The Surfer

Deep in the bowels of the Gabba, the cricketers of England and Australia quietly completed their final preparations. Their waiting was nearly over, the hour of battle was at hand. Surely they felt mixed emotions. What might the next day hold? Triumph or despair?, asks Peter Roebuck in in The Sydney Morning Herald.

25-Feb-2013

Also in The Sydney Morning Herald, Geoffrey Boycott writes that there is no pressure on Andrew Flintoff. He just needs to "needs to bowl well, bat brilliantly and lead superbly".

'I won't watch a single ball'

There has been almost as much written about the England players who won't be at the Ashes as those who will

25-Feb-2013

There has been almost as much written about the England players who won't be at the Ashes as those who will. Michael Vaughan and Marcus Trescothick won't play any part in the series but perhaps the biggest loss to England is Simon Jones who tormented Australia with reverse swing in 2005. He is finding it difficult to accept that he won't have a role Down Under and in an interview with the Western Mail says he can't bring himself to watch the first Test.

It's not the same when you're not involved in the squad, it really hurts. I haven't played a full Ashes series out there, obviously I started the last one but didn't finish it. And I felt sick when I knew I wouldn't be playing a part in it. I had visions of playing this winter and going through the same emotions I did last summer.

Enough of the hype

25-Feb-2013

No more practice sessions and no more build-up press conferences, the Ashes are almost upon us. The newspapers are filled with the final round of hype-building talk but all agree that what has been said over the last year will count for nothing come the first morning at Brisbane. Martin Johnson, in the Daily Telegraph says that Australia's bullish mood is only to be expected but and the most important factor is how England manage to ignore it.

Magnificent bowler though he's been, it's a legitimate query as to how many of his Test wickets Warne has taken through advance publicity alone. If he's not talking about the flipper it's the zooter, the slider, or the wrong 'un. He'll shortly start working on a ball that loops the loop, disappears down his trouser leg, and whistles Waltzing Matilda before rattling into the stumps.

Good as green and gold, mate

Are the Aussies running scared

ESPNcricinfo staff

25-Feb-2013

Are the Aussies running scared? Their latest idea would indicate perhaps – they have commissioned a series of giant photos featuring eleven members of the Australian team alongside Australian supporters in a sea of green and gold.

“They are essentially the thirteenth man out there every time we take the field,” said Ricky Ponting, with no trace of media-massaging in his message. “These team photos will be a great opportunity for the players to acknowledge the important role that the fans play in our success.”

A statement from Cricket Australia said the campaign was aimed at “getting Aussie fans to ‘go off in green and gold’ this summer and create an intimidating sea of green and gold at every match to combat the invading Barmy Army.” It smacks more of a marketing wheeze to shift more shirts – but the picture could still make a nice souvenir. And the images taken at the event will be available free to participants on-line after the event.

Anyone who owns a replica of the new 2006-2007 Aussie one-dayer shirt can be captured in the photo. But don’t worry if you’ve not pre-registered; if you arrive at the Gabba by 1.30pm in your shirt you can still get in the frame. And if you’ve not even got a shirt, you can buy one on the day. Registration starts at 12.30pm.

Flintoff's men in good shape for their ultimate test

25-Feb-2013

After a lamentable start in Canberra, where Andrew Flintoff's side were thrashed by the Prime Minister's XI, England supporters would have feared the worst, but the team has performed admirably in its final two warm-up matches, against New South Wales and South Australia, and fans can now look forward to the Ashes with optimism, writes Angus Fraser in The Independent.

After all the selectorial upheavals on both sides over the past 14 months, it is amazing to see players such as Damien Martyn, Michael Clarke and Ashley Giles all back in the running for Brisbane. The first Test of 2006-7 is in danger of turning into a 2005 reunion, says Simon Briggs in The Daily Telegraph.

The money spinner

Thanks to their Ashes success in 2005, England's cricketers are now more attractive to sponsors than ever before and with that comes new-found wealth

25-Feb-2013

Thanks to their Ashes success in 2005, England's cricketers are now more attractive to sponsors than ever before and with that comes new-found wealth. At the top of the list are Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen, but coming up on the blindside is Monty Panesar who has huge untapped potential. In The Times, Kevin Eason takes a look at what another Ashes victory could mean to the bank balances of England's leading players.

Another Ashes victory Down Under will only add to the astonishing new financial drawing power of England’s cricketing elite. Sponsors are queueing to put millions more into the England pot so that they can grab their slice of players who, for the first time in a generation, have become household names.

Keeping up with Jones

25-Feb-2013

It has been a traumatic opening week or so: humiliated in Canberra; savaged in the local media, and even before a first-class ball has been bowled there is an England career lying in tatters, writes Mike Atherton in The Sunday Telegraph. However, he means Chris Read and not Marcus Trescothick.

Also in The Sunday Telegraph, Andrew Strauss says that overcoming the jitters could give England a crucial advantage.

The verbal battle

Much has been made of how 'matey' the England and Australia players became during the last Ashes series, especially Kevin Pietersen, Shane Warne, Andrew Flintoff and Brett Lee

25-Feb-2013

Much has been made of how 'matey' the England and Australia players became during the last Ashes series, especially Kevin Pietersen, Shane Warne, Andrew Flintoff and Brett Lee. Former Australian players have told the team to stop being so friendly so listening to the stump microphones could be an interesting part of the next six weeks. Stephen Brenkley, in The Independent on Sunday takes a look at the possible sledging battles and picks out some classic lines from the past.

The cordial relations between the sides in the previous Ashes have been cited as a contributory factor in Australia's defeat. "We didn't have an edge to our game," said Allan Border, under whose stewardship Australia were zealous in trying to undermine opponents with a verbal volley.

A breeding ground for nurturing depression

Mark Richardson says that "a tour of Australia is no place to be for someone suffering from depression " in The New Zealand Herald .

25-Feb-2013

Mark Richardson says that "a tour of Australia is no place to be for someone suffering from depression" in The New Zealand Herald.

I wish Trescothick - an opening batsman whom I've always held in the utmost admiration, the best in overcoming this illness and hope he returns to the international level. Now, speaking of things mental, has anyone else noticed that in a game between Auckland and Northern Districts, last week Hamish Marshall made 170 not out?

The Pakistan board organised a seminar of ex-players, board officials and regional administrators to discuss the path the cricket must take in the country to achieve long-term success. Qamar Ahmed writing in The Dawn wasn't too impressed.

Seminar on cricket

The Pakistan board organised a seminar of ex-players, board officials and regional administrators to discuss the path the cricket must take in the country to achieve long-term success

Nishi Narayanan

25-Feb-2013

It has never come to fruition and it may never yet come off any better. These summits summoned by every new chairman taking over the reins of the PCB have so far turned out to be an absolute waste of time, money and energy and nothing more than an exercise to announce that they exist and know better than their predecessors.

In good times no one cares. I, however, find it glaringly distasteful that every time the graph goes downhill of a Pakistan team they become a laughing stock. The players, the officials and those responsible for it are then summoned for explanation.