him one of the greatest batsmen of all time. I have my bets on the fact that he will.

As for our opposition, the English side are enjoying a high level of confidence. Fresh from victory against the West Indies and with stars such as Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff in their lineup, the Poms are talking themselves up ahead of the first test. In my view it's a fairly even matchup. England are fairly confident but they're also underestimating what our young team are capable of.

One thing is for sure however, this series is going to be one of the closest we've seen. Bring it on!