Attack is best way to defend

Ricky Ponting was hit in the cheek by a Steve Harmison delivery © Getty Images

Anyone wondering what England have to do to retain the Ashes in Australia this winter should cast their mind back to the first morning of the Lord's Test last year and the sight of Steve Harmison and Andrew Flintoff charging in and hurling down missiles with a venom rarely seen in English cricket.

In the space of an hour, Harmison had struck Justin Langer several times, Matthew Hayden once and drawn blood from Australia captain Ricky Ponting.

Not since Harold Larwood battered Australian torsos in the infamous Bodyline series of 1932-33 had so many Aussie batsmen felt the force of English leather.

The momentum gleaned from that first morning was perhaps the single most vital ingredient in wresting the Ashes from the best team in the world.

England must emulate that declaration of intent when the first Test begins at the Gabba in Brisbane on November 23.

Much has been debated about the burden placed upon Flintoff, whose ankle injury kept him out of last summer's Test and one-day series against Pakistan, with Ponting and Glenn McGrath doubting Flintoff's capacity to carry his triple responsibilities.

McGrath said: “He's such a key player, not only with their bowling, but in the field and in the batting.

Captain Andrew Flintoff is a match-winner with both bat and ball © Getty Images

“If you throw the captaincy on top of it, maybe it will take the focus off his bowling and batting a little bit more and on to the captaincy and have an effect on his game. It's a massive task.”

But Flintoff is a special sportsman - a cricketer who plays without fear, a match-winner with bat and ball, a man who generates confidence in team-mates and fear in opponents.

For all that has been said and written about the Flintoff factor it is England's ability to operate as a collective unit which has been their most potent weapon over the past two years and much of the credit must go to Duncan Fletcher.

Fletcher's vision was to nurture Test players with detailed fitness and dietary regimes allied to meticulous planning, all under central contracts.

It is why the squad battling to retain the Ashes is one of the most balanced and vibrant in English history.

Five of the 16-man squad are under 25 and 12 are under 30. It incorporates the precocious talent of 21-year-old batsman Alastair Cook and old heads such as 30-year-old Marcus Trescothick and 33-year-old Ashley Giles.

It is a team of match-winners. From the fast-bowling attack of Flintoff, Harmison and Matthew Hoggard to the intriguing spin partnership of Giles and Monty Panesar.

Monty Panesar © Getty Images

Buy this photo

Panesar, 24, has emerged as a bowler of Test-match quality over the past 12 months - a genuinely exciting match-breaker who gives England's attack added penetration.

He gives Flintoff the option of picking the man in form or playing a spin duo in harness and the skipper is excited by the prospect, saying: “It's going to be great having those two there.

“Monty has improved a hell of a lot during the summer. Since he has played for England he has got better and better and better.

“He's obviously a favourite with the public and Ashley has been a great performer for England over the past few years. He's looking very fit and it's looking good.”

The emergence of Kevin Pietersen has also been crucial. His belligerence and destructive hitting in the middle order gives England another string to their bow.

Andrew Strauss is a natural leader to help Flintoff, Chris Read strengthens the wicket-keeping role and Paul Collingwood can weigh in crucially with bat and ball.

And yet the task remains huge. Australia have never been more motivated for a series.

They have captain Ponting, smarting more than anyone and determined to display his true batting talent and avenge defeat in 2005.

They have Shane Warne, leading wicket-taker in the last Ashes series and they have the support of an Aussie public desperate to put the 'Poms' in their place.

The images of England's celebrations amid the victory parade at Trafalgar Square in 2005 still stir the soul of English cricket lovers. But for Flintoff that was just a stop on the journey to his greatest ambition.

He said: “I want to go on and play for the best team in the world and if we are to become that we need to beat teams home and away all round the world.”

The showdown promises to be every bit as hard-fought as the summer of 2005, which by common consent was the best of all time.