THE former England hero Phil DeFreitas has the same vibes about the Ashes that he had all those years ago when the coveted urn was last won in Australia.

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DeFreitas was only 20 when he was selected for his first England tour in 1986/87, joining a force that was written off as having no chance against the Australians. But contrary to expectations, Mike Gatting's side won the series 2-1, a success that has not been emulated since.

DeFreitas, now cricket coach at Oakham School, suffered with the rest of England's cricket followers when series after series in Australia went pear-shaped, but this year could be different, with Andy Flower playing an important part as coach. "I get the same vibes, the same feeling that we'll go over there with a fair chance of winning," DeFreitas said at Wormsley on Sunday. "It's easy to say that, and playing for the Ashes in Australia is totally different. I know that Ricky Ponting will be up for it, the Australians will be up for it and it certainly won't be easy. It'll be tough, but I do fancy England to win it."

THE question that Shane Warne has raised after England's impressive success in the final of the ICC World Twenty20 in Barbados focuses on The Ashes next winter. The Australians might have to play very well to win that Test series, and one might add 'especially while Andy Flower is in charge'.

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The problem for England is that perhaps only four of Paul Collingwood's 20-over side are certainties for the Test team -- Collingwood, Kevin Pietersen, Graeme Swann and Stuart Broad. As Australia could only count on a couple more than that for the longer format, predicting the fate of The Ashes is difficult.

Warne, writing in the Daily Telegraph , noted that the England mindset had changed from 'hoping' to win if they played their best. "Now they think 'we can beat this lot'. That feeling of being scared of playing Australia has disappeared," he said.

There is no guarantee that the winning psychology can transfer to Andrew Strauss, Alastair Cook and company when they resume their stations in Test cricket, with Strauss as captain again. England's record in Australia for more than 20 years has been lamentable.

However, the look of fear and desperation on the Australian faces as England's batsmen faced them down in the Twenty20 final was intriguing. Craig Kieswetter and Kevin Pietersen were absolutely superb as they 'grafted' the hard yards to set up a comfortable finish. The Australian fast-bowling strategy, led by Shaun Tait, required intense concentration to combat.

Kieswetter and Pietersen picked them off with twos and singles and occasional boundaries until they felt comfortable enough to move through the gears towards a seven-wicket win with three overs to spare. It was a thrashing that exposed Australia's one-dimensional approach. They had no plan B.

Graeme Swann, praised by Warne as the world's No 1 spinner -- an accolade bestowed long ago by these pages -- gave England a distinct edge as Australia struggled with the bat. There is every reason for England to expect to win the World Cup on the subcontinent next year.

England's management has been guilty of not quashing the Pietersen stardom syndrome that the media like to feed on. In the past there has been too much 'serious blow to our hopes' talk when the South African has been unavailable. That would be my only mild criticism of Flower, the national coach, who is a refreshing influence in so many ways.

Flower's years of playing for Zimbabwe, where international players mingle with supporters in bars as a matter of course like normal cricketers, has equipped this articulate son of a schoolteacher with patience, honesty and an endearing humility. I noticed this when chatting to him in Harare Sports Club long before he became the world No 1 batsman. These qualities will almost certainly have rubbed off on to his England charges, even KP.

Though a top-notch batsman, Pietersen was barely missed during the 2009 Ashes victory in England. He was man of the series in the World Twenty20 in the Caribbean, but this format allows no individual to carry a team, because bowling is too important. England could cope without Pietersen if they had to, with Ravi Bopara waiting in the wings. And was Andrew Flintoff missed? Not at all, though he is a great bloke.

APART from a possible court appearance as witnesses over the theft of an Aston Martin, Michael Clarke has managed to disengage with the Lara Bingle media circus and return to cricket to represent Australia against New Zealand in the first Test at Wellington, starting on Friday.

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Clarke suddenly quit the tour on March 8 and missed three one-day internationals against New Zealand after flying to Sydney to comfort his then fiancee Lara... and then break off their engagement that had lasted two years. They became a celebrity couple when Clarke popped the question to bikina model Lara, 20, with a 4.7 carat diamond ring allegedly worth about £100,000 while on holiday together in New York.

This week before Clarke returned to cricket still as Australia's vice-captain, he spoke to Lara on the phone after it had been reported that her agent Max Markson had offered her exclusive 'story' to a television channel for about £500,000. This followed an earlier plea to the media by Markson to respect the couple's privacy with an oily hypocrisy that surprised even the Aussie newspapers.

