5 things England needs to do to prepare for the Ashes

It’s that time of the year again when another old rivalry will be renewed – this time in white flannels. For all practical purposes, this will be a battle between two highly contrasting teams: one has been quite formidable over the past year, while the other is struggling to get back on its feet in the aftermath of both cricketing and non-cricketing incidents.

Having said that, even though most pundits are backing England to retain the Ashes following successful campaigns in 2009 and 2010/11, there is still a lot of work to be done for the Lions to achieve greatness in this year’s series. Here are some of the things they need to look at to get in shape for the battles with “old enemy” Australia:

1. Get a lot of match practice:

England would do well to get in some much-needed match practice ahead of the all-important Test series. To that end, they need to ensure that all the players in the squad get a good workout in the field.

The Champions Trophy was a precursor to their preparations, but in order to succeed at the Test level, you’ve got to play four-day or five-day matches. Given the fact that England have a vibrant domestic cricketing setup, it should not be too hard for everyone to be match-fit, unless bad weather or injuries have a say.