England pin hopes on pace barrage, Green primed for full-throttle Ashes opener

England go into the first Test against Australia on Friday with arguably their most hostile attack in decades, putting their faith in fast bowling in a quest to regain the Ashes.

Not since a bowling line-up led by John Snow and Bob Willis helped England to a 1970-71 series win have they arrived in Australia with such an array of genuine quicks.

In Jofra Archer and Mark Wood they have two bowlers of express pace, both capable of regularly topping 90 mph.

Josh Tongue is also a wicket-taking threat, while Brydon Carse and Matthew Potts add depth to an impressive attack that could feature Gus Atkinson, a seamer whose 13 Tests have yielded 63 wickets at an impressively low average of 22.01.

If England captain Ben Stokes can stay fit after a series of injuries, his lively medium-pace should help balance the attack.

England have not won any of their last 15 Tests in Australia since their 2010-11 Ashes triumph, a run of 13 defeats and two draws.

Back then, the fast-medium accuracy of James Anderson was supplemented by the speed of Steven Finn, Tim Bresnan and Chris Tremlett.

Australia’s traditionally hard, bouncy pitches have favoured fast bowling, but England seam attacks on recent tours have been short of raw speed.

“I don’t care how many wickets you take. I want to know how hard you are running in, how hard you are hitting the pitch, and are you able to sustain pace at 85-88mph?,” England managing director Rob Key said last year.

Both Archer and Wood, however, have had injury-plagued careers, leading to doubts over whether either can be involved for long enough to make a significant impact against Australia.

Archer, a star of England’s 50-over World Cup triumph in 2019, has played just 15 Tests since his debut six years ago.

It is a similar story for Wood, with just 37 Test appearances since his England bow in 2015.

Wood took 17 wickets in four Tests during England’s 4-0 drubbing in Australia in 2021-22, including a career-best 6-37.

But he has not played a senior match since February following knee surgery.

He then suffered a hamstring scare in England’s lone warm-up game in Australia before being given the all clear ahead of Friday’s first Test in Perth.

“We want a battery of fast bowlers and we’ve tried to change from the norm of England, where there are lots of seamers, to Australia’s vision of fast bowling,” Wood said.

“Look at Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood: they can all bowl at 90 (mph) or in the high 80s and they’ve been especially consistent and relentless.

“So we’re going there with a bit of an Australia blueprint to see if we can replicate that and put their batters under pressure like they’ve done with ours.”

In an intriguing twist, both Australia captain Cummins and Hazlewood have been ruled out of the first Test through injury.

And with a decent break until a second Test in Brisbane starting on December 4, there will be a huge temptation for England to field both Archer and Wood against a vulnerable Australia top order.

But Australia batsman Steve Smith, who will captain the side this week in the absence of Cummins, suggested the changing nature of pitches in his country could neuter an England attack built on sheer speed.

“Sometimes the slower guys are almost harder to play on those wickets where you have to make the pace,” Smith said.

“It’s going to be different.

Reeling from injuries to captain Cummins and paceman Hazlewood, Australia have received a boost ahead of the first Ashes Test in Perth starting on Friday, with Cameron Green telling reporters he is ready to bowl free of any restrictions.

The 26-year-old fast-bowling all-rounder was set back by a side strain last month having overcome a serious 2024 back injury which had precluded him from bowling at Test level.

“(I feel) really good, I think it’s been a really slow buildup. Probably would prefer a few more competitive overs, but at the same time it’s a double-edged sword,” he said at an Ashes launch event at Perth Stadium on Tuesday.

“(There are) no restrictions, I think when you get into Test cricket there’s no need for restrictions. We’ll just see how the game goes, and I’m happy to put my hand up whenever.”

The 198-cm-tall Green, who is almost certain to edge out Beau Webster for the all-rounder position after compiling a neat 94 in his most recent Sheffield Shield match at the WACA, has not received word on where he will bat yet but expressed no preference.

Having played most of his Test cricket at number six, he has also proven adept up the order, notably scoring a career-high 174 not out against New Zealand at number four.

“The people in charge I think met last night, so I’ll probably get told later today. Whichever way they go, I think we’ve got a really great squad and a lot of great combinations to go with,” he said.

“I’m just so grateful that they see me as somebody that could do all those positions.”

The final make-up will hinge on whether the selectors choose a specialist opener to partner Usman Khawaja in Tasmania’s Jake Weatherald or a makeshift option like Marnus Labuschagne, who has struck five domestic centuries this season.

Green anticipates that England’s attacking style of cricket, colloquially named ‘Bazball’ after coach Brendon McCullum, will have Australia rolling with the punches when the highly anticipated five-match series kicks off.

“We’ve never seen it played in Australia. What can happen with being really attacking is that you can bring the other team into the game but you’re also putting pressure back on them,” said Green.

Agencies