Aussie DNA

He was born in Shotley Bridge and raised as a sportsman by Durham County Cricket Club. But Paul Collingwood has Aussie DNA.

I’m not casting doubt on his family tree, I’m paying him the ultimate compliment, because Paul David Collingwood - Colly, Shep, Brigadier Block – plays cricket like an Australian. This man fights, scraps and battles. The harder it gets, the more he likes it. In the heat of battle, there's fire in his eyes. Others shy away from those moments. Collingwood embraces them.

Old pro's delight in saying he's not the world’s most naturally talented cricketer. But my god he works hard at it. His graft has earned him an impressive record at test level to go with his peerless stats in the one day game. He's not the captain of this England test match team, but he is it’s beating heart when the chips are down.

His team has a genuine chance of returning home with the Ashes this winter. But no one's going to convince me we go into the series as favourites.

This England team really does inspire optimism. Many of our leading cricket writers and experts predict Andrew Strauss and his men will win this series and win it well. This Australian team is in steep decline according to the sport’s chattering classes. They are there for the taking.

But I just don’t buy it.

This is the Australian cricket team, at home, in the Ashes. This is tough. They're not what they were, because they've lost their miracle workers, but they will fight, scrap and battle, every day, from the first ball to the last. Their home record is formidable. Their home record in the Ashes is unblemished since 1987. And they’re hurting.

They’re hurting because the rest of the world is gleefully writing their obituary. They’re hurting because they want the Ashes back. They're out to regain, not retain, and they still have some extraordinary players. The old warrior Ponting may have one last golden series left in him. Michael Clarke is a class act. Mitchell Johnson is a genuine spearhead for their bowling attack. Don’t gloss over the supporting cast either. Shane Watson could step up with bat or ball. Michael “Mr Cricket” Hussey is capable of a glorious Ashes swansong. Ben Hilfenhaus will try and do what Glenn McGrath once did and nag away outside the off stump and Doug Bollinger is the sort of fair dinkum Aussie who might just have the series of his life. So don’t write them off.

But don’t fear them either. I think our batting line up will at least match their batting line up and I’ll take our bowling attack over theirs, because we’ve got Swanny and they’ve got a Warne-shaped hole that they can never, ever fill.

Basically, I reckon our team's better than their team. But most of our team haven’t played an Ashes series in Australia before. It’s the hardest series for any English cricketer, because of the history and because of the sheer bloody-minded belligerence that will come at you every single day.

Which brings us back to Paul David Collingwood. He could be the key. He won’t bow down. He won’t give up. He will probably need to step up when the heat is on, maybe more than once, and produce one of his classic innings – the obdurate, patient, brave knock that either saves, or wins, a test match.

England will retain the Ashes, but not necessarily by winning the series. A nail-biting draw is my prediction. It might just go down to the last test, maybe the last session. If that’s the case and if England are batting, I want Paul David Collingwood, of Shotley Bridge, County Durham, out there in the heat of the battle.