Ashes clash tough examination

England won the Ashes in 2005 and will be hoping for a repeat of the success © Getty Images

When Shane Warne dropped a regulation chance from Kevin Pietersen on the fifth day of the fifth Ashes Test last summer it was the end of a long journey for the England cricket team.

Pietersen went on to make a match-saving 158 and after 22 days of on-field action, 5,772 runs scored and unprecedented attendances all over the country England had finally conquered 18 years of demons

Amid the magnums of champagne and renditions of Jerusalem it was easy to forget that the end of one road merely meant the start of a new, more arduous one.

When the first ball of the 2006 Ashes is bowled on the morning of November 23, the task of beating a wounded Australia in their own backyard will be the team's hardest challenge yet.

Every side is a harder proposition when they are surrounded by the familiarity of home but facing the baggy greens on their own turf is an even tougher assignment.

The first thing that will strike the England players is that in place of the wonderful support of last summer will be an overwhelming majority of equally partisan Aussies.

After years of pleading for a competitive series against the old enemy, confidently predicting whitewashes and the odd tongue-in-cheek suggestion that the most famous series in world cricket should be downgraded to three Tests, last summer's humbling means no prisoners will be taken this time.

For some this may prove a stern examination.

Steve Harmison needs to be on form © Getty Images

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There are question marks over the mental resilience of at least two of the touring party with Monty Panesar and Steve Harmison likely to endure the brunt of the barracking.

Harmison is a worry after admitting in the past that he gets homesick when spending long periods out of the country. The Durham paceman has often cut a lonely and distracted figure on tour but England need their premier fast bowler to be focused and bowling at full tilt if their campaign is to get off the ground.

Panesar, meanwhile, will come under intense crowd pressure for his ungainly efforts in the field and any dropped catches or fluffed stops are unlikely to be rewarded with sympathy.

All two men will have to come through hard individual battles during the course of the series but retaining the urn will be a resolutely team affair, which is sure to be a cause for optimism.

Fletcher can confidently predict that the likes of Flintoff and Pietersen will raise both their games and their team-mates in such an environment.

Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen © Getty Images

Pietersen has enjoyed his finest moments in international cricket in high-pressure situations - that series-clinching 158 and three centuries in front of a hostile South African public with an axe to grind - and in Flintoff, Duncan Fletcher has chosen the ideal, totemic captain for the team to rally around.

Another obvious problem for the tourists may be the preparation of the pitches.

Glenn McGrath's record suggests he will take wickets on any track he is presented with, while Brett Lee will be relied upon to extract pace and bounce in even the most adverse conditions.

Australia could opt for pitches that offer little help to the English seamers who, to many, were the difference between the sides last year. That might spell a greater emphasis on spin and, inevitably, Warne.

The 2005 Ashes saw England play their only spinner, Ashley Giles, in a containing rather than an attacking role and the pitches, largely, reflected that. Nevertheless the 37-year-old Warne claimed 40 scalps at an average of under 20 and the temptation to unleash Warne on a clutch of spin-friendly pitches may prove irresistible.

Perth and Adelaide are unlikely to be used in such a fashion but Melbourne, Brisbane and especially Sydney could be used to dazzle England with turn.

Fellow leg-spinner Stuart Macgill may also be in the frame for a place at Sydney - a ground where he has claimed five five-wicket hauls and one 10-wicket match in eight appearances.

Furthermore England have won just three Tests against the Antipodeans since their last away Ashes victory in 1987, compared to 13 Australian successes.

But making history is something with which this England side are becoming increasingly comfortable.