During his time on the sidelines, England retained the urn with a resounding 3-1 win down under, and the strength of the pace attack would seemingly leave Onions behind James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Chris Tremlett, Steve Finn and Tim Bresnan in the pecking order.

BBC: Durham paceman Graham Onions nears return

Such "attack the strength" tactics have been a staple of this year's presidential race, with both sides trying to undermine perceived advantages of the other.

CNN: Both sides using Rove's campaign strategy this year

The latest attack has, once again, raised questions about the strength of security employed by Sony and other companies holding sensitive user data.

BBC: Sony investigating another hack

Ideally, the next commission president will also have the strength and stomach to attack the sleaze and inefficiency that have been accumulating inside the commission since the days of Jacques Delors, and even before.

ECONOMIST: Europe has to scratch its head