nineties spirit england's best chance?

Flintoff 'draws the positives'

By Nick Miller

I always find one of the most fascinating things about top level sport is wondering what the players are really thinking.

What does he really think of him? Why did he reallydo that? Do they really think they can win this one?

That last question is the most pertinent one for this series. Do England really think that they can win the Ashes?

All logic and sense points to a minimum 3-1 win for Australia, and England must know this too. Do they really think they can come back from such a crushing defeat to retain the urn?

I know I don't, so what will be the mindset - the genuine mindset - of the England side?

They will talk a good game - they always do. KP will say the Aussies are all world class players but we can beat them. Flintoff will try to 'draw the positives' from the second Test and say 'We can build on that' a lot. And Hoggard will say something along the lines of 'we have to believe'.

Yes chaps, you may have to, but do you? Really?

One of the things that stuck in my mind about the 2005 series was an emotionally drained (weren't we all?) Michael Vaughan flopping down in the Channel 4 studio after the Edgbaston Test, and telling Mark Nicholas that if we'd lost that one then it was basically Goodnight Vienna. There would be no way back from 2-0 down.

We're 2-0 down now, but you won't catch any of the squad saying there is no way back this time, but surely if they thought it then, they think it now too.

And having come to the logical conclusion that you're in an impossible position, how do you play the best team in the world? Do you crumble, or will that infuriating dead rubber attitude kick in? England developed a knack of winning completely meaningless Test in the 90s, so having all but conceded defeat, could that be our best chance?