Time to get on with the Ashes

This has been a long summer already. The Bangladesh Tests made for a tepid starter, and though the seven-match NatWest Series added some unexpected spice, the Ashes is the only course that matters in the long run. Which makes the stodgy NatWest Challenge all the more unwelcome. Honestly, what is the point of this series?

With a fortnight to go until the first Test, what more can we learn about these sides that we don't already know? We've already seen that they can scrap with the best - because they are the best. Australia bounced back impressively from their early humiliations, while England demonstrated every inch of their fighting qualities in the final at Lord's on Saturday. The sides have shown themselves to be inseparable in one-day cricket. It's time they were allowed to express themselves fully in the course of a five-day contest.

Some would disagree, though, that this diet of one-day cricket is getting tedious - today's crowd at Headingley for instance. Denied an Ashes Test of their own to savour, they were certainly appreciative of this 50-over taster - and the West Stand was in its usual hearty voice. And more importantly, today was an opportunity for Marcus Trescothick and Andrew Strauss to prove that they can cut it against the big boys, and not just bully the smaller ones.

In the NatWest Series, Trescothick and Strauss helped themselves to 560 runs in three matches against Bangladesh, as opposed to 79 in four against Australia, so today's hundred partnership was cathartic in the extreme. Even so, they were both extremely lucky to survive the first ten overs. Brett Lee - who has all but played himself back into the Test team - and Glenn McGrath will have been watching with continued interest.

But if the openers are England's weak link for the moment, then Australia will be growing ever more concerned about the form of Jason Gillespie. Form is temporary, but the ageing process is permanent, and Gillespie's ten overs for 66 were the performance of a man with nine years on the clock and more injuries in one body than most teams carry in their entire squads. He has the class to pull his performances around in the Tests, but after tormenting Trescothick in his past two series, Gillespie is discovering what it is like to be the hunted party.

The continued manoeuvring for pre-Ashes advantages, however, did prove one thing. It is cricket and the characters involved that stir the crowds, not quirky innovations such as supersubs. Both captains used their powerplay overs at the first possible opportunity - in effect, fielding with one hand tied behind their backs for the first 20 overs, rather than 15.

Given the news emerging from London, however, this was a day when not many people's thoughts were on the cricket - Ashes or otherwise.