England's third successive victory against Australia achieved several things.
Australia lost their first home tri-nation one-day series for 15 years; home coach John Buchanan will never be allowed to forget his sneering comment that the only decent cricket his players were getting before the World Cup was bowling and batting together in the nets; and it simplified the job of the England selectors before they announce their World Cup squad on Wednesday.
It seems a nonsense that Australia won seven out of their eight qualifying matches compared with three by England, but that is the fault of a format in which 12 money-spinners are played to eliminate one side. Australia played England six times, with yesterday's result squaring it up at 3-3.
Even the best of sides occasionally wilt under pressure. The format of the World Cup — 51 matches in seven weeks including too many involving no-hopers — virtually guarantees the best four will reach the semi-finals
The top eight countries are seeded two apiece in four groups with two minnows, then then play a round robin in the Super Eights in which England will play everyone except New Zealand, assuming that they also go through.
England know they can beat Australia and will not be short of self-confidence, particularly if Michael Vaughan is fit to last seven weeks.
Vaughan played a huge part in turning the last two weeks of the tour into a mini-triumph. He had had enough of the defensive platitudes of Duncan Fletcher and Andrew Flintoff in November and December and was the first man brave and honest enough to apologise publicly after one-day debacles at Adelaide and Perth, thus more or less forcing the coach and deputy to do the same.
Honesty is the best policy and how it paid off. Then there was his inspired captaincy in the first revival match in Brisbane, against New Zealand, when he juggled wafer-thin bowling resources as successfully as master man-manager Mike Brearley did 25 years ago. His batting is ordinary but his leadership is extraordinary.
He will be named in two days’ time, whether recovered from his hamstring injury or not, because any injured cricketer can be replaced at any time in the tournament.
Other certainties are the magnificent Paul Collingwood, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Ed Joyce, Flintoff, Jamie Dalrymple, Monty Panesar and the infuriating Liam Plunkett.
Any 21-year-old is entitled to allowances for youthful extravagance but he is close to abusing the privilege. He is a born wicket-taker and gets good batsmen out — ask Adam Gilchrist and Ricky Ponting — but sprays the new white ball about so much that his number of wides in the World Cup is likely to exceed his age.
Surely the well-paid back-up coaching team can spring a few new white balls for net practice and put him on the Glenn McGrath track. Add in Stuart Broad as by far the best of the young bowlers and, as this column advised three weeks ago, Mal Loye.
Thank goodness he played such a crucial kick-start innings yesterday and showed, even at 34, he is the only England batsman capable of exploiting the 20 overs of compulsory power-plays in which only two fieldsmen can be outside the 30-metre ring.
That gives a cast-iron nucleus of 11 with the remaining four places all arguable. It seems that Paul Nixon is a certainty but that would be robbing the side of a better wicketkeeper in Chris Read and certainly a better one-day batsman who has won at least two ODI's for Enghland batting at No 8.
Most matches will be played on slow pitches helping spin. The 'keeper will have to stand up for 20 overs in most matches and, although Nixon's glovework is adeqate, Read is unlikely to miss anything and more likely to do something special.
The other new-ball bowlers depend upon the fitness of James Anderson and Jonathan Lewis and whether the selectors persist with Sajid Mahmood.
Anderson and Lewis returned home a week ago after yet more misplaced optimism that they were close enough to fitness. Surely, England cannot continue to gamble on medical advice that has so often led the selectors up the wrong path.
Mahmood, like Plunkett, could be anything but is too erratic for a lengthy tournament. If Anderson or Lewis drop out, a more reliable deputy would be Glenn Chapple, James Kirtley or Ryan Sidebottom. Chapple adds to the tail-end batting while Kirtley and Sidebottom are experienced one-day bowlers in domestic cricket.
Picking a journalistic squad gives two options: the one the writer would pick and the one he thinks the selectors will name. Here are the alternatives: Vaughan (captain), Flintoff, Strauss, Pietersen, Collingwood, Bell, Joyce, Dalrymple, Panesar, Plunkett, Anderson, Lewis, Broad as 13 certainties.
The final two places rest between Nixon and Read and one out of Mahmood, Chapple, Kirtley and Sidebottom. It will be a poorer squad with Nixon and Mahmood, but that is the likely outcome.
