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The overwhelming feeling after the first Test in Brisbane is one of relief. Relief that the phoney war is over and the real action has begun. Relief that all of the averages, statistics and trends jotted down on pieces of paper that showed England were the better side have not been proven to be false scribblings. Because up until that first ball is bowled, the cricket bettor has nothing else to cling to. On paper, he only suspects that one team is better than the other. And the great thing about the first Test was that in the very flesh there was proof. We suspected England were the better team. [b]They are the better team[/b]. They will retain the Ashes. Granted, you could be forgiven for scoffing at such a statement of clarity at such a juncture, particularly coming from a man who...

[b]The money has been coming for England but Strauss and co. are still 3.0 outsiders to win the series - the Contrarian is having a bit of that.[/b] Shane Warne feels that English fans are getting too arrogant about the prospect of retaining the Ashes with a rare victory Down Under, but even he was forced to concede that this is their best chance in 20 years. The Contrarian - who successfully argued last week that Fernando Alonso wouldn't win the Formula One Drivers' Championship (though he didn't anticipate the tantrum that followed) - is backing England to end their 24-year wait for a series win in Australia... [b]This is a completely different Australia team...[/b] England's last trip to Australia saw them produce their most pitiful performance in 86 years and fall to a ...