Not long to wait now ! I see most (English) opinion on here - as in most places - is as pessimistic as ever leading in
Not unreasonable of course . Australia have a strong side with good recent form , although a few of their players have less than imposing records in England. And if the pitches are tending to flat you'd think they will be better suited than the home team given their problems in English conditions usually revolve around lateral movement.
But on the other hand this England side have defied expectations for the last year in a lot of different situations : who is to say they can't rise to the occasion once again ? Fair bit of concern over injuries ; but really it is principally Stokes that is the issue as his all round contribution , as well as leadership , is surely vital - and the question of whether he can stay fit for five matches looms over the series. Not so bothered about the bowlers as there are enough alternates to cover all but the most horrendous injury setbacks : and surely we've seen enough of those already for the law of averages to kick in.
Have already posted my qualified optimism. I do worry about Moeen - but I don't have a clearly superior option so will trust in Ben and Baz and hope their judgement is vindicated. Otherwise happy enough with the England selection. As a general rule I always favour the home team in Ashes series - and would be well ahead over the last twenty years had I been a betting man ! So sticking with my feeling that England will somehow surprise the odds-makers once again.
In truth though we are all guessing , are we not ? One of the great things about anticipation of a series : right now , literally anything is possible ; and until the action gets under way the outcome is as totally unknowable as the fate of Schrodinger's Cat before the physicist opens the box...