Is that a problem?? It's 11 v 11 and quite frankly I don't care if England hit 500 and 400 of them come from numbers 8, 9 and 10!!! It's a team game

Australia did it for years with the likes of Gilly coming in at 7, Warne at 8, Brett Lee at 9 etc etc. Jason Gillespie has a test match double hundred and even Pigeon Mcgrath hit a test match 50!!

And?

Aussies line up arent firing either and out lower order with the bat is a damn sight better than theres.

So if out top order get knocked over it isnt right for the bowlers to dig us out of a mess....its a 11 man game and if they all chip in with the bat then who cares where the runs come from.......

The tail can only wag so many times, I would back the Aussies top 6 to outscore ours over the course of the series. It's good to see KP and Strauss finding some form and Trott looks fairly good but Bell, Collingwood and Cook don't inspire at all.

We have a settled top 6 going in and the Aussies dont.....arent they on about moving Watson down the order,who has looked good at opener.

Who will there top 6 be?

Do we? Bell has just come in for Morgan and there are doubts over the form of Cook and Collingwood.

Probably no changes for the first test, Watson, Katich, Ponting, Clarke, Hussey, North.

Yes we do. Morgan only got a shout earlier in the summer because Ian Bell got injured. The rest of the batting line up will consist of Strauss, Cook, Trott, KP and Colly just like it was all summer. It's a pretty settled line up for me, even though a couple are struggling for form that is what it will be in the 1st test, I have no doubt

As for the tail wagging, Prior is a more than capable batsman, Broad has come into some bloody good form with the bat and Swann can hang around or hit some quick runs too when he needs too. Australia are really struggling in the spinning department and hence may ensure their groundsman do not produce spinning wickets to keep Swanny at bay. If that is the case I believe our pace attack have more to offer then theirs do.....

Personally I think it's too close to call, Australia are certainly capable of posting some decent totals and can build good partnerships but we do have a good attack. I can just see us being 30-3 on too many occasions and having to play catch up. The runs from Prior, Broad and Swann are great but we should not become too reliant on them.

I think a drwan series or a 2-1 win to either side but I think there is little between the two sides other than we have a better spinner although saying that Hauritz did ok in England. All this poor form for Aus won't last either they will be desperate to get the Ashes back especially on home soil so I think it's very much game on.

Can't argue with that

I reckon we just have enough to sneak it....

That's a bold prediction and not one I'd say that recent history would favour. North's in all sorts of problems (him being talked about future captaincy material would rather hinge on him scoring some runs at some point) and Hussey, while useful in ODI cricket, is really scratching around. Ponting's under pressure, as is Clarke. The only one's to really be fearful of are Watson and Haddin, who can be destructive.

Their lower order isn't as formidable either, Johnson's batting has gone to pieces. This isn't to suggest I don't think they'll raise their game for the Ashes, I just get the feeling England have a more settled side, know what their best XI is, and are in better form than the Aussies. You only need to look at the sparse attendances and recent losses by Cricket Australia to notice that the Aussie public is not confident and the Aussies have lost their aura - a massive thing ahead of any ashes series but particularly one at home. England will have few better chances to win in Aus.

Welcome runs for Colly and Bell but yet again we struggle our way to 300ish, this is England's problem, we don't post big scores often enough.