The Ashes is a year and two months away. A lot of things could change between then and now. England have not held the Ashes in 10 years. They have not won in Australia in 13 years with the last 3 series being absolute drubbing. 0-5, 0-4, 0-4 in Australia shows disaster threadbare. It can never make for a more depressing reading for an England fan than this scoreline. In those series, the lack of bowlers who can propel the ball at over 90MPH was felt. Australian pitches are hard and anyone who can really bend his back, will be rewarded. England went into the series with bowlers who can hardly bowl at 140KMPH. Now, the thinking has changed. They want to induct as many fast bowlers as possible in the teams that lead upto the Ashes. England preparing for Australia.
The first salvo was fired by the coach Brendan McCullum. It was his intervention that terminated the career of England’s all-time highest wicket-taker, James Anderson. Anderson was 42 when he retired. Towards the end of his career, Anderson lost most of his guile and pace. In about 1.3 years time, he would have become even more slower and as a result, would have been a huge liability. During the last series down under, Anderson was dropped from the first Test. England told everyone that he was rested to keep him fresh for the reminder of the series. Everyone knew that this wasn’t that case. ECB did not have the nerve to drop him from the series so they opted for such tactics.
The optics will not be pleasant to see the highest wicket-taker among the reserves throughout the series. It was a good call on the part of McCullum. Anderson himself must have made himself unavailable but he didn’t.
Multiple fast bowlers selected
England are determined to give chances to bowlers who can hurl the ball at 145KMPH. The ECB selected Gus Atkinson with that aim in mind. Atkinson is not just an express fast bowler but he is quite handy with the bat. The hundred in the 2nd Test against Sri Lanka, his first in any first class game, showed that he can contribute in multiple ways. Oliver Stone, another bowler who was sidelined for 3 years because of a stress fracture, has been brought back. He has not at all lost his pace after recovering. He was recalled so that by the time the Ashes becomes the topic of discussion, he would have had miles under his leg and he would have been thoroughly analysed by Stokes and McCullum.
It is with this intention, the ECB has called upon one more bowler, Brydon Carse for the tour of Pakistan. He will join the likes of Atkinson and Stone. Earlier this year, Carse was suspended from cricket for 16 months after pleading guilty. He placed bets to the tune of 303 bets on cricket matches, including Durham games in which he was not playing. Yet, he has been selected just because of his pace. Mark Wood another express bowler, though he is out of the game till the end of this year, will return early next year. He was the difference in the last Ashes in England between an Australian series win and a draw.
The pace that he generated alongwith accuracy not oly brought him wickets but sent shivers down the throats of the Australian batsmen. Thus giving England the luxury of unleashing not one, not two but four bowlers, all capable of bowling at 145KMPH and above.
Jofra Archer
Still, it is not clear whether Jofra Archer will be fit before the series. It has been 4 years since Archer played Test cricket. I do not know whether ECB has covered him in cotton so that he can be ready for the Ashes but if he is fit and if he is capable of bowling at the same pace that had the world sit back and take notice of him, Australian batsmen are in for a shock of their lifetime. Archer had Smith ducking and weaving the last time they faced each other.
Now that Smith is not the same old and Marnus Labuschagne too, not among the runs, England, if all the fast bowlers are fit and in form, will probably return the medicine given to them by Mitchell Johnson in 2015. Ofcourse, things will change. Smith may find the old himself as soon as he sights the English. Labuschagne may find form but at the current juncture, England is salivating at the prospect of unleashing terror in Australia. Australia may even resort to reducing the pitches bereft of bounce.
Having said that, England in trying to build an attack based on pace and on tall burly bowlers, must not lose the sight of struggling batsmen. Michael Vaughan is quite critical of the batsmen whom he says are not capable of posting a huge enough score without a substantial contribution from Root. Zak Crawley with his height and range of shots, will be an asset in Australia. I am not sure Duckett can survive. So, England will also have to think about their batting.
Wrapping up England preparing for Australia
More of the Ashes as we approach the fag end of 2025. Now, it is the turn of Pakistan to bear the brunt of England’s fast bowlers. Atkinson, Stone and Carse. It will be sort of a curtain raiser for the main event. Pakistan who are already under tremendous pressure following the loss to Bangladesh, will likely find themselves in serious problem at the end of the tour. The last time around, England won 3-0 without the help of quick bowlers.
Other Ashes blogs
https://icricketcritique.com/questions-for-cummins-ahead-of-old-trafford/
https://icricketcritique.com/questions-for-england-ahead-of-old-trafford/
https://icricketcritique.com/it-is-hard-to-wait-for-the-4th-ashes-test/
https://icricketcritique.com/a-tale-of-two-contrasting-series/
https://icricketcritique.com/are-we-witnessing-history/
https://icricketcritique.com/the-ashes-australian-perspective/
https://icricketcritique.com/the-ashes-england-perspective/