Special Edgbaston crowd can be our 12th man: Cook

Without those runs, England probably wouldn’t have won. “But they can only cheer a side who are playing good cricket”.

“It would be brilliant to go 2-1 up, and it’s certainly an inspiration in one way to know it’s possible”, Cook added. If they win this week the momentum will be behind them.

However, with Australian confidence sky-high, England’s batsman will have to be at their very best and vanquish the ghosts of their embarrassing collapse at Lord’s.

In 2005, England set the tone by scoring more than 400 runs on the first day, aided by Ricky Ponting’s decision to bowl first. “He’s been bowling well for Middlesex and in one-day cricket”. The scars of the beating from Johnson would be fresh now but they know that they will have to move on and counter him on a possibly lively pitch at Edgbaston. But at Lord’s runs were not important. And their batters have to be a bit more aggressive. If they do they will win the Ashes. Johnson remains the man from whom England have most to fear, if only because of the mercurial nature of his talent.

“Lord’s was an absolute disaster in one sense, to play as badly as that after Cardiff, but that has gone now”. There is a real buzz around Headingley: it’s a place where there is a lot of enjoyment, among players and fans alike. It is about identifying which spells to attack and the ones to defend.

Australia too have looked far from being a settled unit with the bat.

At Lord’s there were times when England’s batsmen were sitting ducks, just waiting to be shot down.

“The wickets have been hard work for bowlers but it’s the same for both sides”. They bowled straighter than England.

In the end, runs are runs and I’m desperate to help Yorkshire get off to a flyer over the next week or so. But if it has more pace than those at Cardiff and Lord’s for the opening two matches of this Ashes campaign, the tourists’ speed merchants will be pawing at the ground. “So we’ll still be going hard at him, sticking to our plans”.

“We’ve all been in the game long enough to know that”.

The 37-year-old suffered an injury to his balance system in the second Test, but Australia hope he will be able to play at Edgbaston next week.

“If it was concussion, I would have thought maybe that was it”, said the 37-year-old.

“This is in accordance with the ICC Women’s Championship Playing Conditions, which state that in the event of any ICC Women’s Championship match not being completed on the scheduled date, it will be played or completed on a reserve day”.

Clarke tipped the cricket would remain cordial throughout the five-Test series.

“That’s as much grass as I’ve seen on a pitch in England, so I wonder if the talk in the media and the commentators’ talk has made the groundsmen a little bit nervous”.

At county level it is a different game.

“When you go through a tough time, you start looking over your shoulder”.

So Jonny’s performance will be an interesting gauge of the standard of our county game. Can he take that into the pressure of an Ashes series?