Clarke returned to a media scrum at Wellington airport this week, and Australia's coach Tim Nielsen said he had the team's support while he dealt with the sort of personal issue that anyone might have. "It's just that we happen to do it in a public forum, pretty much," Nielsen said.

The theft of Bingle's Aston Martin, after a third party had illegally obtained the keys, resulted in a police charge and a likely court appearance for the two celebrities as witnesses. The Bingle saga continued to fizz when a report claimed that plumbers had been called in to rescue a precious item from the foul water drains at her Bondi apartment amid speculation that she had thrown her engagement ring away, though this was denied by her father and her agent. 

Clarke's original reason for leaving the tour was to support an upset Bingle after a magazine published an old topless photograph, a shower room picture that had been circulated by her previous boyfriend, an Australia Rules footballer not worth dignifying by reporting his name. His claim that he was not involved in the magazine access hardly let him off the hook as an outright cad.

Sportingly, one might think, the New Zealand fast bower Chris Martin said he and his team-mates would not be 'sledging' Clarke about the Bingle embarrassment. One of Clarke's team-mates, Mike Hussey, had appealed to his opponents not to attempt to upset the batsman in this way, a plea that drew angry response from members of the public in newspaper comment strings.

Bearing in mind that Australians had been the world's keenest sledgers since the foul-mouthed days of Ian Chappell in the 1970s, there was little sympathy for Clarke. There was a time when the Aussies had been accused of making 'choo choo' noises when Chris Cairns arrived at the crease after his sister had been killed in a railway crash, but this dreadful personal insult had almost certainly been barracking from the crowd and not from the players.

Nevertheless, that notion that choo choo from the Australian players was a credible possibility stood as the legacy of a dirty past that was not exorcised, as many hoped, by the revolting flare-up between Glenn McGrath and Ramnaresh Sarwan in Antigua in May 2003. Loutish Australian behaviour surfaced again at Sydney during their home series against India in January 2008. After Martin had given his informal non-sledging assurance in Wellington, he added: "The fans will probably have a ball, but that's nothing to do with us."

Clarke proposed on bended knee under a full moon at the Rockefeller Centre skating rink in March 2008, and within a year there were reports that Bingle was feeling lonely while her future husband was away playing cricket. Many would think she should have twigged this eventuality before accepting his romantic marriage proposal.

Clarke arguably should not have quit the tour, leaving the team hotel in Hamilton without warning on the eve of a one-day international, his absence reducing Australia to 12 fit men. Major family events such as illness, bereavement or birth have caused such disruption in the past -- and one could add personal mental state, as with Marcus Trescothick -- but an upset fiancee could hardly be deemed so serious, not for a man due to captain Australia at the World Twenty20 tournament in the West Indies in May.

Clarke's sudden departure was a mystery at the time, and it was assumed his father, a cancer sufferer, had been taken ill. Clarke had declined a slot in the Indian Premier League in 2008 to spend time with him.

CHARLIE SAYS: While Bingle deserved sympathy for the photo scandal, her hurt was a relatively minor matter. Such tumult should not have been set in motion to envelop Australia's likely successor to Ricky Ponting. Naturally Clarke was upset and could not have been in a good frame of mind for cricket. Nevertheless the show had to go on, for Clarke and for everyone else. Marriage must have already slipped off Lara's priorities by the time Clarke joined her from New Zealand. Clarke's standing has been reduced by his hapless action; Bingle's consolation will be publicity likely to earn her hundreds of thousands of pounds.

THE loan of "several hundred thousand pounds" by Kent chairman George Kennedy to his county club after their horrendous loss in 2009 underlined that the gap between 'haves' and 'have nots' was widening in the recession.

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This week Glamorgan, after their first season as a Test county, reported that an £822,000 profit from hosting Australia at Cardiff in 2009 had turned a loss into a healthy surplus. Their turnover rose by an incredible 71 per cent, though they were one of the counties who suffered from dwindling interest in the Twenty20 Cup.

The Kent Messenger newspaper disclosed that Kennedy decided to step in to ease the burden of bank charges afer Kent's  second successive loss, this time more than £800,000. "I hope that members and supporters see this as a sign of my absolute commitment to ensure the future success of the club," he said. The deficit was worsened by losses of £190,000 on two summer pop concerts at Canterbury  -- "a major blow" -- £150,000 paid out in staff settlements and £140,000 from earlier years, including bad debts and VAT payments.

