The problem is not in the comparison you made, the truth is I wouldn't swap an India-Pakistan or India-Australia win with anything else. The difference is England is only obsessed with the Ashes itself and nothing else. At least with Liverpool and the footie, while a victory over the scum down the M62 is tastier than any other, the ultimate goal is to win trophies, particularly the Premier League. With England and the cricket, the goal is only to win the Ashes. They don't care about becoming the best team in the world. If it happens along the way of winning the Ashes, it's like a bonus. That's what angers me and moreso the approach taken by the English than even the Aussies. Even though the Aussies value the Ashes more than any other series, they set about to become the undisputed team on earth, in all forms of the game and they succeeded. And instead of resting on their laurels they went about maintaining their invincibility, something England is not bothered about at all. To them, the Ashes is the only series that matters and everything is simply practice or time-pass.