Who will win the ashes?

If I were abetting man I'd put money on England. England have addressed (on paper at least) the problem with Root not getting the innings off to a constant start by drafting in Carberry who I think will be a solid if not exciting opener. Temperamentally he has the tools to succeed in Test cricket and he'll do a job, that is get the innings off to a good start, score a few runs, but he won't set the world alight.

If he can protect Trott and KP a bit by not allowing them to get in while the ball is still new then so much the better. Dropping Root to six is another strength, there he is a known quantity. Bowling wise Anderson and Broad have been in good form on tour to date but there is a doubt over who is the third seamer - the choice is between Rankin, Finn and Tremlett, I suspect the latter will get a start as he fits in England's bowl dry philosophy, but he's lost a yard of pace.

As for Australia - I see them being down to the bare bones albeit they have some good players. Bowling wise reports are that Mitchell Johnson has recovered some of his form, but he's mentally fragile. Harris is a class act, but five Tests and two lots of back-to-back Tests might be too much for someone with an injury record.

Siddle starts series off well and increasingly gets sussed but will run in all day. Watson appears to have an injury that means he'll play as a batsman only. Batting wise there's a lot resting on Warner and Rogers as Australia will need to see off Anderson and Broad.

Clarke will score runs, Smith has the talent but needs to be consistent and Bailey has poor red ball form. That leaves Haddin who is at the veteran stage. He had a good ashes series after a couple of poor early Tests.

Conclusion: England have a bit too much all round strength.

Let's look at the changes to the england side since we trounced Australia down under Root in for Collingwood ..Huge improvement Broad in for Bresnan...Huge improvement Carberry in for Strauss....slight weakening Otherwise it's pretty much the same side Australia however are significantly weaker. England's batsmen look able to post 500 plus on a regular basis. The bowlers are well capable of taking 20 wickets a game.

Australia don't look like they can bat, and their bowlers are pretty poor. This is a side we defeated with a 2-man team last summer( Bell and Anderson) If australia are very lucky they might scrape a draw in Perth, but frankly I doubt it.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.