Kennedy, in his second year as chairman, said: "The three are non-recurring debts and are unlikely to happen again, so would bring the loss down to around £300,000, which is half the previous year. So from a trading position going forward, I am actually quite bullish, and feel we are in reasonable shape."

Glamorgan reported a surplus of £338,000, the third consecutive year they had managed to stay in the black. But they would have lost money without the Ashes party in town for the first Test, and the turnover £11.6 million was four times greater than 2007, as a measure of how far the Sophia Gardens redevelopment had taken the county.

Alan Hamer, the chief executive, said: "The financial importance of staging an Ashes Test match, can be clearly seen. Despite the recession, we are delighted to have been able to report a record operating profit. We have every reason to look forward to the future with confidence. We are now an established Test match venue and have been awarded international matches through until 2016."

Nevertheless hospitality sales were badly affected by the recession, with take-up for the Test match much lower than expected. County match-day income was disappointing, especially from low attendances for Twenty20 Cup matches. That seemed to underline that cricket lovers limited their spending after the historic first Welsh Test match.

THE odds against Andrew Flintoff receiving a knighthood in the new year's Honours List have been noted at only 10/1 by Ladbrokes, a witty extension of the 2005 'gong' confetti that rained on the winning Ashes squad.

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Flintoff might well become a knight in the future for good works but not for simply being a good egg in this Ashes series. In any case the cricket this time did not reach high standards of 2005, a series boasting the two best bowlers in the history of cricket -- Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath -- and several players at their peak, including Flintoff.

Nationwide rejoicing broke out at the Ashes success, and an open-top bus journey might well be on the cards, but let us hope there will not be a spray of honours to emulate the MBE-for-all-the-lads in 2005. OBEs for Strauss and Flintoff should suffice.... please. There must be debate whether a drawn series would have been a more equitable outcome, especially as England proved inferior in the individual statistics. For example, at least three batsmen were badly out of form -- Alastair Cook, Ravi Bopara and Paul Collingwood -- and there was heavy reliance on the captain Andrew Strauss for consistent runs.

Strauss and newcomer Jonathan Trott were England's only century-makers, whereas no fewer than six Australians did this -- Katich, Ponting, North, Haddin, Clarke and Hussey. What killed the Aussies were two disastrous sessions in London when too many first-innings wickets fell too quickly at Lord's and the Brit Oval, on the second day in each case. That cost them two Tests, and their landslide success in Leeds was not enough.

After Leeds, England could be backed at 7/2 to win the final Test at the Oval, and to their credit they did the business, fully deserving their 197-run victory. The selectors picked the right team, at last giving Trott his chance and handing all the spin resonsibility to Graeme Swann, probably the best off-spinner since Jim Laker in my view, knowing that Fred Titmus and John Emburey were very good indeed.

Trott looked so capable one wondered why on earth Bopara and Ian Bell had been preferred in the first place at No 3. Generally the England selectors had a poor series, and they do not really know yet who the best back-up batsmen and bowlers could be.

It was a series played in good spirit in front of energised crowds, one of the keys to England's success. The din urging England onwards was particularly noticeable at Cardiff and the Oval. Perhaps at Edgbaston attempts to get under the Australians' skins diverted their focus from supporting the home players. To boo or not to boo Ponting -- who cares?

James Sutherland, Cricket Australia's chief executive, responding to media wrath against Ponting back home commented that sacking him as leader would be completely unfair. "Ricky's had a very, very good series," he said. "He's been under incredible pressure. I thought the dignity and poise that he showed in defeat was something that all Australians should be very proud of."

The Australian management conceded they should have selected off-spinner Nathan Hauritz, but this admission obscured the fact that it was the batting that let the side down at the crucial time.

England were listed at 6/4 to retain the Ashes in Australia in 2010/11, and for this home series the bookmakers took a pounding. Ladbrokes spokesman Nick Weinberg said: "England have rewarded patriotic punters across the land. They attracted criticism in the aftermath of Headingley, but fans kept the faith and have been duly rewarded."

THE ICC said today they were proud of their anti-corruption system and they praised an unnamed Australian player for disclosing an approach by a man with alleged bookmaking links during the current Ashes series.

