Closing in on the main event

A new era of international cricket begins at Headingley on Thursday, when the NatWest Challenge gets underway to usher in an era of substitutions and flexible fielding restrictions. If that epic tied final of the NatWest Series is anything to go by, the old regime is not going to bow out without a struggle, but for the moment, it is all change in the world of one-day cricket.

Regardless of the pros and cons of the new regulations, the novelty value alone will worth the admittance fee. Exciting though it is, every time England and Australia take the field, the next fortnight promises to be an endless yearning for the real event to get underway. The first Test begins at Lord's on July 21, and everything between now and then, is little more than filler.

Even so, England have high hopes of striking some telling blows between now and the start of the Lord's Test, and in Steve Harmison, they have the man to do so. "I'm happy with the way I'm bowling in one-day cricket," he admitted, having taken 3 for 27 in the tied final on Saturday.

Harmison's performances this summer have been steadily growing in stature, and he is beginning to approach the form that he carried through a remarkable year in 2004, in which he took 67 wickets - the most by any England bowler in a calendar year.

"Everybody knows I'm a confidence bowler," Harmison admitted, "but it's gone really well from the start this summer and I've continued that. It doesn't matter if you're a batter or a bowler, if you're going through a rough patch you need to snap out of it quickly because if you don't it can become a rut and you never get out of it."

This summer's schedule is not ideal for England's cricketers, but at least the same is true for Australia. Adam Gilchrist agrees that the build-up to the Ashes has perhaps gone on a fraction too long.

"Personally, right at this moment, I think it would be a great time to be getting into first-class cricket, given the heightened anticipation of the Ashes," Gilchrist admitted to the Press Association. "We have had a great appetiser, so it would be nice to get into the competition that everyone will remember at the end of the year."

In the meantime, the tweaked one-day rules will provide an alternative focus for the remaining three matches. England have called up Sussex's Matt Prior, from outside their 25-man development squad, as a player who can have an impact both as an explosive batsman and a nimble fielder.

Whether the revised format will give any pointers for the Ashes remains to be seen. But for the time being, change is to be embraced, even if only for the novelty value.

England (probable) 1 Marcus Trescothick, 2 Andrew Strauss, 3 Michael Vaughan (capt), 4 Paul Collingwood, 5 Andrew Flintoff, 6 Kevin Pietersen, 7 Geraint Jones, 8 Ashley Giles, 9 Chris Tremlett, 10 Darren Gough, 11 Steve Harmison, 12 Matt Prior.

Australia (probable) 1 Matthew Hayden, 2 Adam Gilchrist, 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Damien Martyn, 5 Michael Clarke, 6 Andrew Symonds, 7 Mike Hussey, 8 Shane Watson, 9 Brett Lee, 10 Jason Gillespie, 11 Glenn McGrath, 12 Simon Katich.