Enough of the hype
Andrew McGlashan
25-Feb-2013
Hamish Blair/Getty Images
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.
The last Ashes introduced a whole new breed of cricket fans to the game and the hope is that this series will do the same. Lawrence Booth, in The Guardian, gives a guide to some of the phrases you'll be hearing plenty of over the coming weeks.
Andrew McGlashan is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo