Ashes Diary / James Masters / 24 November 2010 /

Now the waiting is finally over, James Masters tells us why a leaner-looking Ricky Ponting is the man to side with for top batsman honours in the first Test...

So here we are at last. Four years since Steve Harmison shocked the watching world with the worst opening delivery every witnessed, England are back in Australia and ready to break their 24-year hoodoo down under.

This is an England team who beat Australia in the 2009 Ashes. This is the England team which dished out a merciless beating to Ricky Ponting's men in the final of the World Twenty20 last May. This is the England team which cruised to victory in the one-day series over the Aussies last summer.

Every single statistic seems to point to England avenging their humiliating 5-0 thrashing of 2006/7.

And yet, as with any England team, there is always that nagging doubt in the back of the mind which suggests that this may all be sheer bravado.

Australia do not lose at the Gabba - they have won 16 and drawn four of their past 20 Test matches in Brisbane with the last defeat coming back in 1988.
Yes, this is an Australia side which has lost three of their past four Test matches and were recently beaten in the one-day series by Sri Lanka but anybody who underestimates Ponting's side will be red-faced.

Ponting in particular looks in great shape having lost a sizeable amount of weight in preparation for the showdown with England. The Aussie skipper is [5.4] to score a hundred in the first innings and that looks a fair price.
The talk around the Gabba here is that it's pretty hard to look past Ponting as Australia's top run scorer for the series with the price at [4.4].

Having been here over three weeks already and sat through endless dinners with my colleagues, most of us are split on which way the series is going to go.

However, one point on which we're absolutely certain is that this series is the chance for Ian Bell to finally prove just how talented he is. Bell, like most of England's batsmen, was blown away the last time he took to the crease down under.

Yet, now at the age of 28, he looks a far more accomplished and mature player with his innings of 192 down at Hobart last week the latest signal that he's ready to peak just in time. Back Bell at [8.4] to hit a first innings ton and the more ambitious of you might even fancy taking a punt on the Warwickshire man to be England's leading run scorer for the series at [6.4].

When it comes to the ball, Graeme Swann is the only man who is being talked about here at the moment. Swann's enjoyed a stellar year and with the Kookaburra expected to die a slow death after the first 15 or 20 overs, expect the England spinner to add to his growing reputation.

James Anderson has struggled in the past to swing the Kookaburra as well as he does the Duke back home, while neither Stuart Broad or Steven Finn have any Test experience down under.

While Swann has yet to play against Ponting's men in Australia, he is a man at the very top of his game and bulging with self-belief. Back Swann to do a Shane Warne at the Gabba and grab at least five wickets towards the end of the contest.

The Gabba pitch has played consistently fast over the past month and last week's Sheffield Shield game was done and dusted within a day and a half. Nobody here expects this to go to five days with most I've talked to predicting a result by the afternoon on the fourth day which is a huge [8.0] on Betfair.

And now for what you've all been waiting for - who's going to win the opening clash of what is expected to be a series of epic proportions.

It's difficult to look past Australia given their proud record at the Gabba but this England team is as well equipped as any to pull off what would be an historic triumph.

At [3.25], England represent better value for money than the hosts at [2.22], but it depends on whether you allow your head to rule your heart on the matter.

For me, Brisbane will be England's greatest challenge given Australia's record but for a team now used to winning, this could be simply a stepping stone on to future glory.

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