England hold all the aces over Australia

England find themselves in an unusual position at the moment. After securing the one day series against Australia with two games to spare they can now laud it over their great rivals in every format of the game.

The Ashes are in their possession after last year's dramatic home victory, while their first ever ICC trophy was secured in the form of the World T20 where they beat the Aussies in the final.

The feel-good factor among the players is in stark contrast to England's footballers, whose 4-1 hammering by Germany threatened to ruin the afternoon for the supporters packed into Old Trafford on Sunday, before Tim Bresnan's late pushed nervously sealed a series deciding victory. Graeme Swann even went as to say they were the "golden generation" of England cricketers, a title rather embarrassingly applied to England's failed footballers.

The football side, who were third favourites in the World Cup online odds, could learn a thing or two from their cricketing counterparts.

Swann's argument certainly seems to hold water as the side are backing up their talent with results. England are historically weak at the shorter forms of the game but it appears they are flourishing in all forms of the game - don't forget this is just a year after England lost to the Netherlands in the T20 World Cup and were hammered by Australia in the post-Ashes One day series.

Each win in this series was achieved via different methods. The first at Rose Bowl was all about the bat with Eoin Morgan's superb century leading them comfortably home. The second in Cardiff was all about the bowlers, with the short bouncing, skidding deliveries of Broad and co skittling through the Aussie top order. The third was achieved with grit, determination and nerve.

Too often in the past England have bottled it at the crucial moment so a win of this nature is another sign of an emerging side determined to win at all costs. This is reflected in the cricket odds.

Andy Flower deserves a lot of credit for setting England on a path to complete cricket domination. Flower gathered his players last year and stated his ambition to be number one at all forms of the game. It sounds ambitious but the self-belief and confidence flooding through the players suggests they agree with his vision and ethos.

Don't write off the Aussies yet though. Listening to Ricky Ponting after the game suggested he is as determined as ever to gain the last laugh and that could come when the Ashes kick off next November.

But the fact we have barely mentioned Freddie Flintoff shows just how far England have come and the genuine threat they pose in the world game.