Two weeks tomorrow, as the expectation becomes nerve-shredding for the start of the first Ashes Test, all the tension and uncertainty can be offset by a safe prediction that Andrew Strauss will remain the calmest man both on and off the field, writes Donald McRae in the Guardian.

"If you ask me for my gut reaction about this series my feelings are very ­different to what they would've been six months ago," Strauss says pointedly. "Six months ago I was very concerned about how things were looking. But, now, we're in a very good place.

Mihir Bose interviewed Shane Warne, who says England might just have the edge in the spin department in the upcoming Ashes. Watch his interview on the BBC Sport website.