ashes needs another england win

Ponting - will have no excuses.

By Nick Miller

England winning the Ashes this winter will do me, and countless other English cricket fans a power of good.

Yet this is nothing compared to the good that it will do for future series.

A win in Australia could well be the most significant success in the history of English cricket, more significant even than 2005.

Last summer was magnificent, but Australia essentially had a good deal of excuses for their loss. McGrath's ankle, bad luck, McGrath's ankle, poor umpiring decisions, the English crowd, McGrath's ankle, English conditions, oh, and did they mention McGrath's ankle?

This time they have no excuses. They have a full strength team (even if they don't know what it is yet), home conditions and an expectant Aussie public behind them.

And this is why winning is so vital for England.

If they Ashes are retained, then it could seal the urn for a good few series in the future. An Australia loss will have heinous repercussions for the aging side that has probably been the greatest since Bradman's Invincibles.

A clear out will almost inevitably ensue, with Langer, Hayden, Martyn and perhaps even the formerly untouchable trio of McGrath, Gilchrist and maybe captain Ponting being dropped - or more likely ousted in a bloody coup - from the side.

There were rumblings of this from Down Under in 2005, but to lose on home soil....well....there will be rioting in the streets.

Off with their heads will be the cry, but who will replace those heads?

Michael Clarke will be back, but hasn't yet lived up to his Waugh comparisons. Phil Jacques has been scoring runs by the bucket load in domestic cricket for years, but hasn't grabbed his chance when given a Test berth. Cameron White is young and brash but not yet ready for the top level. After that, Brad Hodge? Michael Di Venuto?

I'm not quaking in my boots, so why should England?

The Australian selectors have never been shy of elbowing out the oldies in favour of a glorious new generation in the past, but haven't this time. Is this because they know there isn't one? When your hot young thing is the 31 year-old Mike Hussey, alarm bells should surely ring.

The bowling department has more strength in depth - the likes of Tait, Johnson and Dan Cullen should serve well for years to come, but after Australia's golden generation of batsmen either jump or are pushed, where next?

So, back to my point. In effect, England have the chance to kill off a great generation of Australian players before the next one is really ready.

This would mean that the visiting team in 2009 will be one in transition, ripe for the beating.

And after that, who knows? Australia might not find adequate replacements for years to come, and that is a mouthwatering prospect for any England fan.