IS WARNE RIGHT? ARE ENGLAND REALLY BETTER PLACED FOR THE ASHES?

After Aussie legend Shane voiced his concerns, The Cricketer's writers have their say on the sides' series preparations

According to Shane Warne, it is England who have the upper hand going into the first Test of the Ashes series.

Australia, the great leg-spinner claims, look confused and the tourists are all of a sudden in the driving seat ahead of the Gabba.

We asked our writers whether they agreed with Warney. Here are the results...

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HUW TURBERVILL: The Aussie selection row has seen the kind of wobble that political parties, seemingly cruising to an election victory, often suffer mid-campaign.

As England have quietly gone about their business against grade cricketers on benign pitches ahead of the first Test, Australia’s selection of Shaun Marsh, Chadd Sayers, Cameron Bancroft and Tim Paine, and the dropping of Matt Renshaw, has caused ripples.

Stuart MacGill called the selctors "morons masquerading as mentors” and Shane Warne says Australia look confused. Quality attacking leg-spinners are a valuable asset in international cricket and England have been delighted to welcome the duo into their ranks in the last few days.

I suppose it gives England a greater chance of emerging from Brisbane unscathed ahead of more hospitable venues.

^{Shane Warne is not too happy with Australia's Ashes preparation}

JAMES COYNE: Pre-Ashes nerves are probably kicking in for Warney. Everything always seems up in the air this close to an Ashes series.

It does seem strange that the selectors have dropped Matt Renshaw with such a good Test record, but they will have been watching him and Cameron Bancroft closely in the Shield. And, as Huw has pointed out in his latest online Googly, Australia are uncertain about one spot where they have usually been strong – the wicketkeeper/batsman.

That said, I did watch Tim Paine score a good century in an ODI at Trent Bridge – admittedly eight years ago – and they are saying he’s one of the best glovemen in Australia right now. He is a better bet than Matthew Wade, I would say.

And remember that England have scored only one century in their warm-ups so far, and all the Aussies have been in some tough Shield games. Home advantage still counts for a lot. In my view, it still comes down to how well Australia’s exciting pace bowlers click as a unit.

^{Cameron Bancroft has been brought in to open the innings for Australia}

What do you think? Who's better placed ahead of the Ashes? Send us your views via Twitter, Facebook or email - website@thecricketer.com

SAM MORSHEAD: Come on now, Shane. There's playing devil's advocate and then there's being just plain melodramatic.

Sure, England will probably be encouraged by coming up against a number seven who doesn't score many runs but Matthew Wade was hardly a Gilchrist in disguise with the bat, and Tim Paine's glovework is just as good as anyone else's Down Under.

Up top, Cameron Bancroft has a bank-full of runs at an average of a gazillion-and-a-half, most of the Aussie batsmen average over 50 in Test cricket on home soil and the seam attack remains as menacing as it was seven days ago when the world and his dog were predicting all sorts of doom and gloom for the tourists.

England still have to battle inexperience, the loss of Ben Stokes and a disjointed build-up. And they're on foreign soil. Make no mistake, it's still very much Australia's to lose.

^{Shaun Marsh is back in the Aussie squad}

OWEN RILEY: Neither of the squad announcements have been greeted with open arms but I think some of the reactions are hyperbolic. We knew - give or take a few members - what shape the squads would take. We knew the resources available…

As far as Warne’s assertions go, I think he’s right that England’s preparation has been promising, though not outstanding. They are getting some decent time in the middle as a unit, the wickets have been shared around and most of the batsmen have runs under their belts.

There were a couple of left-field selections for Australia, but by and large their eleven is close to what we expected; two gun batsmen, two canny bowlers, one trump-card paceman and a smattering of players with something to prove.

Press hype doesn’t help. Hysterical headlines and former players lambasting selectors add to the circus of it all but ultimately don’t account for what the players do when the curtain raises.

Neither team look like world beaters and I wouldn’t give either the edge at this stage.

MORE FROM THE CRICKETER: Who is Chadd Sayers?