Peter Siddle, the former Australia pacer, believes England will have to make the tough choice between James Anderson and Stuart Broad in the 2021/22 Ashes series, and explained why the latter should be picked.

England have a formidable fast-bowling lineup in Tests, with Jofra Archer, Mark Wood and Chris Woakes to pick from, apart from Broad and Anderson. Siddle is of the opinion that on their tour Down Under next year, England should pick Broad over Anderson, alongside Wood and Archer.

Stressing that his opinion has nothing to do with the age of Anderson, who will be 39 by the time England leave for the tour next year, Siddle said that Broad’s ability to seam the ball off the deck makes him better-suited for Australian conditions.

“I think it’s going to be hard for them to both play in the same side in Australia,” Siddle told cricket.com.au. “Depending on conditions, I think Broady’s probably got the upper hand – not because of age, that’s got nothing to do with it – but with his skillset, seaming the ball off the deck rather than swinging it through the air.

“There doesn’t tend to be a lot of swing in the air in Australia, and I think Jimmy has struggled with that over the years when he’s toured here. He has had success at different times, but it tended to be because the overhead conditions suited him, and he was able to get the ball swinging.

“But if there’s not as much swing, it’ll be harder to play them both. That’s where the tough call comes; who do you choose out of two guys who have over 500 wickets each and have bowled a lot together and had a lot of success? That’s where the big question is going to come.”

Broad became the seventh bowler to 500 Test wickets in the recently-concluded three-Test series against West Indies, where he finished as the highest wicket-taker with 16 scalps in two matches, and was named the Player of the Series despite sitting out the first match.

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England v AustraliaAshesInternational CricketPeter SiddleSeries EditorialJames AndersonStuart Broad