"THIS is the best league in the world," says Thierry Henry at the end of the advert for his employers in which he is superimposed onto some golden moments in Premier League history.

Yet another example of the broadcasters, who admittedly sell their product brilliantly, having a problem with adjectives.

The fourth Ashes Test gets under way in Nottingham this morning swiftly after another supposedly 'great' clash in Birmingham.

England's crushing eight-wicket success at a raucous Edgbaston was undoubtedly compelling but it wasn't great. The batting was awful with the impatient Aussies flummoxed by the moving Duke ball and the home side failing to really cash in.

The series has been gripping but it hasn't been top-end fare and to these partisan eyes the Cardiff Test provided the best cricket and a good contest.

Punters on all four days got value for money – 40 wickets fell and 1,269 runs were scored at a good rate (at Lords there were 1,235 runs with 30 wickets and at Edgbaston there were 806 with 32 wickets).

But even at the Swalec Stadium it was entertainment rather than excellence, apart from Joe Root's majestic ton.

There is no doubt that we will be kept on edge by events at Trent Bridge and the Oval but let's not pretend it has been a contest of sporting brilliance.

And the same should apply over the next nine months of Premier League coverage; not even the most fervent Hornet or Eagle would argue that the Watford versus Crystal Palace clash on September 27 merits the full, over the top 'Super Sunday' billing.

On Monday, October 19 we will be told how lucky we are that it's possible to watch Charlie Adam kicking lumps out of Gylfi Sigurdsson in HD at the Liberty Stadium.

Of course beauty is in the eye of the beholder – and I preferred the brutal autumn international between Wales and South Africa that ended 12-6 to the free-scoring 33-28 Test against the Australians at the start of the series – but don't confuse absorbing with high quality.