The Ashes schedule, teams, start time, preview, Australia vs England, World Test Championship, bowling attack

Australia has been crowned world champions after claiming an emphatic victory over India in the World Test Championship final.

Now attention turns towards the Ashes, which starts in Birmingham on Friday.

So, what did the English media make of Australia’s performance against India and what sort of hints could it give Ben Stokes’ side?

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Well, to start with, England know all about Scott Boland after he marked his Test debut aged 32 with a stunning six-wicket second innings haul in an Ashes clinching-win for Australia on his Melbourne home ground two years ago.

But the seamer may be an even tougher prospect in English conditions. Test pitches in England usually offer some assistance for seamers such as Boland, with the Dukes ball offering more movement off the surface for longer than the Kookaburra used in red-ball cricket in Australia.

Boland’s ability to make deliveries nip off a good length was evident throughout a WTC final, where he sparked India’s last-day collapse by dismissing Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja in the same over.

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“There is much debate about the make-up of Australia’s seam attack at Edgbaston but one thing seems certain: Boland must play,” wrote The Telegraph’s Will Macpherson.

“He picked up five wickets here, all of them specialist batsmen, including a stunning spell to Virat Kohli on the final morning.

“He is a superstar: brutally accurate, tough to take on, jagging the ball violently off the seam. The perfect bowler for English conditions.”

That, in turn, presents one potential issue for Australia as they travel from London to Birmingham for the first Ashes Test.

Boland’s strong form would appear to leave Josh Hazlewood, passed fit after missing the final, competing for a place with left-arm quick Mitchell Starc.

“Scotty was fantastic, he’s now my favourite player,” Cummins said.

“He keeps finding another level, doesn’t he? He was just our best bowler all game.

“He held it together, he didn’t go for many runs and to get two big wickets in an over is just reward for how well he bowled. For sure, Scotty has a huge role to play in the Ashes.”

Macpherson, writing for The Telegraph, questioned whether dropping Starc could have long-term consequences if the 33-year-old is not mentally prepared for the setback.

“Cummins confirmed that Hazlewood will be fit for Edgbaston, and Australia face a tricky call over Starc,” he wrote.

“He is a confidence cricketer who might struggle to come back from being dropped after a leaky performance. Is it best to keep Hazlewood on ice until Lord’s?”

Chief cricket writer Stephan Shemilt brought up Hazlewood’s injury concerns in a column for BBC, but also suggested England’s ultra-aggressive batting approach could punish Starc.

“Left-arm pacer Starc has more than 300 Test wickets, but often leaks like a broken tap,” Shemilt wrote.

“He went at more than five runs an over in both innings of the final and looks prime for a Bazballing if and when selected for the Ashes.

“In reality, Starc is probably behind Josh Hazlewood in the pecking order, but the latter has completed only three first-class matches since the first Test down under in December 2021.”

Cummins defended Starc ahead of the upcoming Ashes, adamant that the decision to take the new ball off him was not a selection hint or sign of his standing in the team.

The selection dilemma though is not the only headache for Australia as England look to take full advantage of what could be a vulnerable top order.

If England is a good place for bowlers like Boland, it is also a difficult place for opening batsmen to score runs given the movement on offer to the pacemen.

Australia’s David Warner and Usman Khawaja found runs hard to come by at The Oval and it is now 12 Test innings in England since Australia enjoyed an opening stand of 20 or more.

But with both Steve Smith and Travis Head making first innings hundreds against India, the lack of contributions from their first-wicket pair did not hurt Australia in the final.

Still, it is asking a lot of their team-mates to keep bailing out Warner and Khawaja in a five-match Ashes campaign.

“Whether it is James Anderson, Stuart Broad or Ollie Robinson in possession of the new ball on Friday, England will be licking their lips,” Macpherson of The Telegraph wrote.

“Sensational centuries from Smith and Travis Head, rightly named man of the match, should worry them. Smith’s form, given his stunning record in England, is particularly ominous. Yes, he failed in the second innings, but he was selflessly trying to kick the game on.”

“There are plenty of weaknesses for England to exploit,” added Shemilt of BBC, starting off with Warner and Khawaja’s record in the UK.

“In 2019, Warner averaged just 9.50 as Stuart Broad put him in a hutch and kept him as a bunny. Khawaja averages less than 18 in the seven Tests he has played here.

“Not since 1926 have Australia fielded two openers aged north of 36 in a Test. Their potential replacements, Marcus Harris and Matt Renshaw, who was born in Middlesbrough, both have Test averages under 30.

