England fans know better than to get too excited about Australian slip-ups but consecutive defeats for the tourists have fuelled cautious optimism that the destination of the Ashes may not be a foregone conclusion. Australia followed their Twenty20 drubbing by England on Monday with a four-wicket defeat at the hands of Somerset in a one-day match in Taunton on Wednesday.
To lose one match in a shortened version of the game can be dismissed as "a bit of fun", but to lose two in three days is a trend Australia captain Ricky Ponting will be looking to stamp out quickly.
"I am pretty embarrassed," Ponting said after Wednesday's defeat. "We shall sit down and talk about why we were not able to defend a total of 342.
"We weren't smart enough or good enough. We'll have our work cut out against Bangladesh on Saturday the way we are playing."
Somerset's only previous victory against Australia came in a three-day match in 1977, when the tourists went on to lose the Ashes series.
Against such portents, however, the world champion Aussies can take comfort from their eight consecutive Ashes series victories and wins in 14 of the last 15 one-day internationals against England.
The tourists should get back to winning ways in that triangular series match against Bangladesh in Cardiff on Saturday but the true test will come against England in Bristol the following day.
Shane Warne, Australia's greatest Test wicket taker, thinks England fans should not get too carried away.
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