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The ICC confirmed that, in accordance with media revelations, the Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) had received a report from the Australia team management concerning an approach to one of its players by a man suspected of links with illegal bookmaking.

In a press statement from Dubai the ICC added: "There is no evidence of any illegal activity as a result of this approach, which took place following the second Test at Lord’s in July, and the ICC would like to place on record its praise for the player approached and the Australia team management for reporting the issue.

"Approaches to players do happen and it would be naïve to assume otherwise; if they did not then there would be no need for the continuing existence of the ACSU.

"However, the ICC is confident that all approaches are being reported, it is proud of systems and education processes in place which have created a widespread culture of integrity among the world’s top players and it is pleased those players have confidence in the ACSU to report such matters.

"Incidents such as the one reported in the media illustrate the need for constant and ongoing vigilance on the part of players, officials and administrators and there is no scope for complacency. However, thanks to the ACSU, cricket is regarded by other sports as a world leader in the area of anti-corruption and the ICC wants it to stay that way.

"There is no indication that any matches in the current Ashes series or the ICC World Twenty20 2009 have been affected by corruption in any way and the ICC is confident the issue is under control.

"The ICC does not intend to reveal specifics of any approaches to players because doing so would have the potential to be counter-productive to any investigations and also to relationships of trust the ACSU has developed."

The ICC general manager of cricket David Richardson added: "Cricket is more popular than ever before, and with that popularity comes the opportunities for growth but also challenges such as the one highlighted by the approach to an Australian player."

THE final Test at the Brit Oval to decide the Ashes series will be a betting bonanza, and it is estimated that an unprecedented £10 million will be wagered if current trends continue. There will be access to npower's giant screen in Regent's Park for days three and four this weekend.

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Ladbrokes claim interest in their betting markets is at an all-time high and, despite England's poor showing at Headingley, most of the money is going on Andrew Strauss's team as 7/2 outsiders, bolstered by the return of Andrew Flintoff.

Flintoff, in the final Test of his career, is 3/1 with Ladbrokes to be top England wicket-taker, 10/1 to be their top batsman and 8/1 favourite to be man of the match. He is 12/1 to take five wickets in either innings, 2/1 to hit a fifty and 10/1 to hit a hundred.

Ladbrokes spokesman Robin Hutchison said: "We thought interest was intense in 2005, but this has pushed out the boundaries even further. This time England have to win if they are to snatch back the urn, and we are laying bundles of them up and down the country. If England win and Flintoff is man of the match, we'll melt all our betting pens and carve a huge statue in fond remembrance of the man who burnt the bookies."

Australia are 6/4 to make it two victories in a row and retain the Ashes, with the draw priced at 6/4.

Cricket supporters and families can take a picnic and watch Saturday and Sunday on a giant screen at Regents Park, courtesy of npower as part of their "Cricket in the Park" promotion. There will be a host of activities for all the family.

Admission is free on first come first served basis, though places can be reserved through the ECB website www.ecb.co.uk

Cricket in the Park area is located on Marylebone Green. Entrance will be via the south end of the park, with the nearest entrances located on York Bridge and Park Square Way.

Underground warning: Engineering work means line closures on Jubilee, Metropolitan (no service Aldgate to Harrow-on-the-Hill), District (no service Whitechapel to Dagenham East, and no service Putney Bridge to Wimbledon), Hammersmith & City (no service Whitechapel to Barking).

The following bus routes stop within walking distance of Regents Park:

No 2: Marylebone Station - Crystal Palace

13: Aldwych - Golders Green

18: Euston - Sudbury

27: Chalk Farm - Turnham Green

30: Marble Arch - Hackney Wick

74: Baker St Station - Roehampton

82: Victoria - North Finchley

113: Oxford Circus - Edgware

139: Waterloo - West Hampstead

189: Oxford Circus - Brent Cross Shopping Centre

274: Angel Islington - Lancaster Gate

453: Marylebone Street - Deptford Broadway

C2: Oxford Circus - Parliament Hill Fields

SO England have decided to go with Ian Bell at No 3, drop Ravi Bopara and give Jonathan Trott perhaps the toughest debut imaginable at the Brit Oval this week. A nation's hopes will be pinned on risk.

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The whole series depends on the fifth Test, but do not be surprised if Trott fails in the first innings and if Australia retain the Ashes with a drawn match. The Kennington pitch, with an increasing tendency to blandness these days, might be the ultimate decider.

