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The gap in talent possessed by the Australian and English teams has been well dissected. But were you to rank the players of each side from 1-22 based on ability and accomplishments, what would be your sequence?
I have chosen the 22 players I expect to feature in the opening Test and placed them in order.
Australia
Shane Watson
Chris Rogers
Ed Cowan
Michael Clarke
Phil Hughes
Steve Smith
Brad Haddin
Peter Siddle
Mitchell Starc
James Pattinson
Nathan Lyon
England
Alastair Cook
Joe Root
Jonathan Trott
Kevin Pietersen
Ian Bell
Jonny Bairstow
Matt Prior
Tim Bresnan
Stuart Broad
Graeme Swann
James Anderson
1. Michael Clarke
Since being appointed skipper, Clarke has risen to rare heights, similar to his opposite number Alastair Cook. But unlike the English captain, who prefers to kill his opponent via a thousand cut shots, Clarke has the capacity to annihilate an attack.
Truly selfless at the crease, he will chance his wicket in order to accelerate the run rate when necessary.
2. Alastair Cook
The English captain is the largest obstacle between Australia and the Ashes. Particularly prolific square of the wicket, Cook entices quicks to bowl full and straight, which then feeds his pet flick shot off the pads.
To overthrow their colonial masters, the Aussies must quell the obdurate Cook. While he is at the crease, England are calm and composed. Once Cook is removed, they are greatly more vulnerable.
3. Jimmy Anderson
The only paceman in world cricket consistently capable of swinging the ball each way with either the new or old ball, Anderson confounds then conquers batsmen.
He may lack the venom, pace and penetration of South African champion Dale Steyn, but is manifestly the second best quick in Test cricket and England’s supreme bowler of the past 20 years.
4. Matt Prior
The English ‘keeper would not look out of place at the head of this list. It is arguable he has been as potent as any Test cricketer over the past two years.
Increasingly assured behind the stumps and devastating with the blade, Prior is a genuine all-rounder.
5. Kevin Pietersen
Cook may be the cornerstone of the English batting line-up, but Pietersen is the batsman Australia truly fear. A showman who relishes the big stage, Pietersen’s Ashes record is phenomenal.
The giant South African will target Australia’s bowlers early in their spells in an attempt to inflict psychological harm.
6. Graeme Swann
The second best spinner in Test cricket, Swann has been in ominous touch since returning from elbow surgery. In his comeback to Test cricket against New Zealand, Swann put a huge amount of revolutions on the ball, helping him to gain disconcerting drift, drop and turn.
His dismissals of Kiwi batsman Dean Brownlie and Martin Guptill in the second Test at Leeds were as good as it gets for an off spinner. The drift of each delivery drew the batsman’s blade away from his front pad, opening up a gap through which the sharply turning balls darted en route to the stumps.
7. Jonathan Trott
He may not give bowlers heart palpitations like Pietersen or Prior, but Trott paves the way for that pair to operate at their menacing best. Australia would almost be prepared to swap economies with England in order to gain a similarly cool and dependable first drop.
When he gets set at the crease alongside Cook, fielding sides steel themselves for an arduous day.
8. James Pattinson
The intense Victorian is the only Aussie quick who has been in compelling form since landing in England. An intimidating paceman, Pattinson will be used in brief, spiteful bursts by Clarke. His battles with Cook and Trott in particular, could well decide the series.
As Australia’s strike bowler, if he is incapable of regularly removing one or both of England’s rocks cheaply, the boys in baggy greens will be chasing huge totals.
9. Peter Siddle
Australia’s most experienced bowler has had an uninspiring start to his Ashes tour but is renowned for lifting a cog once he gets his hands on the ball in a Test.
A more consistent and canny operator than on his last Ashes tour of England, Siddle will be seeking to regain the full length he used to great effect during Craig McDermott’s stint as Aussie bowling coach.
10. Ian Bell
For years an Ashes gimp, Bell struck back with vigour in the 2010-11 series, averaging 66 with the bat.
His form has been indifferent the past 18 months but he remains an elegant batsman with an exemplary technique, tailor made for English conditions.
11. Brad Haddin
The veteran keeper has been Australia’s most consistent runmaker over the past two Ashes contests, with 638 runs at 46. At his best he is an imperious stroke maker who revels in the counterattack.
His form so far in England has been magnificent, mirroring his scintillating touch in the Sheffield Shield last summer.
12. Stuart Broad
The lanky paceman is England’s version of Shane Watson owing to the similarly vast gulf between his best and worst performances.
Swerving the ball through the air and darting it off the deck, Broad dominated the Kiwi batsman in the recent two Test series in England, after struggling in the prior three-Test contest in New Zealand.
13. Tim Bresnan
Once an incisive pace option for England, Bresnan’s form has evaporated since the start of last year due to injury concerns.
Fresh from surgery on his troublesome elbow, he will be hoping to regain the late movement and pace which so often accounted for Aussie batsmen in the last Ashes.
14. Chris Rogers
Perhaps a controversial selection this high in the rankings given he has played just one Test, but no batsman in the series can match his first class record of almost 20,000 runs at an average of 50.
His comfort in English conditions may well help him finish in the top five run scorers for the series.
15. Shane Watson
The most polarising cricketer on either side, Watson has as much natural talent as anyone in world cricket but has so rarely harnessed it at Test level. He does, however, boast a brilliant record in Ashes Tests, with 675 runs at 48.
The all-rounder has the chance to resurrect his ailing career over the next 10 Tests.
16. Nathan Lyon
When judging Nathan Lyon it is worth considering the two best spinners in Test cricket, Swann and Pakistan’s Saeed Ajmal, were six and eight years older respectively than Lyon was when they debuted.
The Aussie tweaker will enter the Ashes armed with the knowledge he gleaned from bowling on the subcontinent to India’s masterful players of spin in February and March.
17. Joe Root
A prodigiously gifted top order batsman, Root may top such a rankings list come the next Ashes series in England.
But the 22-year-old Yorkshire lad he is unproven as a Test opener and will be hounded by Australia’s robust pace battery.
18. Ed Cowan
A dogged batsman who is tricky to remove early in his innings, Cowan has the maddening habit of wasting his starts.
In his new role at number three, the expectations will be greater for him to convert his strong foundations into match-winning tons.
19. Mitchell Starc
Capable of delivering unplayable deliveries in the same over as rank wides, Starc is often compared with fellow Aussie left arm quick Mitchell Johnson. Starc does, however, have a far more pleasing and classical action than Johnson, which allows him to gain more consistent swing back into the right handers.
Should he master the ability to curve the Dukes ball he will pose a significant challenge for England’s batsmen, who laboured against the Kiwis’ left armers.
20. Jonny Bairstow
The 23-year-old has the ability to overwhelm an attack but, similar to most expansive batsman, always appears vulnerable to dismissal.
The Aussie quicks will fancy their chances of teasing a loose stroke out of Bairstow.
21. Steve Smith
Ill-advisedly cast as a bowling all-rounder in the last Ashes series, Smith has set aside his spin bowling aspirations in search of greater proficiency with the blade.
A deft player of spin, his battle with Graeme Swann will be intriguing. Less assured against swing bowling, he will be targeted by Anderson and Broad.
22. Phil Hughes
Undoubtedly talented but famously unreliable, Hughes is probably the player luckiest to be involved in this series, given his continued woes against quality pace bowling and lack of strategy when confronted with spin.
His homespun technique will be challenged once more by Anderson and Swann.