Throng

Wednesday 8th July 7.15pm

Five presents highlights of the first Ashes Test between England and Australia at the SWALEC Stadium in Cardiff. All eyes will be on Andrew Strauss’s men as they aim to emulate the success of 2005. The action is presented by Mark Nicholas with commentary and analysis by Geoffrey Boycott, Ian Chappell and Simon Hughes. Throughout the summer, cricketing legend Richie Benaud joins the team to present the Saturday edition of the show.

One of the biggest events in the English sporting calendar gets underway this week as the Ashes begins. England will be looking to repeat their triumph in 2005, when they defeated Ricky Ponting’s men 2-1. They will also be keen to erase painful memories of the 5-0 whitewash they suffered in the last Ashes series in Australia in 2007.

Since the famous urn was last contested, England have suffered a period of great upheaval. Michael Vaughan stepped down as captain in 2008 after losing the series against South Africa. His replacement, Kevin Pietersen, led the side in just three Tests, winning one, losing one and drawing one. Pietersen was forced to stand down after a very public spat with coach Peter Moores, who was also let go by the ECB.

Andrew Strauss stepped into the breach and captained England on their tour of the West Indies. England lost the Test series 1-0 before securing a surprising 5-0 win in the one-day tournament. The start of the English summer season saw Strauss guide his team to a confidence-boosting 2-0 Test series win against the Windies. This was followed by a 2-0 ODI series victory.

England’s cricketers have most recently been active in the ICC World Twenty20, under the command of Paul Collingwood. After a shocking loss to the Netherlands on the first day of the tournament, the team beat Pakistan, before losing to South Africa and then defeating India in the Super Eights stage. Hopes of reaching the semi-finals were dashed in an agonising rain-affected loss to the West Indies.

As the selectors gather to pick the side for the all- important Ashes, they will be boosted by the news that Andrew Flintoff has made an earlier-than- expected return from injury. Flintoff took an impressive six wickets in Lancashire’s recent game against Durham. Other familiar faces pressing their claim for inclusion in the side include Ian Bell, who has been in good touch for Warwickshire, and Michael Vaughan, who has yet to wholly convince for Yorkshire this season.

Australia, meanwhile, return with a rather different side to the one that let the Ashes slip from their grasp in 2005. Two giants of the game, Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath, have long since departed, and some observers have speculated that Australia’s long years of dominance may be drawing to a close. The Aussies’ winter tour saw them sink to a 2-0 Test series loss in India. Australia followed this with a 2-0 win in New Zealand, before falling to a 2-1 series defeat at home to South Africa.

The Australians’ summer tour of England started in surprising fashion with two consecutive losses in the World Twenty20. Defeats against the West Indies and Sri Lanka saw Ponting’s men dumped out of the competition in the group stage.

Ponting is well aware, however, that Twenty20 cricket has little to compare with the Test variety, and an Ashes tournament has little to compare with other Test series. The stakes are high, the rivalry is fierce and the will to win is tremendous. Who will triumph this time around?