Steve Waugh's Australia side have been nominated by the public Down Under as the greatest their country has ever seen, which is no mean feat considering the regard in which they hold Sir Don Bradman's 1948 Invincibles.

But it is understandable why Australians voted the way they did. In the last four years they have witnessed the side set a new world record for 16 consecutive Test victories, including a 5-0 sweep of the West Indies.

Australia has yet to be toppled from the summit of the ICC World Test Championship table and, under Waugh senior, have lost just two of 12 series. They even matched England's feat of winning a Test inside two days.

And the statistics go on and on; those about how many wickets Warne and McGrath have taken, those about how prolific their opening pair are...

But just wait there one minute; let's not get carried away. Let's put all this in perspective.

Australia's magnificent run of victories was halted by a fearless Indian side, led by Harbhajan Singh and VVS Laxman, two previously unheralded players. And then last year New Zealand crossed the Tasman Sea, dominated the three Test series and so nearly flew back with a win. The series ended 0-0, but Australia was morally beaten.

This time it was Shane Bond and Stephen Fleming, Daniel Vettori and Nathan Astle, who had Australia on the rack.

As the old saying goes, they don't like it up `em - just look what happened in Melbourne four years ago and at Headingley in 2001.

Throw into the equation the loss of Mark Waugh and the selectors' decision to plump for Darren Lehmann - who took Yorkshire from champions to relegation in one season - instead of young NSW star Michael Clarke and fellas, there is a chink of light appearing here.

A warning though, too much respect and the game is up, Australia are not odds-on favourites without reason.

After that India series, they came to England and won 4-1, while South Africa felt the full force of their rebound from the New Zealand draw, losing five Tests in a row.

But from the approaches of India and NZ, there is a lot to learn and many positives to be drawn, and they all point to one thing - England must be aggressive.

They must look to earn victories outright and not rely on the waiting-game policies that led to such success in Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Against Australia, that approach just won't wash. England needs a considered, optimistic and aggressive policy and most importantly, they must not to fear their hosts.

Waugh has already said he will know at the end of the first day of the first Test whether England truly believes they can win the series. Hussain and the rest of the squad have kept up a public face of confidence and optimism, despite a horrendous opening to the tour.

But it is in the heat of the battle, rather than in front of the microphones and cameras, that that confidence will be tested.

Two years ago England froze, dropping crucial catches at crucial times - four before lunch on the Saturday at Lord's, I seem to remember - having promised to be "competitive".

And so starting in Brisbane, assuming all those with niggles are fit (not including Darren Gough who is unlikely to be available until the second Test at the very earliest) England must go all out for victory. For some that means fielding as long a batting order as possible in the hope of keeping McGrath and co at bay.

For me it means six batsmen, Andy Flintoff at seven and four bowlers, including a spinner. You can't win unless you get 20 wickets, simple as that. And Australia are a result team, having drawn only three of their last 33 Tests, and those against a Kiwi side who took the game to them.

The batting options have been hampered by Graham Thorpe's understandable decision to remain home and the selectors' decision to go for Robert Key over Mark Ramprakash, for continuity over experience.

Assuming they are fully fit, Michael Vaughan and Marcus Trescothick must open after their sensational performances in the summer, which means the only place for Key would be instead of John Crawley at number five. And that just doesn't fit.

Mark Butcher and Hussain naturally fill three and four with Alec Stewart six and Andy Flintoff seven.

Of course, the latter two could shove down a spot if England wanted to field Key and therefore only three specialist bowlers.

Without Gough, Hussain's attack will be spearheaded by Andy Caddick, Matthew Hoggard Flintoff and preferably Simon Jones, with Ashley Giles' left-arm spin to exploit the footmarks. Bar Caddick, it's an attack the Australians know little about. Hoggard and Flintoff have improved immeasurably, even since the last Ashes series, and

Jones' pace shocked Justin Langer in the Western Australian tour game. Hussain and Duncan Fletcher may well ring bowling changes depending on the conditions, perhaps Giles will be redundant in Perth and Melbourne, when hopefully Gough will be back to full fitness.

Meanwhile, hopes rest on Jones. The young Glamorgan quick has great promise and should watch a video of Shoaib Akhtar's lightning spell in the recent first Test against Australia inspiration.

The Rawalpindi Express blew away the Aussie middle order and his devastating eight overs reaped five for 21 and set up the chance of a win, only for the batsmen to be bowled out chasing 315.

Australia were on the rack, but won the Test by 41 runs, and then took the second two games by an innings - a lesson in the importance of taking the chances and starting well against Australia.

© Barmy Army