Cricket: Steve Waugh predicts close Ashes contest

By BRIAN McKENNA

Steve Waugh, the Australia captain, says England's recent performances mean that they will go into the summer's Ashes series as slight favourites.

While England have won their last four Tests including the defeat of Pakistan on Monday, Australia surrendered their world record 16-match winning streak when they lost 2-1 defeat in India in their last series.

At a farewell dinner for the Australian limited-overs team, which leaves Sydney for Britain tonight, Waugh said: "We've lost the last two Test matches so we'll go in as underdogs, I'm sure, in the first Test."

Past results, however, would indicate otherwise. Australia have held the Ashes since 1989 and have won their last three visits convincingly. In 1989 they enjoyed a 4-0 win; in 1993 it was 4-1; and four years ago they were 3-2 winners.

This reverse psychology went largely unnoticed by his team-mates. Glenn McGrath, Australia's main strike bowler, was in no mood to play mind games. "Deep down, they don't really believe they can beat us," he said.

That view was echoed by the batsman Justin Langer, who said he doubted England were mentally tough enough to compete with the Australians. "I think there's got to be some pretty deep scars there. Over the last decade a lot of their players have played Ashes and lost Ashes before and hopefully we can open up some of those scars early and see how they perform under pressure," he said.

"If we can open up a few doubts they might start thinking 'here we go again' and that's only going to benefit us."

But Waugh is not so sure and thinks his country's great rivals are a different proposition this time. "England are a very good side at the moment. They've got a good team unit, camaraderie, and they're a lot tougher than I think they've been in the past," he said. "This will be a very good Ashes series and very competitive and we're going to have to play very well to win it."

The tourists leave for England with their oldest side since 1909 with an average age of 30 years and seven months. While some fear the side may now be past its best and in need of an injection of new blood, Australia's seasoned captain has continuing confidence in the players who have made Australia the No 1 Test nation.

"If you are good enough it does not matter how old you are. It is an ageing side but it's still a very good side," he said.

The Australian Cricket Board's selectors have opted for continuity, resisting the temptation to make radical changes following the defeat in India. Their decision to stand by the idea of selecting separate Test and one-day teams means that a handful of Test players were staying behind at home before joining the party next month.

They originally named a 16-man squad for the Ashes series and 14 players for the one-dayers, but later they added a second wicketkeeper, Wade Seccombe, to both squads to ease the burden on the vice-captain, Adam Gilchrist. The fast bowlers Brett Lee and Jason Gillespie both had to pass fitness tests after breaking down earlier in the year.

The selection was fairly predictable, with the left-arm paceman Nathan Bracken and the seamer Damien Fleming named as back-ups for the quick bowlers and the promising Western Australian, Simon Katich, recalled as a reserve batsman.

Shane Warne, who has tormented the English more than anyone else over the past decade, was named with the effervescent Colin Miller as tourists' two spinners, meaning the omission of Stuart MacGill.

A sign of Australia's confidence was that the selectors named only two specialists openers, Matthew Hayden and Michael Slater.

Lee will join the team ahead of schedule to prepare himself for the series. He had originally been intended to remain in Australia until 19 June to help him recover from an elbow injury that has kept him out of action since February. But the selectors wanted Lee to travel to England on 3 June and train with the rest of the squad to ensure he is fit to play in the first Test, starting at Edgbaston on 5 July.

"He is not yet fit to participate in representative matches for Australia, but by going to the UK sooner than he was originally due to, he will be able to improve his bowling fitness far more effectively than he could by staying at home," the Australian team doctor, Trefor James, said.

Lee, who only secured his place in the team after a fitness test last week, welcomed the change of plan. "This is great news and I can't wait to get over to the UK to work on my fitness," he said.

Lee will not, of course, be ready for the triangular series of one-dayers against England and Pakistan ahead of the Ashes series, but he thinks he will benefit from soaking up the atmosphere. "Although I won't be playing in the one-day series, the chance to be around the squad again after a lengthy period on the sidelines will be the perfect incentive to get myself right for the tests that follow," he added.

The squad is not travelling directly to Britain. It is planning a two-day stopover in the Gallipoli peninsula in southern Turkey, where thousands of Australian soldiers were killed during an ill-fated campaign in World War One. The tour begins with a warm-up match against Worcestershire on 1 June before the triangular tournament. After starting in Birmingham, the five-match Ashes series will be concluded at The Oval, where the final Test will start on 23 August.