All the Australian and English blogs have been buzzing with Ashes hype; that is not the surprising bit.

What is surprising is that many believe that England have a real chance at winning the Ashes.

They can't be serious!

I have no idea how anyone can seriously believe that England can win.

Sure they have great batsmen; Andrew Strauss converts 50s to 100s at a better rate than anyone; Kevin Pietersen scores centuries more often than anyone else; Ravi Bopara has knocked centuries in his 3 previous tests.

But their bowling is shit.

I don't even know why Stuart Broad plays international cricket.

James Anderson and Graham Onions hardly look the sort that can run through the Australians.

It is not the West Indies batsmen they're up against. It is the Hughes, the Katich, the Ponting, the Hussey, the Clarke, the North, the Haddin, the Johnson.

That is one heavy batting line up.

Andrew Flintoff is probably the only threat to them but it won't be long before he'll be limping off the field or getting dropped for missing a boat or something.

Graeme Swann is a more than decent spinner, but he's no threat. Definitely not. He was for the West Indians, not one for the Aussies.

Monty Panesar is a joke.

Adil Rashid is probably their best hope but they won't give him a single game.

The Australians recently beat South Africa at home; a team who had not lost a test series in almost forever.

While the English could not bowl out the West Indies to win a game in the Caribbean; sure they beat them at home but the West Indians were hardly interested in being there.

I just cannot see England winning any game in the Ashes; nor can I see how anyone else can.

Chris Gayle has spoken and he has spoken just the way he bats - freely and without a care in the world.

Gayle talks about wanting to relinquish the West Indies captaincy and also states his preference towards Twenty20 cricket as opposed to test cricket.

That he doesn't want to continue as captain is not a surprise considering the long standing conflict between the West Indies Cricket Board and its players. It was bound to happen sooner or later.

What is more of a surprise to me is his desire to play Twenty20 over test cricket.

That is Gayle's preference and he is entitled to it, but the reason I'm surprised is because it comes at a time when most cricketers are talking about the importance of test cricket and how Twenty20 should not be allowed to take over it.

For example, another international captain in Younis Khan has expressed his desire to quit Twenty20 cricket after the World Cup to concentrate on test cricket and ODIs.

So it really is a matter of choice.

I reckon the players who are better at the longer version of the game would want to play that more than ODIs or Twenty20, while those that are better at the shorter version prefer those to tests.

The glaring difference of opinion is obvious in the on-going test series between England and the West Indies. While Andrew Strauss prefers test cricket, Gayle thinks otherwise.

That is not surprising considering Strauss is hardly a Twenty20 player.

A number of bloggers have also shared their opinion on Gayle voicing his views - some agree, some don't.

One of them though, TM of the Island Express, goes on to ask why test cricket should be played or watched at all.

"It is a profession - the idea is to do really well and make as much money as one can without letting it take over one's life. What is the argument for test cricket? The technique - mind numbing boredom of watching a batsment block delivery after delivery? Waiting desperately for highlights at end of play so no one need watch a Dravid bat? Someone give me a good reason for test cricket - a reason to disagree with Gayle"

Well TM, I'm sure that majority of the cricket fans would rather watch the beauty of Dravid grind out a test hundred after battling for a day, rather than watch him smash a 30 ball 50 in a Twenty20 game.

But again, its a matter of opinion and perception. Its about what tickles your fancy as a player and as a viewer.

Imran Khan doesn't care much for Twenty20 cricket; neither does Javed Miandad.

Samir misses the battles that used to be 5-test series that India used to play.

I know that Twenty20 cricket has created a whole new segment of fans for the sport, who are not fans of ODI or test cricket, so I'm sure there are many that support your view.

But that does not take away the high majority of cricket fans who enjoy the battle between bat and ball that a test match provides.

Nor does it take away the cricketers who still think that their is nothing like test cricket.

As for me personally, I enjoy watching all forms of the game, but I must say that over the years my patience for ODI cricket has been tested.

Yet, I enjoy a quick slam bang game of Twenty20 cricket as much as I enjoy the intense battle of a 5-day game.

Its not always about the quick money for less work - as I said, its about what tickles your fancy.

England successfully chased 294 against Kiwis.

Australia successfully defended 286 against the Windies.

I was wrong.

But I was right about this - The 2009 Ashes are going to be very competitive!

And I was also right about England, Ross Taylor, Tim Ambrose, and Monty Panesar in Sportsfreak's tipping competition for bloggers.

As a result of which the Orange Cap remains with me for this week as well.

Thank you again Sportsfreak.

Thank you Daniel.

Thank you Andrew.

Thank you Ross.

Thank you Monty.

& Thank you fellow bloggers.

Strauss took the game away from the Kiwis, while the Windies blew their only chance of beating Australia at home.

I really doubt the Aussies will give the hosts another sniff.

It has been quite a come back for Andrew Strauss. His last few tests innings over 2 tests, all against the Kiwis at home and away, have produced 50+ scores. That includes 2 match winning centuries.

Vettori, for some odd reason, couldn't repeat his 1st innings heroics and allowed England to reach the score for the loss of only 4 wickets.

Sportsfreak tells me that Vettori isn't as effective in the 4th innings of matches. Thats quite surprising for a spinner.

The Windies batting line up folded in front of Stuart Clark and Co.

Those Glenn McGrath video tapes that Clark has been studying have proved to be quite helpful. A 5-for in the 2nd innings and 8 in the match for a man of the match performance.

He looks like a duck running up to bowl - I have no idea how he picks up all these wickets.

The Aussies will run away to a 3-0 victory now. They usually give the opposition a chance once in an entire series. If you miss that you can be sure of a handful mauling.

With Hayden and Clarke returning, its going to be tough for the Windies.

For the sake of my Orange Cap, I hope the Kiwis can turn the tables as I have predicted a 1-1 result for the series in the overall tipping competition.

Till then, I will march around cricket blogs wearing my Orange Cap.