Michael Vaughan | Marcus Trescothick | Andrew Strauss | Ian Bell | Kevin Pietersen | Andrew Flintoff | Geraint Jones | Ashley Giles | Steve Harmison | Matthew Hoggard | Simon Jones | Chris Tremlett

MICHAEL VAUGHAN Player page

The Australians regard him very highly because he had that wonderful set of three hundreds against them in the last Ashes series.

So the Australians will focus on him because they've seen him at his best and they know what a dangerous player he can be.

But since Australia, though he's made runs, he's never reached anything like those heights. What we've had is intermittent success and failure.

It happens to a lot of players who become captains that their batting suffers because they spend so much time thinking about other players and tactics, and not enough time thinking about their own batting, or working on it.

Vaughan has to apportion enough time for his own batting because he is an important part of our line-up. If he plays well, psychologically it lifts the team because he's captain and, practically, it will put us in a strong position because he's batting high up the order at three.

What he's brought to the captaincy is that the whole England team takes a lead from him and gives the impression that they really enjoy the game. You see the team smiling and it's infectious for the whole country.

He's a phlegmatic, easy-going guy who doesn't lose his temper easily and smiles a lot. But he's strong underneath because you can't play well against Australia without being tough.

MARCUS TRESCOTHICK Player page

There's definitely going to be an ongoing battle between Marcus Trescothick and Glenn McGrath.

Trescothick's a powerful lad and he's got a strong character, but his foot has always been a long way from the ball. McGrath will test him because he's the best line and length bowler in the world.

McGrath can consistently bowl balls in a cluster so he's going to put Trescothick's technique under serious pressure. His lack of footwork and technique make him especially vulnerable around off stump and his judgement there is not good.

McGrath's got him out before and he's going to fancy him again. So when Australia are bowling at England don't miss the first half hour or you might miss Trescothick.

The strength of Trescothick's game is that, if he gets in, he's a big hundred man. But you have to survive and the first hour is crucial for him. Technically he has never tried to improve; he has accepted what he does well and what he does badly.

ANDREW STRAUSS Player page

He's had such a lot of success and deservedly so because he's played beautifully in his first year of Test cricket.

But there's bound to be a dip somewhere because only Bradman has managed to go on scoring runs without loss of form.

I think Strauss does have a problem if it swings and Brett Lee worries him when he bowls just outside off stump and swings it in with the new ball.

Both our openers, who are high-scoring batsmen with good records, particularly Strauss over the past year, will find that the first hour will be quite searching and holds the key to whether or not they make runs.

We haven't seen yet how Strauss deals with failure because he hasn't had any, so I reserve judgement on how mentally tough he is.

IAN BELL Player page

If Bell plays it will be a big step up in class from playing against Bangladesh - my mum could have made runs against them.

This is different. It's going to be a tough baptism, because I discount the Bangladesh games, and he won't have experienced anything like it before.

In his favour he looks to have a very good technique off front and back foot and nimble footwork.

I like the look of him and I would have picked him to tour South Africa. If he had played anything like he would have had five Tests under his belt and that would have stood him in good stead, rather than coming in new against Australia.

Having said that, there have been many players in the past, myself included, who started their career on the tough side against Australia and did well. I played my first four Tests against them and only didn't play a fifth Test in that series because I was injured.

KEVIN PIETERSEN Player page

There's a big call for Pietersen to play because he hits big sixes and fours and lights up the one-day game.

Although you cannot discount his performances in ODIs, because they were still fantastic innings, Test cricket is a different game.

Lines and lengths are more predictable in ODIs and the batsman often knows what's coming. You can't bowl wide of the wickets and you can only bowl one bouncer an over.

He'll get challenged in a very different way in Test matches. He won't see so many spinners and he'll get more short stuff. He'll have fewer balls to hit and Shane Warne will be a factor bowling at leg stump.

But he has some talent and he's mentally very strong. He has an overwhelming desire to play Test cricket for England and that mental strength and commitment is worth its weight in gold.

ANDREW FLINTOFF Player page

In my view, Andrew Flintoff is without a shadow of a doubt the best bowler in the England side.

His bowling is consistently excellent. He hardly ever has a poor spell, never mind a bad one. He puts the ball in the right areas to make it difficult for the opposition, all the time with aggression and pace.

His batting is a concern because he made only two decent scores in the Test matches in South Africa and he's been a bit short of runs this summer.

He's got out trying to hit spinners out of the park and what he must do is get his head down and bat, and not be trying to hit people out of the ground.

Andrew's got a strong character and if he stays fit he'll really be up for it. He has a great attitude – he's competitive but he looks like he really enjoys the game. He's also the best slip fielder we've had since Ian Botham.

