Ashes 2009 is a battle of the new kids: Thorpe

August 30th, 2009 LONDON - England all rounder Andrew Flintoff is stumping up 6,000 pounds to have two giant mosaics of the Ashes urn built into the bottom of his swimming pools. The England all-rounder is including two pools in the basement of the 4 million pounds mansion he's having built.

August 18th, 2009 LONDON - England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff says his retirement from Test cricket will not be a distraction for the team in the last Ashes Test at the Brit Oval. FLintoff expects to be fit for the fifth Test against Australia that starts Thursday as he continues to battle with the knee injury that forced him to call time on his Test career.

August 6th, 2009 ORKSHIRE - England captain Andrew Strauss says that he is realistic about all-rounder Andrew Flintoff's chances of playing in the fourth Ashes Test starting at the Headingly cricket ground here from tomorrow. "It is the fourth Test of an Ashes series, we are close to the finishing line and although we are all desperate for him to play we need to be realistic enough to realise if he's not fit, he shouldn't play," The Independent quoted Strauss, as saying.

July 20th, 2009 LONDON - England off-spinner Graeme Swann is insisting that his team will not panic on the final day of the second Ashes Test being played at Lord's. The Aussies need another 209 with five wickets remaining to complete a historic world record run chase.

July 15th, 2009 LONDON - England all rounder Andrew Flintoff is ready to quit Test cricket at the end of this Ashes series. Flintoff, who has been afflicted with constant injuries, wants to quit five-day matches to prolong his career for England as an ODI and Twenty20 player.

July 13th, 2009 CARDIFF - England's Ashes team has escaped a sex ban - as long as they stay off the booze. The Daily Express quoted a team source as saying: "We've got no reason to believe sex affects performance, unlike a few too many beers.

July 9th, 2009 CARDIFF - England's best batsman Kevin Pietersen has blamed his 'nut' for his suicidal dismissal in the first Ashes Test against Australia being played here. However, he said, he had no regrets over his moment of madness.

July 8th, 2009 LONDON - The epic cricket battle between England and Australia has sparked a deluge of wagers. Betting exchange Betfair said it alone could take 200-million-pounds in stakes from punters all over the world.

July 8th, 2009 CARDIFF - Former Australian Prime Minister John Howard has arrived in Cardiff to support Australia as the Ashes commences today. According to the Courier Mail, Howard has arrived with his wife Janette and has met the team and the selectors.

July 7th, 2009 MELBOURNE - Former Australian fast bowler Glenn McGrath has predicted a whitewash for Australia against England in the Ashes series starting at Cardiff Wednesday. Australia's most successful fast bowler insists he is not being silly by tipping Ricky Ponting's side to win 5-0 in England.

July 7th, 2009 MELBOURNE - If former Australian Test cricketer dean Jones is to be believed, the first Test in Cardiff will probably end before five days. According to Jones, it is a new pitch with a crusty surface and is likely to turn from day one.

July 4th, 2009 LAS VEGAS - Shane Warne, former Australian Leggie, shares his Ashes experience: Anyone who uses the new ball better - Australia or England - 2009 Ashes series will be in their bag. "They have to take early wickets because they are going to be flat wickets," the Courier Mail quoted Warne as saying in the gambling capital of the world.e also said that this series would determine Ponting's captaincy? "After the 2005 series loss in England, I think he will feel there is some unfinished business.

June 26th, 2009 LONDON - The England cricket team is all set to chug along to Belgium on the Eurostar to get battle hardened for the first Ashes Test starting July 8 in Cardiff. For any team, preparation for the Ashes is incomplete without a visit to the battlegrounds of Westeren Europe.

June 24th, 2009 LONDON - England's fast bowler Stuart Broad wants to help his team regain Ashes, in order to stop his dad Chris from talking about his triumph against Australia 22 years ago. Broad has grown up knowing all about the glory of winning the Ashes, because his father keeps telling him, The Sun reports.

May 31st, 2009 LONDON - Unlike his captain Ricky Ponting and vice-captain Michael Clarke, who refused to predict the outcome of the Ashes series, Australian fast bowler Brett Lee feels it would be pretty close. Its going to be tight again and its going to be played in the same spirit as 2005, said Lee who has returned to the squad after surgery to his injured left ankle in January.