6 reasons to be cheerful as an England fan

I know...I'm taking a risk as I write this before the 4th days play - the game could be over by tea, or even lunch! But having watched a fair bit of the match so far, I can't help feeling optimistic for England's chances in The Ashes. As long as they don't completely crumble today, here's a few reasons to be optimistic as a Pom.

1. As Aussie Dave said, Australia's score of 481 was made up of one partnership of 307 and another of 78, so it feels like Australia are still very prone to collapses.

2. England have used up their bad luck early on. There's no way they can be as unlucky as yesterday throughout the series.

3. Surely Graeme Swann won't bowl that badly again in the series?

4. England's fielding was pretty poor compared to what it's been in the last 12 months or so - they're catching and ground fielding must surely improve?

5. Several batsman got in and didn't go on for England - it feels like it's up to them whether they succeed...there were no wonder-balls from the Aussies - just good honest toil.

6. Anderson looked serious quality.

I remember watching the England rugby team back in 2002/2003 and knowing that they were the better side so feeling relaxed even when they were losing matches well into the second half. Normally they'd come through and win in the last ten minutes due to superior skills and fitness.

I'm not saying that England are necessarily better than the Australians, but watching them in the field yesterday - well below their best - I had a sense that they aren't in danger of being steamrollered like England teams of the past. Win(!), lose or draw this match, I think England will compete well throughout the series and still have a decent chance of retaining The Ashes even if they go one down.

We'll see if that's nonsense by mid-January!