Jason Gillespie has backed Australia to retain the men's Ashes next winter, citing his concerns over whether England are adaptable enough with the bat and have the bowlers to take 20 wickets to reclaim the urn Down Under.
Speaking in a wide-ranging interview on the Wisden Cricket Patreon channel, four-time Ashes winner Gillespie was asked whether England stood a better chance of winning a Test series in Australia than on their three most recent attempts. "I don't think so," Gillespie responded. "I think Australia play incredibly well in home conditions. My concern for England is, how are they going to take 20 wickets? But also, are they adaptable enough with the bat?
"We've seen how they look to go about it, they look to score quickly. I think the surfaces here will offer enough assistance to the Australian bowlers to make the most of it. But I'm not sure how adaptable the England batting lineup is to counter the conditions here in Australia because we've seen, and I'll put my hat on of when I was coach of Pakistan and we beat England 2-1 last year, that lack of adaptability, particularly with the bat in hand I think really cost England."
England haven't won a Test match in Australia since 2011, having lost their previous three series all with 4-0 score-lines, after they were whitewashed in 2013. They haven't held the Ashes since winning on home soil in 2015, having drawn both the 2019 and 2023 series' in England.
Part of England's plan going into the 2025-26 series has been an increased focus on quicker types of bowlers to specialise in Australian conditions. Rob Key has consistently expressed his desire for bowlers consistently sending the ball down in the late eighties, and has namechecked several bowlers of that style he thinks could be successful in Australia – including Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson and Brydon Carse.
"I like their thinking of wanting to have extra air speed," said Gillespie. "But if I was picking an England squad to come out here, I would have a couple of accurate seamers, guys that can bash a disk over and over type bowlers. I'd still have them in the squad but I don't disagree with the thought of having some out and out express pace... I think you've got to have a balance of raw pace and accuracy."
Gillespie also voiced support for Essex seamer Sam Cook to play a role for England in Australia. Cook has been a consistent wicket-taking force for Essex across the last few County Championship seasons, especially with the Kookaburra ball. He has yet to make his Test debut, but spent part of the winter touring Australia with England Lions, taking 13 wickets across three matches.
Gillespie: Certainly think Sam Cook should be in contention for the Ashes
"He could do a role for sure," said Gillespie of Cook. "I watched him when the England Lions were out here. He was close to being the pick of the bowlers from what I saw and the games that I was at. He was quick enough, tall lad who hits the seam. And he was the most accurate seamer and had decent figures. I certainly think he should be in contention, so we'll see where it stands. He's brisker than you think, it's not like he's bowling 74-75 mph. I'd be hesitant to pick a bowler that bowls that but if he's bowling 80 mph, a lot of good bowlers have taken a lot of wickets bowling at 80 mph. So I wouldn't rule him out for sure."
Another option England now have on their selection cards is Australian and Surrey pacer Dan Worrall, who now qualifies to represent England. While Worrall has also been name-checked by Key, he admitted ahead of the county season that there 'probably' was not a role in England's Ashes squad for him.
"He should absolutely be in contention for England," said Gillespie of Worrall. "Ultimately you can plan for the future and the like but with Ashes series it's about the here and now and about winning that actual series. If he's in the best six or seven quicks that England have on offer, he's got experience in Australian conditions, why wouldn't you look at him?"
England will play one Test match against Zimbabwe in May before facing India in five Tests ahead of their winter in Australia.
Follow Wisden for all cricket updates, including live scores, match stats, quizzes and more. Stay up to date with the latest cricket news, player updates, team standings, match highlights, video analysis and live match odds.
