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Make no mistake, Thursday was a huge day for Surrey and English cricket. What the county are trying to do is change the culture of their team for the better by bringing in two mighty serious players. They have signed two of the great leaders of our game of the last 20 years. We knew Graeme Smith was heading to The Kia Oval but now the recruitment of Ricky Ponting takes things up a notch. The pair of them will not be coming here just for the cash. They will be hungry for success and hungry to leave a lasting impression on the other players in their team, a cultural legacy. Surrey have signed character, on and off the field. I liken it to when Shane Warne took over as captain of Hampshire. Before his arrival the county had the reputation as a bit of a ‘happy Hants’ outfit, but Shane instilled a professional, winning mentality that is prevalent at the Ageas Bowl to this day. Welcome aboard: Ricky Ponting and Graeme Smith have both signed for county side Surrey What Smith and P

The challenge for England will be their mindset. After the hype and intensity of their last two Test series against South Africa and India, what is coming up will not feel quite the same. There is a danger that a three-Test series in New Zealand will seem like a low-key affair for the players. They are in lovely surroundings and the Tests will probably be played in front of small crowds. That in itself provides a challenge. New Zealand have some really good players and consistently punch above their weight. If England rock up less than totally focused in Dunedin they could come unstuck. Wary: England must not take their foot off the gas against New Zealand Kevin Pietersen, in particular, loves the big stage and playing in front of big crowds. He often saves his best for when it really counts, when he can be the main man, but he will need to switch on and deliver against New Zealand. England clearly have the firepower to win this series. Jimmy Anderson with the new ball should b

The shenanigans in the Australian dressing room feel wrong on so many levels. First up, I do believe Mickey Arthur and Michael Clarke have been badly let down by the four players who failed to do their homework. It’s lazy and disrespectful of them not to respond to a simple task on a tough tour. Second, I find it hard to understand why Shane Watson, the vice-captain, isn’t on the management team. Tough stance: Australian coach Mickey Arthur dropped four players The whole structure seems wrong. When I was captain, we made sure people felt involved in big decisions — especially the No 2. It also tells me a lot about team spirit. Forget all this rubbish about clapping your team-mates on the balcony for the benefit of the TV cameras. Team spirit should have been someone asking Watson or the other three whether they’d done their feedback — and if not, why not? No show: Shane Watson along with James Pattinson, Mitchell Johnson and Usman Khawaja have all been dropped from the thir

Alastair Cook may have said England were lucky to escape from Dunedin with a draw but they got themselves out of jail by batting for so long in the second innings and will be hoping the worst in this series is now behind them. Clearly there is a pattern of poor starts to overseas series that Andy Flower will want to correct but in many ways it is the nature of modern touring. Duncan Fletcher used to say that he would rather his team be a little but under-cooked at the start of an intense period of cricket rather than running out of steam before the end of a big series and I would rather England be just that little bit under-done now if it means they are about right after 10 Ashes Tests. In training: England captain Alastair Cook takes part in a fielding drill ahead of the second Test So there is certainly no need to read too much into England’s first innings collapse and I certainly didn’t think that England would lose the first Test at any stage, not even when they were bowled

This series will have done England plenty of good. It is far better for them to have to work hard for any success they achieve over three Tests rather than just blowing New Zealand away. They have had to get into tough Test match mode and that will stand them in good stead this summer. I never agreed with those who said England would defeat New Zealand 3-0. That was always likely to prove rubbish. It just doesn’t work out that way over there, as I discovered on my two tours of the country. Scroll down for video Finish the job: England have improved as the series has progressed - but need to win in Auckland OK, this is far from a vintage New Zealand side but they have always been difficult to defeat at home and what they have done is manage to stay in the series, a bit like my England side used to try to do against superior opposition, in the hope of nicking it at the end. What England need to do now is avoid New Zealand doing what we did when we toured Pakistan by winni

Australia named their 16-man squad for this summer's Ashes series on Wednesday. Here, former England captain and Sportsmail columnist Nasser Hussain runs the rule over Michael Clarke's inexperienced Baggy Green side... Scroll down for video In good spirits: Australian captain Michael Clarke, center, laughs along with newly appointed vice captain Brad Haddin, left, and fast bowler Peter Siddle   AUSTRALIA SQUAD FOR THE ASHES (JUNE 26 - AUGUST 25): MICHAEL CLARKE (captain) AGE: 32TESTS: 92ASHES TESTS IN ENGLAND: 10VERDICT: Fantastic player with a great record as a batsman since taking over the captaincy but can get opened up by moving ball in England. Thinks outside the box as captain. BRAD HADDIN (vice-captain)AGE: 35TESTS: 44IN ENGLAND: 4VERDICT: Good selection. Feisty player who has had a lot of rucks with England players. Not the greatest keeper but a good counter-attacking batsman with a decent record against England. JACKSON BIRDAGE: 26TESTS: 2I

England are approaching this series with exactly the right attitude after they only managed to draw in New Zealand recently. Forget the Ashes: the next 10 days’ cricket against these Kiwis is all that matters now. National selector Geoff Miller’s comments the other day were revealing. He basically implied that England had been a little complacent during the three Tests in New Zealand. The players will deny that, of course, but you get the sense they are totally focused now. Hands on the prize: England will begin their international summer with a two-Test series against New Zealand Iconic setting: England are looking for a strong showing at Lord's after a hard-fought 0-0 draw in March I expect England to be right on top of their game at Lord’s and Headingley. And I can’t remember so many players starting the summer in such good form. In fact, I think this series will boil down to how New Zealand’s batsmen handle themselves against the swinging ball. They were clever aga

Lots of people were saying here that the first day of this Test series was boring and dull, but I prefer it that way rather than watching one side rack up 400 for three in a day. This was a proper contest between bat and ball. Maybe it was the way I used to bat but I found the first day at Lord’s a fascinating contest, with the bowlers testing the techniques of the England batsmen and rarely giving them anything to get after. There were, for instance, barely any bouncers. We see far too much dross from some bowling attacks these days and to watch England having to work hard for their runs on a slow pitch with a slow outfield was how Test cricket is meant to be, even in this impatient modern age. Outside the box: The captaincy of Brendon McCullum was impressive on the first day of the Lord's Test Brendon McCullum has carved out a reputation as an imaginative captain who thinks outside the box in his short time in charge of New Zealand but yesterday he was disciplined, almost