Reasons to be cheerful (part 1)

One England fan was berating me yesterday for being an “old grumpus”. He may have a point: there’s certainly a 12-year-old in north London who knows exactly what he means. So today I’m leaning the other way. Here are some reasons for England supporters – and any neutrals hoping for another classic Ashes – to be cheerful.

Fred’s up for it Not content with being a top bowler, fine batsman, ace fielder and decent captain, Andrew Flintoff is also rather good at public relations. He gave great press conference yesterday, exuding bonhomie without veering off into bluster. He looked relaxed, eager, and raring to go. Dammit, he even looked fit.

There’s a proper vice-captain For some reason, England don’t like naming a vice-captain, but we all know who it is this time: Andrew Strauss. Duncan Fletcher’s captains have a habit of getting injured and England have often got their boxers in a twist deciding who takes over. In 2001, Mike Atherton even returned for two Tests in place of Nasser Hussain, losing them both. Last winter Marcus Trescothick first inherited the captaincy, then abandoned it. For the first time since Nasser was vice-captain to Alec Stewart, eight years ago, England are going on tour with a ready-made deputy for the captain. Strauss has won a Test series as captain himself (unlike Flintoff), and if he is not too sore, he has all the attributes of an excellent no.2 – a cool head, a sharp mind, and a modest ego.