GERAINT JONES Player page

The best thing I can say to Jones is that if people try to judge him against Adam Gilchrist, to put it right out of his mind.

I would say don't even consider it and be your own man. It's almost impossible to equal Gilchrist, who averages 56 and is unique in Test history as a wicket-keeper/batsman.

Jones has to do his own thing well. First of all, his wicket-keeping will always be under scrutiny, like Gilchrist's is, and he has to make sure that he doesn't drop anything or miss anything.

If he concentrates too much on his batting, he might miss something and the batsman could go on to get a hundred. Then he'll be thinking, oh god, I've got to get a hundred to make up for it.

If he doesn't miss anything he'll take the psychological pressure off himself and his batting will become a bonus.

My only concern about his batting is that he showed in South Africa that he's a compulsive hooker. He hits it but he's not in control of it. I think they'll put two men back and pepper him at some stage.

ASHLEY GILES Player page

Ashley Giles has had a wonderful year and has probably been the most improved England player in that period.

He's an excellent professional and that's not putting him down, it's meant as a compliment. He's one of those undemonstrative, unsung players. Everything he does he does to the best of his ability and you cannot ask anybody to do more than that.

It will be vital for England that he bowls well, especially against Australia's four left-handers. If it's a dry summer, as the forecasters are predicting, then Shane Warne will be a factor and we need him to be a factor too.

He needs a lot of bowling because the more overs he has the better he gets and the more his confidence rises.

He knows that he doesn't have exceptional ability, but if he works damned hard and bowls a lot, then he has just enough ability. He can also bat a bit and he's an excellent catcher at gully.

STEVE HARMISON Player page

Steve Harmison is a key bowler and we know that if he bowls well he can make things very difficult for the Australians.

He has that Joel Garner-type ability to bowl quick enough, but with extra bounce, and when it gets into a batsman's ribs, it's awkward to play.

Harmison has been bowling well and he's got his rhythm and confidence back after a very poor South African tour. I think the key for him is how he starts off the series because he seems to be a confidence bowler.

He's also going to have to be a good bowler at left-handers because Australia are going to play four, all averaging about fifty, and I haven't seen yet that he bowls well at them.

He will open the bowling against Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer who are both left-handers. He has to find the line and length that creates difficulties for them. If he starts with wild, wide and short bowling then his self-confidence could soon ebb away.

If he can keep his rhythm and confidence he will be a big factor. If he doesn't bowl well, along with Andrew Flintoff, then we've got a problem.

MATTHEW HOGGARD Player page

Matthew Hoggard had a brilliant series in South Africa but he's not been bowling exceptionally well for Yorkshire this season.

What he has to realise is that he is not a fast bowler but a fast-medium bowler who can't bowl people out through sheer pace.

What he needs is swing and to take wickets with swing you've got to have control and bowl the right lines consistently. It's a patience job.

Steve Harmison and Brett Lee can explode into the crease and bowl somebody out at 90mph. When you're a swing bowler you've got to put the batsmen under pressure.

Sometimes he gets his rhythm wrong trying to bowl too quickly and sometimes he tries to bowl too many magic balls that pitch leg and hit off. Fred Trueman bowled millions of balls like that – but only in his mind.

He's got to cut down the scoring rate and create pressure situations by bowling maidens. Michael Vaughan calls him his banker bowler and that requires tight, disciplined lines to cut down the four balls.

SIMON JONES Player page

What Jones has to decide is whether he's a fast-medium bowler, slightly quicker than Hoggard, or whether he's going to bowl genuinely quick.

I'd like to see him bowl really fast because it's a rare gift and, if you can do it, you should pursue it. If he gets another 5mph, he'll have more margin for error on his lengths.

For Jones, it's a slightly psychological thing after that horrific injury, and he ambles up to the crease rather than exploding. He's got a quick arm action but he doesn't explode his body.

England see him as someone who can swing it early, be a container in the middle period and reverse-swing it when the ball roughs up.

He can do all those things, but I think he could get a lot more pace out of himself. He's also another bowler who hasn't convinced me he can bowl well at left-handers.

CHRIS TREMLETT Player page

I like what I've seen of Tremlett because he looks to get a little bit of awkward bounce with his height.

The most important thing for him is that he doesn't just run up and bowl, but hits the deck. It's easy to come up and put it there but you must do it with meaning, like Joel Garner used to do.

I think he can get an extra half a yard of pace and, at this level, where you're talking about inches, it could make all the difference. I want a bit more aggression from him, a bit more fire in his belly, not with his mouth but his action.

14 Jul, 2005