England Cricket / Frank Gregan / 10 January 2011 /

It seems like only yesterday that England were wrapping up the Ashes but there are nine more international matches still to be played in Australia before they leave and the World Cup follows that. They sure as hell won't be under-prepared, says Frank Gregan.

The cricket calendar is relentless. Less than a week after celebrating Ashes glory, the likes of Ian Bell, Paul Collingwood and Kevin Pietersen were asked to put their champagne glasses to one side and pop out to the middle and take care of a Prime Minister's XI in Canberra. They duly obliged, reaching a rain-affected reduced total with more than an over to spare and showing great professionalism by not having to lean over the boundary fence and rid themselves of their excesses!

This is a very busy tour and the machine goes rolling on and on. Next stop is a couple of Twenty20s and then down to the serious business, a seven match One Day series which will give the world the opportunity to assess both countries chances ahead of the ICC World Cup which gets underway next month.

Seven matches is a lot of One Day cricket which means that neither side will be able to offer the excuse that they were undercooked if they flop during the World Cup. This is an intense period and will determine what frame of mind these sides are in when the main event gets underway next month. The English are on a high right now and will be hoping that's the case after the One Day series as they try to add the World Cup to the Twenty20 title that they won last year.

It seems surreal how quickly it's all happening, having watched the days crawl by in the months leading up to the Ashes it's all whizzing past now and it's sad that there has been little time to bask in the reflected glory of this English team. There's hardly been time for the players to draw breath, and for those of them who were in the Ashes side, to savour what will undoubtedly end up as one of their greatest professional achievements.

The same applies to the supporters. In order of priority most English fans would have elected as their first choice target an Ashes series win. Now that has been achieved we've all turned into Oliver Twists, asking for more, more, more! Most now believe this team is indestructible and expect them to win the Twenty20s and the One Day series. Heck, if Andy Flower decides to enter the lads in a Queensland sheep shearing, rodeo and crocodile fighting competition we'd fancy their chances in that too!

The Aussies are reeling and are desperate to stem the flow of blood. The difference between the morale in the two camps is plain for all to see. England's team spirit has been cited as one of the major reasons for their success but that's turning reality on its head. The English dressing room is buzzing and morale at an all time high because of the results, not the other way around.

Australian morale is in a place which is 180 degrees South of the English which is what happens when you're not winning cricket matches. The old cliché applies - they have to stick together - but currently they look about as cohesive as a post-fall Humpty Dumpty!

There's been a ton of joke texts and emails doing the rounds about the current plight of Australian cricket but one that evoked a reaction of reflection rather than rejoicing was "what do you call a world class Australian cricketer?" Answer - "retired!" Sometimes it boils down to a raw material problem and Australia have lost some exceptional cricketers in recent years and it was always going to be a big ask to replace them. It looks like the new generation is struggling to fill some very big boots.

However, it's indicative of how much respect there is for Australian cricket that they will be going into the One Day series as only very slight underdogs. England are [1.97] to prevail over the seven games with the Aussies at [2.28] and the draw at [17]. The recommendation is to back England, they're like butter (on a roll!) so let's enjoy it while we can.

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