KP ‘psyches’ Oz batters with reverse swing terrors ahead of Ashes

September 8th, 2009 LONDON - England mid-fielder Frank Lampard has said that he is not bowled over by Croatian coach Slaven Bilic's reverse psychology ahead of the two team's face-off at the Wembley stadium on Wednesday. Lampard says that Bilic cannot fool him as both have been team mates in the past and know each other's moves.

August 15th, 2009 LONDON - England will give Warwickshire opener Jonathan Trott a Test debut against Australia at The Oval next week as they seek to reverse the horrors of Headingley by pulling off a victory to regain the Ashes. Essex batsman Ravi Bopara is the only batsman to be dropped from the squad.

August 2nd, 2009 LONDON - England swing bowler Jimmy Anderson has given the credit to bowling coach Ottis Gibson for preparing the swing onslaught that undermined Australia in the third Test at Edgbaston. "I said at Lord's that Ottis had done a fantastic job, looking at the footage of their guys and we've looked at ourselves.

July 20th, 2009 LONDON - Simon Jones, England's 2005 Ashes hero, is all set to revive his struggling career at Hampshire after being axed by Worcestershire. Fast bowler Jones, who played a crucial role with his reverse swing during England's 2005 triumph at home, will get a chance to bowl at Rose Bowl after Hampshire coach Giles White showed interest in him.

July 7th, 2009 CARDIFF - Australian fast bowler Brett Lee, who claimed seven wickets with his reverse swing in a tour game against the England Lions last week, is "gutted" that he will miss the first fortnight of the Ashes after straining an abdominal muscle. Lee has been ruled out of the first Test, starting in Cardiff on Wednesday, and would need a miraculous recovery to be ready for the second at Lord's.

July 4th, 2009 WORCESTER - Former England pacer Simon Jones believes Australia's Brett Lee will swing the momentum in this year's Ashes series. Regarded as one of the world's finest proponents of reverse swing, Jones, 30, predicted reverse swing would play a significant part when Cardiff hosts its first Test on Wednesday.

July 3rd, 2009 WORCESTER - Speedster Brett Lee surged into Australia's Ashes attack contention with a devastating spell of reverse swing bowling against the England Lions. The veteran pacer resurrected his Test career with a burst of 5-21 in 40 balls against the England Lions in the tour game at Worcester.

July 3rd, 2009 LONDON - England all rounder Paul Collingwood has revealed his double century in the last Ashes convinced him he could cut it against Australia. The 33-year-old goes into his third series against the world's No1 Test side, having played a bit part role in the famous 2005 win.

July 3rd, 2009 MELBOURNE - Australian speedster Brett Lee boosted his selection chances for the first Ashes Test starting Wednesday at Cardiff with a burst of five for 21 in 40 balls in a practice match against Englad Lions at Worcester. The veteran paceman, who is making a comeback in the Test side after an ankle and foot injury, Thursday rediscovered his old raw pace and also made the best use of the old ball to unlock the secrets of reverse swing, something that England bowlers did effectively to win the Ashes in 2005 after 18 years.

July 1st, 2009 MELBOURNE - England's star batsman Kevin Pietersen Wednesday asked Australians to be wary of their reverse-swinging bowlers who scripted the baggy green's downfall in the 2005 Ashes. Even though only Andrew Flintoff remains from the four-man pace and swing battery that inspired England's only Ashes triumph in the past ten series, Pietersen believes another generation is on the move.

June 28th, 2009 LONDON - Australia's fast bowlers hold the key to which way this year's Ashes will go, feels former Australian cricketer, captain and noted commentator Richie Benaud. In an article for The News of The World, Benaud believes England would be indulging in wishful thinking if it thought their spinners could make Australian batters dance to their wiles.

June 26th, 2009 WASHINGTON - An Indian-origin researcher from the Walker Institute at The University of Reading has shown that the El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon significantly affects the results of the Ashes cricket series. Published in the journal Weather, Manoj Joshi suggests that the Australian Cricket team is more likely to succeed after El Nino years when the series is held in Australia, while the England cricket team has a historically better record following La Nina years, the opposite phase.

June 18th, 2009 LEICESTER - England will get a massive boost with the return of all-rounder Andrew Flintoff to the Test squad ahead of the Ashes series, claims Australian captain Ricky Ponting. Talismanic all-rounder Flintoff, 31, is recovering from a knee surgery.

June 15th, 2009 LONDON - Umar Gul's stupendous display of swing bowling in the ICC Twenty20 World Championship match against New Zealand may have earned him a lot of praise, but it has also sparked-off a fresh controversy regarding ball tampering. Gul's fiery spell of 5-6 in the Super Eight match against the Kiwis helped Pakistan win the game by six wickets, but now, questions are being raised over his ability to reverse swing the ball just after 12 overs.

May 31st, 2009 LONDON - John Buchanan, architect of Australia's 5-0 win in the 2006 Ashes, can switch loyalties this year. Buchanan, who recently lost his advisory contract with Cricket Australia (CA) was in England last week for meetings with England officials and members of the team coaching staff about their Ashes strategy and planning.