PACEMEN AT
THEIR PEAK
THE THREAT
TO ENGLAND
Starc is not quite as
potent in Tests as in
ODIs, but he takes
wickets in a very
similar way.
Fast and looking
to reverse-swing
the ball,
Starc
targets
the
batsman’s
stumps
and pads.
He can be
loose, with
only 25 per cent
of his bowling
pitched on a good
line and length.Cummins blends
accuracy, pace,
and lateral
movement. He
gets a rather low
percentage
of his wickets
lbw or bowled,
but this might
be because most
of his Tests have
been in South Africa
and Australia,
where the bounce
is more exaggerated.Five to put fear into home side’s batsmen
Mitchell Starc Josh Hazlewood James Pattinson
Comparisons to
Glenn McGrath
abound when
Hazlewood is
in town, and for
good reason.
He is
unnervingly
accurate,
consistently
hitting a good
line and
length, and
looks to
nick off batsmen
outside off
stump using
whatever lateral
movement
he can find.Pattinson has not
played a Test
since February 2016
due to injury.
At his peak, he was
a mix of typical
Australian pace
and English-style
stump-to-stump
accuracy, with 39
per cent of his
wickets coming
lbw/bowled.Pat Cummins
ODIs, but he takes
wickets in a very
similar way.
Fast and looking
to reverseeeeeeeee-sswinwiwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwg
the ball,
Starc
targets
the
batsman’s
stumps
and pads.
He can be
loose, with
only 25 per cent
of his bowling
pitched on a good
line and length.and lateral
movement. He
gets a rather low
percentage
of his wickets
lbw or bowled,
but this mightGleenn McGrath
abbound when
Haazlewoodis
in town, and for
goood reason.
Hee is
unnnervingly
accuratepplayed a Test
sincsincee F Feebruary 2016bruary 20 1
ddue to injury.
At hisAt hispeak, hak, hee was was
aa mix of typical
AAustralian pace
aand English-style
sstump-to-stump
aaccuracy, with 39
pper cent of his
wwickets coming
lbw/bowled.but this might
bebecause most
of his Tests have
been in South Africa
and Australia,
where the bounce
is more exaggerated.accurate,
consistently
hittting a good
linne and
lenngth, and
loooks to
nickk offbff batsmen
outside off
stump using
whatever lateral
movm ement
hhecan find.Avg swing
Avg speed/mph
Avg seam
0.1° 0.2° 0.3° 0.4° 0.5° 0.6° 0.7° 0.8°
0.42° 0.72°
0.62°
0.61° 0.67°
0.49° 0. 53 ° 0. 5 6° 0. 5 7°
Australia have such depth that Mitchell
Starc, the scourge of the World Cup,
may not even get a game at Edgbaston.
Tim Wigmore says precise planning
has given the tourists a crucial edge
S
ometimes, teams are best
judged not on who they
have, but who they feel
able to leave out. If that is
the case, perhaps the
best markers of this
Australian pace attack are Mitchell
Starc and Josh Hazlewood.
The two – a left-arm quick and a
right-armer, who can both
frequently approach 90mph – have
a combined 375 Test wickets at an
average a tickle under 28. Both in
their prime years.
Yet there is every chance that
neither will play at Edgbaston,
such is the strength of Australia’s
pace bowling. Instead, Australia
could put together a new trio, with
only Pat Cummins remaining from
the triumvirate who each took
more than 20 wickets at an average
of under 26 as Australia won the
2017-18 Ashes 4-0. Alongside
Cummins, James Pattinson is
certain to play, with every chance
that Peter Siddle will too.
The case of Pattinson is
emblematic of Australia’s forensic
planning for this series. Thanks to
five separate stress fractures,Australia’s quest to win their first
Ashes series out of five away from
home. So Hazlewood’s return has
been gentle – he had five full
months without any cricket,
followed by the Australian A tour
of England and then Australia’s
final preparations. He may well not
be deemed quite up to the rigours
of a Test just yet, but will feature as
the Ashes progresses.
The imposing quartet of Starc,
Hazlewood, Cummins and
Pattinson can feel like Australian
cricket’s very own Four Horsemen
of the Apocalypse. In this context,
the presence of Siddle – a 34-year-
old vegan who has played two
Tests in three years – feels almost
incongruous. Unlike the others,
Siddle’s threat is reserved for
wickets, rather than limbs.
But if Siddle is less intimidating
than the others, he may be no less
effective. Siddle has prepared with
a stint for Essex in the County
Championship: he has taken 34
wickets at 20.09 apiece to help
Essex to the top of the table,
showing a mastery for bowling
English-style lengths relentlessly.Pattinson has not played a Test
since February 2016. But Australia
have long identified him as an
essential weapon in this Ashes.
And so, for months Australia’s
medical team have been managing
Pattinson with today in mind. He
enjoyed a fine campaign in
Australia’s Sheffield Shield, taking
26 wickets at 18.92 in seven games.
But no thought was given to
playing him in the World Cup.
Instead, Pattinson had an early
season stint in Nottinghamshire,
where he has happily reacquainted
himself with the fuller lengths
required in England and the simple
joy of getting Poms out.
He is not the only fast bowler to
be managed with meticulous care.
Hazlewood suffered a back injury
in January, but could have been
rushed back for the World Cup,
especially after Jhye Richardson
was injured before the tournament.
Hazlewood would have felt
entitled to be aggrieved: he was,
after all, central to Australia’s
World Cup victory in 2015. But his
personal ambition of retaining the
cup was deemed secondary toThe Ashes
8 *** Thursday 1 August 2019 The Daily Telegraph
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