“Head has been prolific since the last Ashes and his 163 earned him the player of the match award in the Test Championship final. However, he looked as comfortable against the short ball as a man at the back of a pantomime horse. England are never shy of employing leg theory and Head shouldn’t expect many in his own half.”

Of course, Australia has plenty of strengths too and the English media was quick to point that out, full of praise for the team’s steely resolve under skipper Cummins.

“For the first two days in particular, Australia were awesome, giving a demonstration of just how terrifyingly good they can be at their best,” Shemilt wrote.

“Steve Smith and Travis Head gorged on some below-par bowling before the Aussie pace bowlers thundered into a shell-shocked India top order. The off-spin of Nathan Lyon came to the fore late in the game and the Aussies caught flies in the slips.

“But anyone thinking that what Australia have done over five days at The Oval makes them more dangerous in the Ashes hasn’t been paying attention. Australia were already by far the most significant threat posed to England in the Ben Stokes era. Red alert reached long ago, warning lights flashing and sirens blaring.”

Cummins said in the aftermath of Sunday’s victory that he is aiming for a “legacy-defining” triumph in England, bidding to become the first Australia skipper to oversee an away Ashes series win since Steve Waugh back in 2001.

“Whether we like it or not, Ashes series tend to define eras and teams,” said Cummins.

“An Ashes (in England) is bloody hard to win. It’s been 20-odd years so it’s not going to be easy. If we win, that is legacy-defining stuff.”

Australia’s WTC victory was the culmination of a two-year programme of Tests that saw them win 12 out of 20 matches, with five draws and just three defeats.

Mike Atherton, chief cricket correspondent for The Times, wrote that Australia “continue to set the standard”.

“Assuming England’s players had looked up from the clubhouse bar at Loch Lomond, from time to time, what will they have seen?” Atherton wrote.

“A hard-nosed Australia team, seemingly in fine fettle, playing the kind of cricket that their predecessors would recognise: strong, orthodox batsmen; relentless pace bowlers, hitting the pitch hard; a varied attack, with Mitchell Starc and Lyon providing the alternatives from the right-arm fast bowlers, and predatory fielding.

“As England have moved far from their moorings in current Bazball guise, Australia have remained true to the fundamentals that have underpinned their cricket for so long. They continue to set the standard.”

If there is one other area England have an advantage though it is captaincy according to The Telegraph’s Macpherson.

For example, Cummins came under fire from cricket legend Matthew Hayden for being too defensive as he set the field with Ajinkya Rahane and Shardul Thakur putting together a strong partnership.

“I just don’t like it at all,” Hayden said in commentary.

“And I don’t understand it either. It’s not like you’ve got a tailender in Thakur at the other end. Why not make it as hard as you possibly can?

“Wicket’s doing plenty, just support your bowler … what is the point?”

The skipper’s response in the face of that kind of pressure may only further embolden England to be even more aggressive against the Australian bowling attack.

“Captaincy does seem an area in which England do have an edge,” wrote MacPherson.

“Stokes occupies the same status among his players, in being held in the highest esteem as player and person. But he is a sharper captain tactically, constantly, tweaking his field and finding ways to prise out wickets even when opportunities are not obvious.”

Former Test captain Michael Vaughan, though, wrote in a column for The Telegraph that he believes Cummins has done a “fantastic job” as captain.

“Cummins has gone under radar a bit,” Vaughan wrote.

“He has done a fantastic job as captain. He has produced an Australian side that plays hard, tough cricket but in a fair way. His Australian team is closer to the great sides of the 1990s and 2000s than of his recent predecessors.

“Australia are pretty sure of their best team. David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith are all experienced and Travis Head is flourishing.

“Cameron Green is a world star already and look at what Alex Carey has done in the Test championship final against India – useful lower order runs. The top seven are strong.

“All Australia have to do is work out which bowling attack to pick for each Test. Cummins, Green and Nathan Lyon play every Test. It is then two out of Mitchell Starc, Scott Boland and Josh Hazlewood.”

Vaughan though went on to add that Lyon, who recorded figures of 1-19 and 4-41 in the WTC Final, could be the “big difference” for Australia against England.

“England have said they want flat and fast pitches,” Vaughan wrote.

“But they don’t win on flat surfaces. England need movement. The Australians have not won in England since 2001 because in every series since then the ball has moved around.

“If we get swing and seam England compete. If it is flat then the pace in the Australia attack and quality of Lyon will be the big difference.”