"If great batsmen like them couldn't handle my bowling, the Poms weren't going to either."

Quote of the day

"I had played against Ian and Greg Chappell and if great batsmen like them couldn't handle my bowling, the Poms weren't going to either." Lightning-quick Jeff Thomson describes his Ashes debut at Brisbane in November 1974.

Random Ashes fact

In 1974/75, the deadly duo of Thomson and Dennis Lillee helped Australia rout England 4-1. Thomson claimed 33 wickets in his first Ashes series, consistently bowling at over 95 mph.

Magic numbers

There are 23 more days to go before the Ashes begin. England batsman Ian Bell was 23 (and 101 days) when he made his Ashes debut at Lord's on July 21, 2005. Unfortunately his age was greater than his average in the series, which was just over 17.