Preservatives for passion

Andrew Culf writes in the Guardian that England must "bottle this feeling", and grasp "an extraordinary opportunity to reinvigorate the game at the grassroots."

Hugh Robertson of the Daily Telegraph agrees, and feels that the government has a big part to play, as he extols the "benefits of sport as a tool of government."

Meanwhile, John Westerby reports in the Times that one of the primary aims of the ECB, that "three England players would be recognisable by 10 per cent of the population by 2009," is already within reach.

And in case you haven't read them yet, here are celebrations of the Ashes by our own writers, Andrew Miller and Sambit Bal.