LIKE Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal in football, Australia might have forged way ahead of other Test cricket countries. We shall soon know.

Improved as England have quickly become, and with respect to Michael Vaughan, I feel generally apprehensive over the forthcoming struggles for the Ashes.

Might not Australia mete out to England what England have just inflicted on Bangladesh?

The Ashes by now mean so much more to Australia than England. In truth this has always been so. While the original concept was sparked in England, the reality came about in Australia. In England, in certain quarters, the Ashes have now become an embarrassment.

Is there anything in the treasured little urn? This is the captivating mystery, and ought to remain so. Everything written about it today is mainly nonsense, but adds lustre to the enigma.

To Aussies, losing the Ashes has become unthinkable. Such a calamitous result could prompt a national dash, lemming-like, over the Nullabor cliffs of Western Australia into the southern ocean. Hence my apprehension, controlled, of course, by trying to tell myself that cricket is only a game.

Ron Willis (expat),

Perth,

Western Australia.

Updated: 10:41 Friday, July 01, 2005