We're in The Guardian

There is further good news with my new Ashes book, Match of My Life - The Ashes, co-written with Sam Pilger. The Guardian is to run a major extract from the book in its Ashes Handbook, which will appear shortly before the series. The book is officially published tomorrow, Wednesday, November 8, and is available from major bookstores and www.Amazon.co.uk.

Quote of the day

"Unless people have been to Australia, they don't realise how difficult it is to win a series down there. There's the climate for one thing - it can be 100 degrees or more. The crowds are massive and hostile, with 90% of them against you, and the pitches are different. So winning back the Ashes in Australia was the absolute highlight of my cricket career." England's 1970/71 Ashes-winning captain Ray Illingworth reveals the enormity of the task facing Andrew Flintoff's men.

Random Ashes fact

Marcus Trescothick has never made a Test century against Australia. The left-handed opener has scored 1,013 runs in 15 Ashes Tests, including seven half-centuries and 90 at Edgbaston in 2005. He is the only current English batsman with experience of Test cricket in Australia.

Magic numbers

16 days to go and 16 is the number of Test centuries scored by Australian wicketkeeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist. The 35-year-old has made a whopping 5,124 Test runs at 48.80. Gilchrist has also taken 320 catches and 35 stumpings in his 85 Tests. By contrast, England appear to have such little confidence in their wicket-keepers, Chris Read and Geraint Jones, that neither was granted a central contract.