In the countdown to the new ball being taken on day one at the Gabba to start the Commonwealth Bank Ashes series, we dust off the crystal ball to gauge how the form of England’s players carry into the Ashes opener might shape the series ahead.
Ashes form guide: England
QUICK SINGLE: Australia form guide
Where he’s at: The fondness he showed for Australian conditions and bowlers has been ominously rekindled with a feast of runs in Hobart and then Sydney. After a comparatively lean home Ashes summer he has arrived with a clear mission.
Where he’s at: The fondness he showed for Australian conditions and bowlers has been ominously rekindled with a feast of runs in Hobart and then Sydney. After a comparatively lean home Ashes summer he has arrived with a clear mission.The road ahead: The feeling remains that he’s vulnerable to the ball moving across him and can get lazy if becalmed of runs, but he enjoys the extra pace generated by Australian pitches and the rewards offered by quick outfields.
Where he’s at: Has all but assured himself a start at the top of the order by figuring in a 300-plus opening stand with his skipper in Hobart, sandwiched between individual half centuries in Perth and Sydney. It’s unclear what the Australians can glean from the video they’ve urgently requested from those matches.
The road ahead: Like anyone asked to open the innings on their Test debut, he will be toey and desperate to feel ball on bat as well as see runs on scoreboard. Australia will also be keen to limit the calming influence of captain Cook at the other end.
Where he’s at: Another tourist to arrive with a bang, settling into Australian conditions with a first-up century at the WACA followed by starts in two of his three subsequent innings. True to his reputation, he will have spent the intervening days working diligently in the nets.
The road ahead: The discomfort he showed against the short ball at times during the winter Ashes campaign will loom large in the Australians’ planning, and that must also have been front of mind for selectors in the recall of Mitchell Johnson given the headaches he created recently on flat Indian pitches.
Where he’s at: Heading into his 100th Test match after days of saturation media coverage and facing a crowd that will rise to bait him it’s difficult to imagine he could find himself in a happier place. Even a dodgy knee could not feasibly dent his billowing confidence.
The road ahead: As highlighted in the Test prelude, the Australians are likely to feed his burgeoning ego and encourage him to impose himself on the game in the hope that his self-belief may bubble over into recklessness.
Where he’s at: The fourth member of England’s top five to have notched a century on Australian soil and, like Trott, managed it at his first outing on the decidedly foreign WACA strip. Not that Australian conditions were ever going to pose a huge challenge for a batsman of his talent and application.
The road ahead: Of all the English batsmen, he is likely to cause the greatest challenges for the Australian strategists. His capacity to find scoring avenues against all bowling is reflected in his recent record and it will take iron-clad discipline and meticulous planning to blunt his influence.
Where he’s at: Has surrendered his berth at the top of the order to Carberry, but not missed too many beats settling into his revised role at six with half-centuries in Hobart and Sydney. His lively finger spin could also come in handy on bouncier Australian pitches.
The road ahead: The Australians felt they had devised effective new-ball plans for him after his dominant century in the Lord’s Test. Indeed, he was restricted to just one score above 20 after that innings, so their best bet with him relocated to the middle-order might come with the second new ball.
Where he’s at: The one genuine concern heading into the series opener, not only because of the calf muscle twinge he sustained in Hobart but also the lack of opportunities he’s enjoyed with bat and gloves as a consequence.
The road ahead: Australia will feel he presents a potential door into the lower-order if they can cut down the tall poppies, and any lingering concerns over his injured calf will compound the view that he can be trapped on the crease by fast, full bowling.
Where he’s at: Arrived in Australia as adversary number one among the old enemy given the unwillingness to walk that he displayed at Trent Bridge, and has given every indication that his role as pantomime villain won’t concern him a jot.
The road ahead: Showed with his spell in Sydney that he is on song and looms as a huge threat given his capacity to take key wickets in quick succession. Questions remain over his stamina and if he can be kept at bay in the early sessions he may return and be profligate late in the day.
Where he’s at: Unlike his top order batting colleagues, he took a while to warm to his work having gone wicketless from 22 first innings overs at the normally spin friendly SCG. But he returned with greater potency in the second dig and he looms as a decisive factor.
The road ahead: Will have learned much from his previous Ashes series in Australia, and as the finest exponent of his craft in contemporary Test cricket he will be called on to churn through countless overs and be expected to deliver last-day results in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney.
Where he’s at: Edged ahead of fellow lofty quick Steve Finn, not so much due to the quality of his performances on tour thus far but that fact that Finn struggled for control and containment. His experience hewn between lengthy bouts of injury ensures he will be a reliable third seamer option.
The road ahead: His considerable height looms as a significant plus, particularly with a number of Australian batsmen likely to be targeted with short-pitched bowling. However, should he fail to make a first-up impact in Brisbane it is likely the bowling options may be re-examined for Adelaide.
Where he’s at: A genuine thoroughbred who clocked some miles in his legs in Perth, and then purred through an exemplary 10-over spell in Hobart where he worked over the Australia A top order before setting his sights on the first Test.
The road ahead: Will have plans for each member of the opposition, and the skills to execute those ambitions to the letter. As with his new-ball partner Broad, the Australians believe their best hopes lie in grinding him down by making him bowl lengthy and regular spells.
Jonny Bairstow (possible 12th man)
Where he’s at: Squeezed out now that Carberry has taken his chance at the top of the order and Root has been relocated in the middle, his chance to steal an additional Test rests on how completely Prior recovers from his calf strain.
The road ahead: Should he be needed, the Australians will be banking on the fact that the concentration and exertion that will be required to fill-in as the starting ‘keeper in an Ashes opener will hinder his glovework and take his focus off his batting.
Andrew Ramsey covered the Australian team for more than 10 years as cricket writer for The Australian. Follow him on Twitter here.