An assessment of the England’s team’s chances ahead of the Ashes series in Australia.
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STRENGTHS
A meaty middle-order
Even when taking Ben Stokes’ indefinite absence into account, England still have the edge over Australia in the mid-to-lower-order, with three genuine allrounders – Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali and Chris Woakes – set to feature in the tourists’ XI at Brisbane, barring any late injuries.
Bairstow averages 50 with the bat since the start of 2016 and his keeping has improved out of sight, while Moeen comes into the series off the back of his most impressive summer as an international cricketer. Woakes has not been quite at his best since a side strain sidelined him for much of the summer but there have been signs in the warm-up matches in Australia that he is starting to recapture the form that made him England’s standout bowler of 2016.
Moeen should be full of confidence after an impressive summer in which he took 30 wickets in seven matches but his overall Test average drops from 37 to 43 outside of England and his preparations for the series have been hampered by a side strain. Will he be undercooked come Brisbane?
Swann says that Moeen is potentially a better bowler than Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon but that it comes down to self-belief. “Nathan Lyon is no better bowler than Moeen Ali but he believes he is and therefore he is,” says Swann. “Lyon is a fine cricketer but Moeen is better than him and has to believe he’s better than him.”
Depleted seam bowling resources
A succession of injuries to England’s seamers has left them worryingly short of options for a five-Test series in energy-sapping conditions.
Toby Roland-Jones, who would almost certainly have made the XI for Brisbane, was the first to go down with a stress fracture of the back and couldn’t take his place in the squad. Then his Middlesex teammate Steven Finn – himself a late addition to the squad after Ben Stokes’ involvement was thrown into serious doubt – flew home with a knee problem and was replaced by Tom Curran. To make matters worse Jake Ball then sprained his ankle and is a doubt for the first Test. With Mark Wood, Tom Helm and Liam Plunkett all not considered fit enough for selection, Sussex left-armer George Garton, who played four first-class matches last season, was drafted in as back-up.
Never have James Anderson and Stuart Broad felt so vital to England’s chances.
