The Hype Surrounding The Ashes Series

Its an exciting time to be an English cricketer. There has been a lot of hype surrounding the upcoming Ashes series and I think I speak for most of the players when I say I just can’t wait for it to start!

There have been countdowns to the 1st Test for the last three months, or maybe longer, on television and in newspapers. I’m ready for the talking to stop and the series to start.

There is just under a week to go before that 1st Test at Cardiff.

We have just finished a three day warm up game against Warwickshire which ended in a draw. It was good preparation for next week and almost everyone contributed whether it was with bat or ball. Alastair Cook got a good hundred in the first innings and Ravi Bopara in the second.

On the bowling front I picked up five wickets in the first innings with Fred getting two and Monty three. Fred bowled quickly which was good to see and all the other bowlers bowled very well.

Now we have a couple of days rest, then we practice on Monday and Tuesday before the game starts on Wednesday.

I think it will be an interesting and exciting series. If I’m brutally honest I think it will be difficult to match up to the 2005 Ashes series but I do think we have a great chance of winning. The two teams are very different to those that played in the memorable 2005 Ashes but are quite evenly matched.

I know it will be difficult for people to get tickets for the Tests but hopefully you will be able to catch some of it on TV or the radio. Alternatively, I will be putting regular updates on my website so don’t forget to visit and check up on what is happening.