NEVER can an England team have headed into an Ashes series Down Under in such good shape.

It is usually the tourists who are suffering from poor form, a crisis in confidence and indecisiveness in team selection ahead of the First Test, which gets under way at the Gabba in the early hours of tomorrow morning.

So it is encouraging that the roles are reversed.

It all matters very little once the talking stops and the wickets are pitched but, in Andrew Strauss, England have the perfect man to manage expectation. He will lead from the front in both captaincy and weight of runs. He will not be affected one iota by the pressure or any stick that may come his way from the abrasive Aussie players, media and supporters.

His battle with his opposite number Ricky Ponting, pictured below, will go a long way to deciding the destination of the urn. While Strauss will go about his job with the minimum of fuss, his Tasmanian rival could finally crack under the pressure being heaped on him by an expectant public.

His hot-headedness, a key facet of his game, could be his undoing should the tourists gain an early advantage. However, he is still a world class performer and the England bowling attack still has its work cut out trying to keep him down.

Like Ponting, the fervent Australian crowd need to be kept in check, but they could be their own team’s worst enemy if they play into England’s hands by rounding on struggling performers.

He might be heading into the series in the worst form of his life, but the Aussies certainly see Kevin Pietersen as one of their main threats – judging by the inclusion of Xavier Doherty in their 13-man squad. It was a bizarre decision to drop their number one spinner, Nathan Hauritz, in favour of a man with less than 100 first class wickets at an average of 48.

The Aussies are hoping the slow left-armer can exploit Pietersen’s perceived weakness against that style of bowling. But is it really worth putting in a lesser player to try to prise out a single batsman?

After all, Strauss and Co have been winning plenty of Test matches without KP’s runs in recent times.

In sharp contrast, Graeme Swann is now the best spin bowler in world cricket and, if the England batsman can put enough runs on the board, he will put pressure on the Aussies. The man from Nottinghamshire admits he needs good support from his seamers, but he should get that.

Stuart Broad has already proved in past Ashes contests that he can rip through the top order, while Steven Finn is in a similar mould to the legendary Glenn McGrath, and his steely temperament is well suited to the hostile environment he is set to come up against.

Some observers believe Jimmy Anderson will struggle if the ball is not swinging, but the Burnley Express is experienced enough to be able to cope with that and extract the maximum from any conditions – even if that means keeping it tight while Swann takes up the wicket-taking mantle.

Ian Bell’s classy century against Australia A gives credence to the argument that he will finally come of age on this tour. If he can get big runs at number six, supported by a capable lower order, he could take the game away from the Aussies and give Swann the opportunity to weave his magic.

If they get off to a flying start, the tourists have a fantastic chance of retaining the Ashes by a two or three-game margin.

This could be one dawn in English cricket that is far from false.