The Ashes: Does anyone care?

There was a time when England v Australia stirred the senses. Indeed, my own favourite boyhood cricketing memory is of being tucked up in bed back in India, wireless tuned to Test Match Special, listening to John Arlott, Brian Johnston, Alan McGilvray, Trevor Bailey and Freddie Trueman painting a verbal picture of that marvellous 2-2 series in 1972 when Ian Chappell's young side stood toe-to-toe with Ray Illingworth's more experienced outfit. Bob Massie marked his Test debut at Lord's with a 16-wicket haul that (northern) summer and although he never quite went on bigger and better things, the Lillee-Massie duo proved to be a pretty good appetiser for the Lillee-Thomson main course that was to stun a by-then ageing England side back in Australia in 1974-75. My standout memory of that series is the 40-plus Colin Cowdrey being flown into what would prove a very unequal battle against Lillee and Thomson.

With the onset of Kerry Packer's World Series circus, there were several under-strength series in the late '70s and early '80s but they did see the emergence of Allan Border as a batsman and leader - if not quite a tactician - for Australia and that for England of David Gower and Ian Botham, whose exploits in 1981 were quite extraordinary. England had the upper hand for most of the '80s, not least due to the enforced absence of several first-choice Aussies who had elected to go on a rebel tour of South Africa.

From 1989 onwards, Australia started dominating and, for me, the lustre of the Ashes began diminishing due to the largely one-sided nature of the contests. The Aussies dethroned the Windies as the best Test side in the mid-nineties and, on the back of some all-time greats such as Warne, McGrath, S.Waugh and Gilchrist, went on a near-15-year run that was perhaps the most decorated in Test history, highlighted as it was by some brilliant attacking cricket that proved better to watch than the one-dimensional - as in pace, pace and more pace - Windies strategy in the '70s and '80s.

The 2005 Ashes proved to be an exception to the general rule, providing some nail-biting finishes as the home side, against all odds, stunned the world's best. Hopes were high that the return series in 2006-07 would, at the very least, be competitive. Instead, Ricky Ponting's men thrashed Andrew Flintoff's sorry side 5-0. Whither English cricket? Withering on the vine.

What can we look forward to in 2009? Australia have regrouped impressively since losing the four aforementioned greats and look to be in pole position to hold on to the urn. England have avenged their loss in the Caribbean recently but will, once again, be relying on Flintoff's fitness to provide a serious challenge. The Lancastrian remains the best all-rounder in the game when he's up and running but has had several injury niggles over the past few years. One doubts, though, that Andrew Strauss' side are capable of repeating the heroics of 2005. Indeed, the most interesting aspect of the series might well turn out to be how the pitch holds up at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff, the venue for the First Test that starts on Wednesday.

Perhaps I'll go back to listening to the wireless rather than tuning into the largely anodyne coverage one usually gets on the box these days. That might regenerate some interest as it would be much like reading a good book instead of watching its inferior movie equivalent. Alas though, Messrs Arlott, Johnston, McGilvray, Bailey and Trueman aren't with us anymore and even Tim Lane has jumped ship from the ABC to one of the commercial networks here in Oz.

Sri Lanka and Pakistan began their three-Test series at Galle yesterday, with several new players on view on either side. Now, that seems like it might stir the senses.