mvaughan

Australia are in town and I have a feeling they will test England harder than anyone else has for a long time on British soil.

There are three very good reasons why I say that. First up, they're the number one ranked ODI side in the world so that speaks for itself in terms of their consistency and winning habit. Secondly, English conditions in the middle of the summer aren't too dissimilar to standard conditions in Australia so this will feel far less like an away series for them than it would for say Sri Lanka or India. And thirdly, for the first time in a while we come across a bowling attack who can match England's.

People can say what they like about Brett Lee not being as quick as he used to be or that he always seems on the verge of breaking down with some sort of injury. But he's still rapid and I don't know a single batsman in the world who doesn't respect him or who think he's someone you can go after. Add to that the experience he has and the variations he bowls and this is one of the top ODI bowlers in the world we're talking about here.

Then we have young James Pattinson, who has impressed during his short international career and who great things are expected of. And then there's the guy who I'm most looking forward to seeing play in the flesh during this Series: Pat Cummins. There's always a great deal of excitement when a tall, fast bowler comes on to the scene and it's hard to imagine a better start to a Test career than his: he took seven wickets on debut in South Africa and knocked off the winning runs with the bat. That's the stuff dreams are made of and by all accounts this guy can consistently bowl 90mph plus. If he can be as consistent in terms of line and length, Australia could have a real world beater on their hands. Clint McKay is a fine bowler too, whereas Mitchell Johnson and Ben Hilfenhaus need no introduction.

The one area where England maybe have the edge is in the spinning department. Australia don't have a mystery spinner in their ranks nor do they have a Graeme Swann. And by that I mean an orthodox spinner who has been around for five years or more on the ODI scene and who is as capable of taking wickets as he is of stopping the runs from flowing. Xavier Doherty is in the squad and they also have Steve Smith, though the latter seems to be viewed these days as more of a hard-hitting middle-order batsman who bowls a few overs than a spinner who bats, which is what he was when he first appeared on the scene. Australia may decide to go without a specialist spinner and divide duties between Michael Clarke, David Hussey and Smith. Those three certainly have the experience factor on their sides.

In terms of the batting, Mike Hussey sits this tour out for family reasons and he'll be sorely missed. They don't call him Mr Cricket for nothing. Coming in at five or six he's the guy who has really taken over that mantle as the team's finisher from Michael Bevan. He just has that knack of knowing exactly how to pace an innings and Australia will have to think long and hard about who takes over those duties.

David Warner has become a top player in this format since he's understood that not every delivery needs to go to the boundary rope and will be a key wicket. Then comes the trio that seems like they've been around forever. The skipper Michael Clarke, the aforementioned David Hussey and all-rounder Shane Watson. The latter is perhaps the most important player of all. A huge presence at the top of the order, one of the safest pairs of hands in the slips and a much under-rated bowler. He's clever with the pace and lengths he bowls and has a knack of breaking partnerships.

As for the wicket-keeper, the days of the chirpy Brad Haddin seem to be over and the impressive and aggressive batting of Matthew Wade will be interesting to keep an eye on for the first time on English soil.

Having said all this, it's not often we get the chance to back England to win an ODI series at home at a price of 2.2. You have to go back a long time to find the last instance of England losing a 50-over series as hosts and everyone has looked very comfortable with Alastair Cook's captaincy since he took over.

A possible concern for England is that Tim Bresnan may be coming in one place too high in the order at seven, something that man Watson was quick to pick up on. This could be reason for concern because so many of England's runs in recent times have come from the top order. Even someone like Eoin Morgan, who normally bats at five, hasn't spent too much time at the crease over the past few months. If England find themselves 60-4 the lower-middle order will have to stand up and be counted. Watson may have a point when he says he'd rather have Wade than Bresnan at seven but let's wait and see how the likes of Morgan, Jonny Bairstow, Craig Kieswetter and Stuart Broad cope when it comes to it.

This will be a close series so 3-2 to either side is worth a look but I think England will carry the momentum from the ODI series wins over Pakistan and the West Indies into this contest and just about edge it.

Alastair Cook has looked in sublime form in all formats and will enjoy the pace coming onto the bat with a new ball at both ends. I just can't look beyond him for top series batsman honours at around 4.5, though Ian Bell and Jonathan Trott are likely to make decent contributions too.

Stuart Broad gets the nod from me to be England's top wicket-taker in the series at around 4.0. He seems to be getting better and better all the time and ended the 2009 Ashes series as England's top wicket-taker so he clearly likes bowling against the Aussies.

Back England to win the series @ 2.2
Back Alastair Cook to be England top series batsman @ 4.5
Back Stuart Broad to be top England wicket-taker @ 4.5

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