England face daunting task to end Ashes drought in Australia

Arch-rivals Australia and England resume Ashes hostilities on Friday in Perth with the hosts weakened by injuries but favourites to inflict more pain on a side with a dire record Down Under.

The highly anticipated five-Test series gets under way on a fast, bouncy track at a sold-out Perth Stadium and with Ben Stokes’s visitors insisting they are not scarred by past failures.

It has been 15 years since England last clinched an away Ashes series and since then they have failed to win a Test on Australian soil, losing 13 and drawing two.

This time they touched down on the back of a thumping 3-0 one-day defeat in New Zealand and criticism over scheduling — just a single three-day red-ball warm-up on a docile pitch.

Skipper Stokes said they were starting with a clean slate, despite their miserable record in Australia.

“They’re a phenomenal team, especially in their home, so we know the next two-and-a-half months is going to be tough for us,” he said.

“All the series that have gone past, whether that be in Australia or England, I don’t think count for much.”

There may never be a better chance to snap the long winless streak with the hosts’ pace spearheads Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood injured and out of at least the first Test.

Former Australia fast bowler Mitchell Johnson said their absence “starts to rewrite the whole script for the Ashes”.

“It narrows Australia’s margin for error and it forces selectors into decisions they’d hoped they wouldn’t have to make this early,” he added.

At least England have been spared an opening match in Brisbane, where they have won just twice since World War II.

The Gabba will instead host the day-night second Test before the series moves to Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney.

Speed over swing: England are relying heavily on their own cartel of express pacemen led by Jofra Archer, Mark Wood, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Matthew Potts and Josh Tongue, with Shoaib Bashir the only recognised spinner.

But it is a gamble, with Wood the only one to have experienced Test cricket in Australian conditions and he has barely played since knee surgery earlier this year.

Alongside Scott Boland, wily campaigner Mitchell Starc will shoulder the hosts’ attack with Cummins and Hazlewood out, with Nathan Lyon the spin option and seamer Brendan Doggett tipped to make his debut.

Former Australia captain Greg Chappell said in a newspaper column that the Ashes would be decided by the superior fast bowling unit.

“History is unequivocal -- to win in these vast, sun-baked arenas, you need express pace bowlers who can intimidate, extract bounce, and shatter partnerships on pitches that reward raw speed over subtle swing,” he said.

“If England’s attack fires and dismantles Australia’s batting order, the McCullum-Stokes masterplan will have them join the list of successful English leaders in Australia.”

But he cautioned against England employing the ultra-aggressive “Bazball” cricket favoured by the captain and coach Brendon McCullum.

“Their incendiary style might work on the small grounds in England on pitches prepared to be as flat as one-day pitches,” he said.

“But it won’t be as easy to throw caution to the wind on the bigger grounds and more bowler-friendly pitches here.”

Top-order worries: A lot of England’s hopes rest on the shoulders of Joe Root and Harry Brook, ranked as the world’s top two Test batsmen.

Brook has never played a Test in Australia while Root has failed to score a century in his 27 innings Down Under where he averages 35.68, well below his career average of 51.29.

Australia will similarly be relying on Steve Smith to be in the runs.

The 36-year-old, who will be captain in Perth, has plundered 18 of his 36 Test tons on home soil, averaging a formidable 59.70.

“If Smith gets on a roll and he starts scoring runs, it’s going to be a challenge for England,” his long-time former team-mate David Warner warned. Australia’s batting vulnerability is at the top, with an ageing Usman Khawaja potentially padding up with a sixth opening partner since Warner retired early last year.

The latest candidate is left-hander Jake Weatherald, the leading run-scorer in the Sheffield Shield last season but with no experience of the Test cauldron.

Agence France-Presse