Ashes magic will be lost if England and Australia play each other too often, says Wisden editor Lawrence Booth It is, perhaps, a quirk of the decision to end the cyclical staging of the World Cup immediately after the Ashes and three editions of the contest are unlikely to follow so swiftly again, but Booth is concerned about the long-term effect. "By the end of the 2015 Ashes, the Australians will have visited this country for bilateral series five summers out of seven," writes Booth. Part of the charm of the big series resides in its sense of occasion. But 10 straight Ashes Tests from July to January will be less of an occasion, more of a routine. And if the cycle of two series against Australia every four years was to spare England winters containing both an Ashes and a World Cup then no such excuse can be made for Australia's swift return here in 2015. Not since the start of the 20th century, when only three sides played Test cricket, have 15 Ashes matches been crammed into so short a span. Over the next three years, one of the most durable encounters in all sport will be stretched to its limit. Administrators will point to full houses as proof that all is well. But a little of the magic will be lost. As for Cook, there is concern that he may be denied the kind of lengthy reign a leader of just 28 might otherwise expect. His predecessor, Andrew Strauss, was admittedly somewhat older when he took the job but upon his retirement last summer he had led the side in 45 Tests over three-and-a-half years. As Booth notes, his final opponent - South Africa skipper Graeme Smith - contested only 27 in the same period. "England play too much, full-stop," he writes. Even without the burdens of the limited-overs roles, Strauss had every right to be worn out. Here's wishing Cook a prosperous reign. It may be too much to hope for a long one. On a related theme, the editor also comes down unsympathetically on the rest and rotation programmes that currently prevail in a bid to counter-act the effects of too much cricket. You wonder about the point of it all if, fitness permitting, teams are disinclined to field their strongest side - basic principle of international sport which, thanks to the schedule, has been made to look like a hopeless ideal. When cricket's talent has to job-share to stay awake at the wheel, you know something is wrong.