The Ashes are labelled as the pinnacle of cricket for England players and fans alike. And for the last few decades they have been. England have been inferior to the mighty Aussies and so the challenge has always been to top the old rivals. Since 2005, England have launched an attack on the Australian supremacy and knocked them firmly off their perch. The Ashes are no longer the big deal.
For sure history will always tell us that England vs. Australia is the key clash in Test Match cricket. But when the Ashes return next summer, England will be expected to win at a canter. The Australians are no longer a supreme power while England are at the top of their game, especially at home.
One team that has the line-up to challenge Andy Flowers England is South Africa. Led by Graeme Smith, South Africa are the most consistent side apart from England and have a bowling attack capable of destroying even England’s much-vaunted batting line-up.
It is the strength of the opposition that makes the decision to schedule only three test matches in this series all the more incredible. For the last few weeks we have played worthless One Day Internationals against Australia when the public could have been witnessing a classic clash between the top test sides in the world. There will be five test matches against Australia next summer and there should have been five matches in this series.
Very few test teams have been able to get anywhere near England on home soil recently. India, a great test side were swept aside last year. The last time Australia visited they came up well short. South Africa could be the one side to present a genuine threat to England’s dominance.
Dale Steyn is the number one test bowler in the world and is a phenomenal test cricketer. He leads a South African bowling attack including the persistent Morne Morkel, the new star Vernon Philander and the missing piece of the jigsaw, spinner Imran Tahir. The bowling setup is the strength and Strauss, Cook, Trott and co. will need to be at the top of their game to fend them off.
What makes South Africa an all round threat is the considerable strength of their batting line up. With Graeme Smith at the top and backed up by the likes of Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis and the man who will also take the gloves, A.B. de Villiers. This is a batting side more than capable of scoring the runs necessary to allow their stunning bowlers to take twenty wickets and win the series.
England of course enter this series at the peak of their powers. They will not fear South Africa and nor should they. James Anderson is hot on the heels of Dale Steyn at the top of the world rankings, while England also possess the worlds best spinner in Graeme Swann. In addition to this, there is no better side with the bat in hand. England have strength in their batting all the way down to Graeme Swann at number 10 and their top order rarely fails in English conditions and will be confident of combating the South African threat.
There are so many key clashes, which make this a fascinating series. We can only pray that the weather holds off and allows this clash to happen in its entirety. For sure this is as tough as it gets on home soil for this extraordinary England team. If they succeed in this series, they will undoubtedly be the finest test side in the world and rank as one of the best ever. I for one cannot wait.