As for winning, Trott is an admirable player with skill and character, but this match could be an ordeal because he is a more vulnerable starter than average. One can only wish him well.

England's gesture of drafting Monty Panesar into the squad to join Graeme Swann will fool no one. It would be extraordinary if two spinners were to be selected -- madness in fact. One suspects that the selectors will hope that Steve Harmison can do the business as he has done in county cricket at the Oval. I would be tempted to drop James Anderson, my favourite bowler when in form, and try Ryan Sidebottom to keep at least one end tight.

Harmison was worse than mediocre at Headingley in the fourth Test, but Anderson was dreadful. It was quite a shock to see him struggle, apparently slightly injured. Nevertheless, defeat was down to the batting.

The national selector Geoff Miller admitted that "difficult selection decisions" had been made after a prolonged meeting at Trent Bridge. "Ravi Bopara has been going through a tough time with the bat in this series and we have decided to leave him out of the squad for this game," he said. "He will be extremely disappointed, but remains very much part of our plans for the future, and I am sure that he has the talent and temperament to regain his place in the side.

"Ravi’s omission means Jonathan Trott will make his Test debut at The Brit Oval. Having been part of the squad at Headingley, he was the next batsman in line in our view, and this rewards him for the excellent form he has shown in county cricket both this summer and with England Lions over the winter.

"Ian Bell will bat at three next week which is a position he has occupied for England before, and we were delighted to see both him and Jonathan make centuries for Warwickshire this week. Andrew Flintoff and James Anderson’s injuries are much improved with rest and treatment, and we anticipate that both players will be fit and available for selection next Thursday."

Ladbrokes have listed Trott at 11/2 to score a century in the Test. With four batsman in the top five failing to reach double figures in the first innings at Headingley, the bookmakers are offering 4/1 against Strauss and Cook failing again, 7/2 Bell and Collingwood and 3/1 Trott.

Andrew Flintoff is 12/1 to take five or more wickets in an innings in his final Test and England are 2/1 to score 500 or more in their first innings.

Ladbrokes spokesman Robin Hutchison said: "Despite a poor performance at Headingley England are currently being well-supported ahead of the Oval. We've taken twice as much money on them as we have on the Aussies - but that may be because they're twice the price."

England are 7/2 to win the match and regain the Ashes, with Australia 6/4 and the draw priced at 6/5.

AUSTRALIA face a strong-looking England Lions side in a two-day match at Canterbury starting on Saturday, with Jonathan Trott belatedly being wheeled out to face them.

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Though the Lions, captained by the Glamorgan and England all-rounder Jamie Dalrymple, have been selected from counties not involved in clashing fixtures, there are several players with a good opportunity to catch the eye for a winter tour.

Trott, a non-playing Test squad member at Headingley, will probably bat at No 3, and it is a fair bet that Steve Moore's form will be scrutinised carefully, even though intensity is usually missing in two-day tour matches. Another player likely to progress to international cricket is Chris Woakes, the Warwickshire all-rounder. The question is how soon.

England Lions XI (v Australia at Canterbury, Aug 15-16)

Jamie Dalrymple – Captain (Glamorgan)

Michael Carberry (Hampshire)

Stephen Moore (Worcestershire)

Jonathan Trott (Warwickshire)

Andrew Gale (Yorkshire)

Stephen Davies (Worcestershire)

Liam Plunkett (Durham)

Chris Woakes (Warwickshire)

James Harris (Glamorgan)

Steve Kirby (Gloucestershire)

Gary Keedy (Lancashire)

ENGLAND were miserably poor at Headingley and Ladbrokes have them at 7/2 against winning the final Test, but it would be wrong to write off their chances completely of regaining the Ashes at the Brit Oval, starting on Aug 20.

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As readers of this website will be aware long before the Leeds fiasco, the selectors dug themselves into a pit by going back to Ian Bell and they were very fortunate to escape media wrath. Now changes are needed for the fifth Test at the worst possible time, because any newcomer to the side will struggle for an impact at such a late stage.

In fact, having wasted a golden opportunity to blood Jonathan Trott at Headingley, England can really only go with the players who won at Lord's as much as possible, including a half-crocked Andrew Flintoff. As a group of them know their careers are on the line, they might maintain their concentration for longer. Even this might not be enough, but it is the best chance. Lord's for the memories or Lourdes for a 'miracle' cure?

