I believe that there is a subtle revolution going on in Test cricket.

Just as sure as you will be hard pressed these days to find a side that does not have both a wicketkeeper who averages at least 35 with the bat and a fast bowler topping 150 km/h, there are few sides who have a number 8 who can't bat.

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One of the big discussion points surrounding the Third Ashes Test at Edgbaston is the fate of Australian left-armer Mitchell Johnson. It would be an understatement to say that his performances have been well-documented in the sports media; in reality his plight has been plastered on every newspaper and sports program since his poor showings at Cardiff and Lord's. But will the Australian selectors have the guts to drop the man that almost single-handedly won the series against the Proteas in the...

Mitchell Johnson is a man who has been praised by many high profile cricketing personalities all through his youth career. After facing him in the nets Ricky Ponting once said "He was as fast as Brett Lee"; this was a much younger Mitchell Johnson, who was bowling off 5 paces because he was on the road to recovery after stress fractures. And the greatest paceman of them all, Dennis Lillee, once described Johnson as "A once in a generation bowler". But up until perhaps 18 months...

As promised, here are my picks for the 5 key players that must perform for Australia to defend the Ashes.

1) Ricky Ponting: Punter seems to have difficulty juggling his captaincy commitments post-Warne/McGrath and plundering opposition bowlers when it comes to be his time to shine. Can anyone remember when he made 242 and then 257 against India in a series here in 2003/04? Or when he made a hundred in each innings in his 100th test? Not really. These days, everyone focuses on the...