The Ashes: So near but yet so far

My green-and-gold cap is washed and ready. The boxes of Arnott's Barbecue Shapes, specifically ordered from Oz, remain tantalizingly unopened. The chilling VBs stare at me from my fridge.

But I won't succumb to temptation - not until that little urn (well, a replica thereof) returns to its rightful trophy case.at the 'G.'.

The third and most crucial cricket Test of this Ashes series bowls off at the WACA in Perth on Friday the 13th (gulp) and the pent-up frustration could all be released after a few days on that fastest of Australian pitches.