Clarke and Cook try to contain Ashes hype

NOTTINGHAM: Rival captains Michael Clarke and Alastair Cook both tried to keep the Ashes in perspective on the eve of the latest edition of cricket's oldest Test rivalry.

Ashes series tend to define the careers of England and Australian
cricketers -- for example, Mike Gatting won just two Tests as England captain but those were good enough to secure an Ashes series win in Australia in 1986/87 -- something England did not manage again until 24 years later.

This year, unusually, sees back to back Ashes series with a five-match contest in England starting at Nottingham's Trent Bridge ground on Wednesday followed by a return campaign in Australia that gets underway in November.

Australia skipper Clarke, a world-class batsman who briefly took over from Ricky Ponting when his predecessor was injured during the 2010/11 Ashes won 3-1 by England in Australia, said he did not want his captaincy to be judged on Ashes success.

England captain Cook, man of the series for his 766 runs during the 2010/11 Ashes, knows better than most how success against Australia can help cement the reputation of an England cricketer.

Meanwhile, with England bidding for a third straight Ashes series win, Cook insisted they could cope with the burden of being favourites.

For his part, Clarke added: "I've said for a while now that we come here as underdogs but that hasn't affected our preparation and it won't affect our performance either. (AFP)