England’s two options to seize huge Ashes opportunity against vulnerable Australia

Join the Miguel Delaney Inside Football Join the Miguel Delaney Inside newsletter to get exclusive access and unparalleled insight. Football Join the Miguel Delaney Inside newsletter Football NewsletterAre you ready for another injury? Another four-year cycle, another chance for England fans everywhere to get their hopes up ahead of what will – likely – be another 4-0 away Ashes defeat. Why should this series differ? Why would England fans, whether they are avid or casual, bother to tune in when it is so clear that another defeat awaits? As a reminder of the stats, England haven’t won a match, let alone a series, in Australia since 2011. Played 15, won zero, drawn two and lost 13 is their record in the last 15 years.Well, the stars are aligning in England’s favour. Australia’s talismanic captain Pat Cummins is out injured, possibly until even the third Test, while his teammate Josh Hazlewood is now also missing. Between them, the Australians have lost 600 wickets. “It’s a capital D disaster,” Pete Lalor is an Australian journalist with extensive experience. “Australia’s lost its greatest advantage this series: and that was the bowling attack.”News that Hazlewood would miss the first Test broke during England’s warm-up match at Lilac Hill. Matt Fisher of the England Lions happened to be walking by the press tent at the time and snapped his head towards the conversation. The tourists have an incredible opportunity. That’s partly because, by contrast, England are close to reporting a full bill of health. Mark Wood, the forever injured X-factor bowler, returned a clear scan on his hamstring, and although by any sensible logic he shouldn’t play in Perth with only eight overs of bowling under his belt since he underwent surgery earlier this year, England sense an opportunity that with Cummins and Hazlewood out, now is the time to press every big red button they can. Wood might not realize it, but he could be on a one-way trip for the fastest player in the world. Give your all and sail off into victory, even if you are broken. open image in galleryCould England gamble on Mark Wood’s fitness ahead of the opening Test? (Getty Images). The fact that England is able to make such a shortsighted selection decision can be attributed to the surface-friendly Optus Stadium pitch in Perth. Fast bowlers have played a smaller role on Australian pitches in recent years. England is now weighing up their options. The first option is a 5-man seam attack. They hinted at this when they selected a team that did not include a spinning bowler for the warm-up game against England Lions. It would mean all four bowlers, Brydon Carese, Gus Atkinson and Wood, will be playing alongside Ben Stokes. Wood and Archer had only ever played together in one test. It would be England’s fastest ever bowling attack. Plan B involves Will Jacks. Wood’s extreme speed makes the five-man attack an attractive option. If the fifth seamer was Josh Tongue, then they might not be as keen. Jacks can help. Open image in galleryWill jacks be the winner? ‘Plan B’ Selection for England (Getty Images). Selected as a wildcard in order to add some off-spin and extend the batting lineup, he made his case by scoring 84 runs during the warm-up match before clean-bowling Joe Root. Jacks, and not Shoaib, is likely to be the spinner of choice for England at this stage. Whatever they end up deciding, both England’s Plan A and Plan B will be unconventional team selections. They wouldn’t have it any other way. First time since 2010/11 England is on top of the world at the start of the first test. Ollie Pope has secured his place in the top 7, after scoring a century and 90 in the warm up match. Australia is likely to have two debutants, opening batter Jake Weatherald, and seam-bowler Brendan Doggett. Both are fine players and both are 31 years old, but their performances have shown the importance of younger players. “Dad’s Army” The Australian camp has been the target of a number of jibes. Cameron Green is the youngest player in the Australian team, aged 26. The expected XI will be the oldest test side in over 100 years with six players older than 34. Since years, the Australian team has been feared for what would happen when or if their bodies started to fail. Cummins, Hazlewood and others are injured. This is the time to find out. open image in galleryEngland are hoping to make this year’s Ashes the trip of a lifetime (Getty Images)The hype for the series will continue to build until the first ball is bowled in front of a packed Optus Stadium that holds 60,000 people. Over the course of the series it is estimated that 40,000 UK travellers will travel to Australia. Some of them will travel for cricket. The excitement of the Tests combined with the fact that no travelling fans could be allowed in 2021/22 because of Covid makes this a trip for many. “Everywhere you look it’s Ashes,” “It was a great match,” said Pope, after the warm-up game in Lilac Hill. “Everyone is just so excited for it. Hopefully if I do get the nod on Friday, then it’s going to be an amazing series to be a part of.”Three-and-a-half years of Brendon McCullum and Stokes’ reign has built towards this tour. Captains’ and coaches’ legacies are – fairly or otherwise – defined by what happens down under. It will be no exception.
2025-11-19 07:38:17