Ahead of Wednesday's start in Cardiff to the 2015 Ashes series, Graham Caygill provides five reasons why England can win and take back the urn.
Alastair Cook
The England captain is never going to win the most dynamic captain award in world cricket, but then neither was his predecessor Andrew Strauss.
Captains are defined, to an extent, by the bowling attacks at their disposal, and Cook has an improving one to work with, but he can personally make the biggest difference this summer with the bat.
His 766 runs in the victorious 2010/11 series in Australia were crucial to England’s first Ashes away win since 1986/87, and it is no coincidence that as his form slumped in the past two years, so England’s fortunes did too.
Cook was back in the runs in the recent series with the West Indies and New Zealand, with him averaging 64 in 2015 thus far. His 162, made under heavy pressure, in the second innings at Lord’s against New Zealand in May highlighted just how important he is to his side’s cause as he helped turn a first innings runs deficit into a victory.
He will need his bowlers to step up to help him on the captaincy front, but Cook being back in-form significantly improves England’s hopes.
Joe Root
While Cook inevitably dominates the headlines as captain, Root is the heartbeat of England’s middle order and his country need a big series from him.
It has taken England a while to get the best out of Root after he was shuffled up and down the line-up, with the stint as opener in the 2013 Ashes a particular low point as he struggled against the new ball and the accuracy of Ryan Harris.
But since settling into the No 5 spot he has been superb, and since June last year he is averaging 89 with four hundreds and six fifties from 20 innings.
Australia will fear Root because when he does get in, he really gets in. Of the four times he passed three figures in the past 13 months, he was never out, finishing on unbeaten scores of 200, 154, 149 and 182.
He has the game and temperament to bat for long periods and take games away from opposition, and another big summer for Root is vital to winning the Ashes back.
Ben Stokes
It is 10 years since the Ashes series of 2005 enthralled the cricketing world, and England’s victory was inspired by the all-round heroics of Andrew Flintoff with bat and ball.
England have waited a long time for someone of a similar ilk to come through and take the No 6 role as his own, batting well but also being dangerous with the ball too.
In Stokes England may have found the man they have been looking for.
He was one of the few plus points from the humiliating tour of 2013/14 as he played with real spirit, and he appears to have found his game again after an indifferent 2014.
He thrilled Lord’s with his aggressive batting against New Zealand, with 92 off 94 in the first innings, and 101 off 92 in the second innings, and he also proved a handful with the ball in that match as his three second innings wickets were vital to their win.
He is still a little raw, but Stokes showed no fear to the Australians previously and is unlikely to do so now, and his willingness to go on the offensive and be positive is exactly the kind of cricket England will have to play if they are to succeed.
Stuart Broad
There is no doubt that England’s bowling is the biggest question mark coming into this series.
Without a top-line spin option a lot of pressure is on the pace attack and how James Anderson and Stuart Broad fare could well define the series.
In many ways it depends on which Broad turns up. If the guy obsessed with trying to bully batsmen out with short balls to little consequence shows his face then England are in trouble.
But when Broad gets his line right and pitches it up he can be unplayable, and if the man who ran through Australia at the Oval in 2009 and then at Chester-le-Street in 2013 makes an appearance then he will cause Michael Clarke’s side a lot of problems.
Anderson will do what he does, bowl an accurate line and hope for some swing, but Broad is the man that Australia will fear if he gets it right and puts the ball in the right position.
English wickets
England got stick from Australia for setting up the wickets in 2013 to suit Graeme Swann’s spin bowling, and to some extent it paid off in the 3-0 win.
They are unlikely to do this again considering both Moeen Ali and the uncapped Adil Rashid are both inconsistent and Australia have the better spin option in Nathan Lyon.
Seaming wickets seems the most likely way for the ECB (English & Wales Cricket Board) to go as there are more question marks over Australia’s bowling attack than England’s.
Mitchell Johnson and Mitchell Starc will bring the pace and aggression, but the wickets in this series are unlikely to offer the pace and bounce that troubled England so much in the 2013/14 series.
Ryan Harris was Australia’s best bowler in 2013 but he is now retired, and a lot of pressure will be on Josh Hazlewood as line and length is often more effective than raw pace in England.
Anderson and Broad have proven their ability on home turf before, whether they can do it again is an issue, but Mark Wood has shown considerable promise in his first two Tests and Stokes is also a threat.
Those four have all bowled well in English conditions in the past, while Johnson, Starc and Hazlewood have not, and while that is not to say the Australian trio will not impress in the coming eight weeks, England can hold out some hope of winning the bowling duel.