Man to man, it's England to dominate Ashes

IT is an exercise that has stood us in good stead before the past few Ashes series. A simple match-up of the two sets of players, resulting in a composite team.

IT is an exercise that has stood us in good stead before the past few Ashes series. A simple match-up of the two sets of players, resulting in a composite team.

From 2005, when Michael Vaughan's team turned back the tide of Australian dominance, to 2010-11, when England won three Tests abroad by an innings, it has been a crude but effective way of evaluating the strengths of the teams, and the result.

The added difficulty this year is guessing which XI will take the park for Australia. In years gone by, their team was a given. This year, though, the batting looks especially fluid.

With four opening batsmen making the trip, you could perm any number of combinations. With England deliberating over only one position - Tim Bresnan or Steven Finn - that uncertainty is in itself a sign of where both teams are in their development.

Alastair Cook v Chris Rogers. Rogers, charmingly, has described himself as a "one Test, three coaches" man. Nevertheless, his selection, while highlighting the threadbare batting resources available to Australia, remains a shrewd one.

An experienced, tough, though not-so-easy-on-the-eye run-getter, he brings some solidity to the top order. But up against one of the greatest openers of the present-day game in Cook, a man whose appetite for runs remains undiminished, Rogers must step aside. Head to head winner Cook.

Joe Root v Shane Watson.Watson, rightly, has been restored to the top of the order by Darren Lehmann, who spent much of his first few days trying to reintegrate the sulking all-rounder inside the tent. Even so, his record as an opener is far from perfect: he has scored only two Test hundreds, exactly the same number as the opener England are likely to discard, Nick Compton, and that in 41 Tests.

Root, on the other hand, is inexperienced as an opener and unproven as an Ashes performer, fine young player though he looks. A fit, firing and integrated Watson, with the added bonus of his bowling, would be an asset to any side. Head to head winner Watson.

Jonathan Trott v Ed Cowan. Cowan, with more runs than any other Australia batsman in India bar Michael Clarke, is the casualty of the change of coaching regime, having lost his opening position to Rogers. He is a workmanlike player, with the added experience of English conditions thanks to his time at Nottinghamshire. Trott is among the hungriest of run-gatherers and there are few players who seem so consistently focused at the crease. A better player, he is likely to outscore his opposite number. Head to head winner Trott.

Kevin Pietersen v Phillip Hughes. Not much of a match-up this: one of the great destroyers of modern bowling against a young player with more holes in his technique than a colander. The taller bowlers will enjoy Hughes's square-on, jumpy back-foot technique, while Graeme Swann will have watched Hughes's struggles in India against Ravichandran Ashwin with some anticipation. Pietersen looks fit and hungry and ready to fly. Head to head winner Pietersen.

Ian Bell v Michael Clarke. A fully fit Clarke gets into any team in the world. A sublime player at his best, his nimble footwork will be Australia's best answer to the threat of Swann. England will hit him hard with pace early on, as they feel he is a little vulnerable outside off stump and to a well-directed bouncer.

Bell, fine player though he is, will have to make way for the Australia captain, and if the kind of sloppiness that has crept into his batting continues, he may find himself under some pressure before the end of the summer. Head to head winner Clarke.

Jonny Bairstow v David Warner. Will Warner play? If so, where will he bat? Lehmann, the Australia coach, talked this week of wiping the slate clean for Warner, which is all very well, except that the slate cannot be wiped clean until the opening day of the Ashes. Head to head winner Warner.

A self-harming disciplinary measure meant that Warner missed out playing on the best batting pitch in the country at Taunton. Still, his aggressive attitude will be to Lehmann's liking, although if he bats in the middle order, it will be the first time he has done so in Tests. There are an equal number of question marks about Bairstow's hard-handed, leg-side dominant technique, despite him pipping Compton for the final batting place. Warner, with a better record, averaging 39 to Bairstow's 31, with three more Test hundreds and a point to prove, gets the nod.

Matt Prior v Brad Haddin. A terrific match-up between two outstanding cricketers. Both are highly aggressive batsmen, capable of counter-attacking brilliantly and both are key, influential cricketers within their respective set-ups. There is very little to choose between them: Haddin has been out of international cricket for a while, whereas Prior has had an indifferent start to the season. Aged 31 to Haddin's 35, Prior should be at the peak of his powers. Head to head winner Prior.

Stuart Broad v Mitchell Starc. A good match-up between two feisty bowlers with pretensions as handy lower-order batsmen. Starc could be a dangerous bowler for Australia this summer, given the relative weakness of some England batsmen to left-arm over bowlers - although he will provide plenty of ammunition for Swann. Broad is a proven Ashes performer, someone you want by your side if things get tetchy. He is a player for the big stage, as he proved during his match-winning spell at The Oval during the 2009 Ashes. He gets the nod over Starc's unproven potential.  Head to head winner Broad.

Graeme Swann v Nathan Lyon. Swann is England's best spin bowler since Derek Underwood, and Lyon continues to operate under Shane Warne's shadow as all recent Australia spinners have done. Swann will also have the added advantage of bowling at a minimum of four left-handers in Australia's top six. The long-range forecast for July is dry and hot and Swann will be a key point of difference between the sides. Head to head Swann.

Steven Finn v James Pattinson. Will it be Finn or Bresnan? Finn is the bold choice, Bresnan the likely one, but each has a slight question mark over them. Is Bresnan back to his snappy best after his elbow operation, and is Finn consistent enough to apply the kind of pressure that is the basis of England's strategy? Pattinson, with 40 wickets in ten Tests and three five-wicket hauls, has had an outstanding start to his career and could be a bolter for Australia, lively enough to cause problems and skilful enough to move the ball at pace. Head to head winner Pattinson. 

James Anderson v Peter Siddle. Siddle is something of a throwback to the no-nonsense, wholehearted cricketer that typified Australia's cricket for so long. As committed as he is, however, he is a limited bowler in comparison with the man who leads England's attack, Anderson. The Lancastrian is at the height of his powers at the moment, highly skilled, still physically strong and committed to passing Sir Ian Botham's tally of Test wickets for England. Anderson will be licking his lips at the possibilities offered by playing the first Test of the series at his favourite ground, Trent Bridge. Head to head winner Anderson.

Seven England players to Australia's four marks the biggest differential between the teams since the glory days of Australian cricket. We are not quite in the territory famously described by former Australia captain, Mark Taylor, who said, before the 1995 series, that he'd have one only England player in his team (Darren Gough) and that was to carry the drinks, but nevertheless, England have a significant advantage this time around.

Only one Australia batsman averages more than 40, as opposed to all of England's; Anderson has more Test wickets than Australia's likely four leading bowlers put together. Sometimes it pays not to look beyond the obvious.

The Times