Although England currently hold the Ashes and have won five of the last seven series, they seem to be going into the first cricket Test in Brisbane next Thursday with some trepidation. Adding to the nervousness is that all the talk seems to be about Australia's 5-0 whitewash last time the Poms visited, rather than England's unexpected 3-2 success at home more recently.
While England have performed well at home, when they embark on their tours in Australia there has always been apprehension, and for good reason. Finishing "On Top Down Under" has only happened twice in the last 30 years. Their most recent success in Australia came in the 2010-11 series, spearheaded by a superb batting display from England captain Alastair Cook which saw him finish the series with an amazing average of 127.66.
But that was not the norm. In the 1990s the Aussies won seven straight Ashes series, both home and away. Time after time England supporters witnessed their team being demolished, particularly in Australia. No wonder they call these fans the "Barmy Army". After a couple of one-sided defeats featuring woeful batting by England, a banner displayed by the Aussie fans read: "If the Poms bat first tell the taxi to wait."
Things have improved considerably for England since those grim days, but they were brought down to earth on their last visit in 2013-14 when the Aussies absolutely crushed them 5-0 in the most one-sided series many could recall.
The margins of defeat were quite staggering -- 381 runs in the first Test which was just a foretaste. There followed Australian victories by 280 runs, 150 runs, eight wickets and 281 runs. Not one of them close, unless you call a 150-run defeat "close". What made it worse was that the Australian team was not that great.
Former England captains were staggered by the capitulation. Nasser Hussein wrote: "An unmitigated disaster for England and Alistair Cook", an assessment that was hard to dispute. Ian Botham observed: "Watching England throughout this series has been little short of torture."
The question for the coming series is whether England, under captain Joe Root, can avoid another debacle like the 2013-14 tour. At the moment it doesn't look that promising, but you never know.
Problems started even before the squad left England when they were deprived of Ben Stokes following his involvement in an ugly street brawl in Bristol. It is a considerable loss for England. Normally going in at No.6, Stokes' aggression both in batting and bowling had seen him develop into England's most formidable all-rounder since Ian Botham. The fiery Stokes had been one of the few successes during England's fateful tour three years ago and scored their sole century in the series. (Australia notched 10 centuries).
Injuries have also hindered England's preparations. Promising fast bowler Toby Roland-Jones was ruled out with a back injury, Steven Finn returned to England after suffering a torn knee, while fellow quick Jake Ball injured his ankle in a warm-up match. It makes it all the more important that England's key bowlers James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Chris Woakes stay fit. It also means that Somerset's Craig Overton, initially expected to be a back-up, may well start in Brisbane.
Another key player suffering injury has been all-rounder Moeen Ali but he has recovered and bowled tidily in the final warm-up match in Townsville this week.
Moeen could play a key role for England and with Stokes out of the equation he will move up a place in the batting order, behind Johnny Bairstow. Moeen can be an attractive bat, although his bowling is more important for England's cause. They know there's nothing Aussie batsmen like better than whacking an England spinner over cow corner. Moeen is aware what he is in for. "They will definitely come after me," he acknowledges.
England's batting in the warm-ups had been patchy until this week's game in Townsville in which Cook compiled 70, while opening partner Mark Stoneman notched the first England century of the tour quickly followed by Dawid Malan. However, it was not against the strongest bowling attack. England will be praying Cook rediscovers some of his 2011 form. While Root is a consistent batsmen there is some nervousness how the newcomers will handle the Ashes pressures. All the England batsmen have weaknesses and you can be sure the Aussies' front-line bowlers will exploit them.
Earlier England coach Trevor Bayliss admitted too many batsmen had been failing to capitalise on good starts: "Sixties are not enough," he said. "The batsmen realise they have got to do better." It looks like they might be responding.
Australia are not without problems either, especially in the wicket-keeping department. However captain Steve Smith enjoys a powerful batting line-up especially if David Warner and his exciting new opening partner Cameron Bancroft get going. He will also be hoping that Mitchell Starc will prove as fearsome for the England batting as Mitchell Johnson three years ago.
No Ashes tour in Australia would be complete without sledging and you can be sure there will be no holding back this time, especially following the Stokes incident. Root knows it's coming and claims the team are prepared . "I'm sure there will be a lot of banter flying around on and off the field," he said. " Once you've played in a few you sort of know what to expect."
Australia have not lost at the Gabba, or Gabbatoir as the locals call it, in 29 years and few think that will change next week. Root knows what awaits: "We're expecting it to be hostile, very loud and rowdy." He's got that right.