Cricket: England look strong ahead of Ashes

Inconsistent Australia cannot rely on England to fall in a spectacular heap - a la 2006-07 - when they attempt to regain the Ashes urn next summer.

Mentally strong and well-led by Andrew Strauss, England's tourists to South Africa are showing the characteristics of a team on the rise, able to fight their way out of serious trouble and then strike with tremendous force at the appropriate moment.

And that form hasn't escaped Australian coach Tim Nielsen, who has been keeping an eye on England during their South African tour.

"They've obviously got a lot of good character around the team at the moment, they've found their way out of a couple of tough situations three or four times in the last eight or nine Tests," Nielsen said.

"They've actually got to the stage where their backs are right against the wall and they've been able to fight through with either tremendous individual performances or the whole team sticking together, so those are good signs for them.

"It's interesting to note that they find themselves in those positions regularly, something's not quite working right if you're forever saving Test matches, but having said that they played beautifully at Durban."

While the Ashes series remains nearly a year away, Australia has never quite taken its mind off the dramatic loss of the fifth Test at the Oval.

That result was lamented by some as having allowed the English to grab the Ashes almost by accident, having struggled for long tracts of the series, but since then the result has come to seem a fair reflection of the teams.

England can be awful, but have moments of greatness in them.

The Australians, by contrast, are treading water much of the time and are far more susceptible to collapses than at any stage in the last 20 years.

Nielsen said the capacity to fight out a Test match and remain standing on day five was a quality England had demonstrated.

"You do have an opportunity in Test cricket to have times when you're not playing your best," he said.

"Probably the teams that can fight back from those times and don't lose faith or confidence have the most chance of success, whether it be saving the game or winning the game.

"It's not like a one dayer or Twenty20 where in three or four overs your whole game can be lost and it's almost play the game out and hope you get out of jail, you really can fight your way through a Test match and England are showing that at the moment."

Pakistan's coach Intikhab Alam, whose side will meet the Australians in England this year in a second Test series before the Ashes, said the team captained by Ricky Ponting would be favourites at home.

"I think the Australians, I would say, are favourite," he said.

"They have a good bowling attack especially playing in their home country.

"England are not a bad side."

- AAP