Flintoff will return to replace Bell, and the leg-spin all-rounder Adil Rashid will probably have to be drafted in to replace Steve Harmison, the fast bowler who failed so disappointingly at Headingley. Perhaps a new untried speciallist batsman will be needed, but if the Oval strip proves to be a featherbed, a decent series will end in anti-climax anyway.

Several million cricket followers will realise from the excellent Channel Five highlights programme that Bell and Paul Collingwood are not good enough at four and five. And Ravi Bopara should not be batting as high as No 3. On-screen analysis by Geoff Boycott and presenter Mark Nicholas added further damning evidence.

Bell, usually looking to press forward on the front foot, can be easy prey for lifters, and he pushes across the line when facing left-arm fast bowlers such as Mitchell Johnson and, last year, Zaheer Khan. Everyone knows this about Bell -- even Geoff Miller, the national selector, and coach Andy Flower.

Collingwood has not even been a heavy scorer at county level with Durham. He somehow found his way into the England side as a fighter and top fielder in one-day cricket, creeping up the order to five in this Ashes series when Kevin Pietersen dropped out through injury. Matt Prior is a far better bat than 'Colly' anyway.

Little can be gained by recalling Mark Ramprakash on his home strip a few weeks before his 40th birthday. His heavy scoring for Surrey has been gratifying, but he did not deliver many dominant Test innings when he was in his prime.

The reason why the selectors refused to make obvious changes for Headingley was probably caution, the sort of funk that is bred into cricketers during their life on the circuit. These people like certainty, even if this means mediocrity. Change means disruption, risk and extra management. Change can mean admitting a mistake -- all so reminiscent of Duncan Fletcher's final year in charge.

No one would advocate going back to the days of wholesale pack-shuffling that used to destroy a team's morale, and it is true that the selectors could not be blamed for James Anderson's awful bowling. He lacked zest and accuracy at Headingley, perhaps because he had ricked something while batting. Harmison should have been managed on the field, forced to pitch less short. Ryan Sidebottom should have been picked, but that is easy to say in hindsight.

The problem was the batting. When Andrew Flintoff was ruled out, the selectors' thought process seemed to freeze. They thought that bowling would need the attention. They seemed to forget England's upper order remained paper thin, waiting to be taken. They ducked out of giving Trott a debut at No 3 and promoting Prior up the order.

Bopara, inked in at No 3, could only do his best. As he implied in The Mail On Sunday , it was hardly his fault he failed twice. "While many have questioned whether I have the specific skills you need to go in at No3, where you start every innings one ball away from opening," he said, "the fact is that that is where England want me to bat, and it is up to me to find a way to do it.

"I do believe that, working with our coach Andy Flower, there are certain technical issues I need to address. I did so during the series against West Indies, when it was pointed out to me that I was starting to let my back foot skip away towards fine leg and I managed to correct it straight away.

"Just as important for me now is my thinking and my approach. When you are searching for a bit of form, the main danger for a player like me, who likes to go for his shots, is that I might start slipping into survival mode. I’ve been guilty of doing that in the past, both in county cricket and when I had that terrible time on my first England tour in Sri Lanka, and it just doesn’t work.

"I’m always aware of the need to play according to the state of the innings and the match, but the worst thing a player like me can do is to shut down some shots in order to reduce the risk of getting out.

If you concentrate only on staying in, you are more or less bound to get out because you just allow the opposing bowlers to crank up the pressure."

At least Flintoff seems a certainty to start at the Oval, because his agent claimed the all-rounder declared himself fit last week. Andrew Chandler, said Flintoff was devastated not to be playing at Headingley. "I've never seen anybody as low as Flintoff was on Thursday night when he was told he would not be selected," he said in The Times.

The fourth Test lasted barely two and half days. The region's economy had been expected to benefit by some £10 million, according to the Yorkshire Post newspaper, with almost all the hotels in Leeds virtually full.

The Yorkshire Tourist Board said before the game that the atmosphere in the city was "buzzing", and restaurants and tourist attractions were enjoying an upturn. Tourist Board staff were apparently inundated with inquiries -- "mainly Australians keen to find out more about the city," a spokesman said.

Mark Lowther, manager of The Boundary Hotel in Cardigan Road, Headingley, said: "We're completely booked up and have been since Christmas. For the entire five days we are completely full. It is fantastic."

One would imagine that Leeds became pretty dead on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday amid a welter of cancelled bookings.