Australia's no-names strike a blow for team ethic

Australia have a willingness to subsume individual identity for the greater good, and the point is made by fixing a light on Marcus North or Ben Hilfenhaus, two comparative no-name graduates to a team deprived of its celebrity sheen. Writes Paul Hayward on his Guardian blog:

The yard-dog ethic and the need to stick to the masterplan were both known to North and Hilfenhaus as they seized another chance to gild their Test careers. Modesty and intensity were their offerings as well as previously underrated skill. Badge-kissing is not to everyone's taste, but when North removed his helmet and planted lips on crest after swiping a six to bring up his second hundred of the series, there was no hint of contrivance.

Justin Langer's dossier detailing England's Ashes weaknesses is not the first attempt by cricketers to pigeon-hole their opponents, writes Vic Marks in the Guardian.

Writing in the Times, Shane Warne says all the fuss over leaks, dossiers, Ashes files sounds very dramatic, but before MI5 gets on the case, let’s look at it from another angle. Warne would have been amazed if Langer hadn’t been asked to pass on a few tips to the boys. He’s been in England for long enough now to be a pretty good source of information.