mvaughan

It may seem like an obvious thing to say but whoever draws first blood in Brisbane is likely to go on and win the Series.

And for my money, that could well be England. This is a very settled side which picks itself. They've playing together for a while now so know each other's strengths. The batsmen have spent a lot of time in the middle together whilst the bowlers are used to bowling as a unit, collectively unsettling batsmen. The only player under a bit of pressure is Kevin Pietersen, who has suffered a few injuries and a loss of form over the past few months. But that's nothing one good knock can't fix.

You can't say the same about Australia. Right now, I'm not sure anyone knows what their XI will be on Thursday morning, not least because there are injury doubts over Michael Clarke, their vice-captain who averages 55 against England. Then there's Ricky Ponting. It's a shame that one of the greatest batsmen ever may well end up being remembered as the only Aussie captain to have lost three Ashes series rather than his achievements with the bat but that's cricket. He'll be feeling the pressure whether he admits to it or not and if he starts to crack, the others may feel the strain too.

Andrew Strauss is a naturally phlegmatic man who looks and feels relaxed more often than not. He's also England's most consistent batsman over the last few years and with form against Australia and knowledge of Australian conditions, he could be the man to side with in the England Series top batsman market at 4.6.

Read Michael Vaughan throughout the Ashes on http://betting.betfair.com/cricket/ashes-betting/