England retain the Ashes

Congratulations to Andrew Strauss and the victoious English cricket team on retaining the Ashes in Australia, for the first time in nearly a quarter of a century. It is a remarkable achievement in that only four years ago they were whitewashed 5-0.

Real cricket fans only look to the quality of the play and don't mind who wins but it is better for the game if there is a real contest and not the same side winning every time. Australia have two years to rebuild their team before coming to England and England fans should be in no doubt but that they will do so.

The first thing they need is a captain to unite around. We shall see how Michael Clarke does in the final Test.