Only a full-strength England can win Ashes

With England's big guns Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen are recovering from injuries. Kevin Garside writes in the Daily Telegraph that with England lacking the depth that Australia's squad possesses, both Flintoff and Pietersen need to be at peak fitness if England are to regain the Ashes.

We don't have a Phillip Hughes coming through, or a Mitchell Johnson to step up with ball and bat when Brett Lee goes down. We have an improving team replete with superior triers who are able to compete in the highest class only when its front-line warriors are tooled to the hilt and ready to go.

At this point Flintoff and Pietersen are not. Flintoff is inching towards recovery. Each outing is followed by a wait to see if the impaired knee joint can tolerate the next test. Pietersen does not have that luxury. Two days before the knock that nailed Pakistan to the floor at the Oval he could barely negotiate a set of steps

Peter Bill makes a similar point on his blog in the Independent after watching Pietersen's half-century, which revived England's chances in the World Twenty20.