The Ashes.

The Ashes are well under way now, with England taking a comfortable 2-0 lead in the series. As someone who has always been a cricket fan this is completely unfamiliar territory; the last time England took a 2-0 lead in a home Ashes series was in 1890. The first test was a fantastic match, the kind where right up until the end it was impossible to say which side would win. That said, the first test wasn't a typical test match in many respects. A lot of the wickets that fell were due to batsmen playing shots that, well, aren't test match shots. If it was a Twenty20 match then fair enough, but in the 5 day version you should be leaving and blocking more, not risking your wicket for the sake of a boundary.

This week's test has certainly been different. England managed (just) to win after only 4 days. Excellent innings from Ian Bell and Joe Root put England in a commanding position allowing the bowlers to do the rest. And they did, very well. Again, that said, Australia's batting has been woeful. The use of the DRS has been poor and the shot selection has been poor, but even taking that into account they have looked totally outclassed. 

With England being so dominant, and it looking like that will continue (although I don't want to write off the Aussies, they did almost win that first test) it raises some interesting thoughts. We never really find ourselves as strong favourites in almost any big sporting stage, but now we are and we are living up to it. People seem almost apologetic that the match has been so one-sided. Listening to commentary you'll keep hearing things like "it's a shame" or "a pity" or "disappointing" that Australia haven't competed.

Now don't get me wrong, I am delighted with how England are doing, but winning comfortably just isn't very British. In fact, it's just not cricket.