InMobi

Australia's fast bowler form guide

A look at the form and fitness of all the leading quicks who could play in the Magellan Ashes

Mitchell Starc
Age 27 State NSW

Form guide (since the start of September)

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Arguably Australia's first-picked quick across all formats, Starc is on a carefully managed plan to get himself cherry ripe for the Magellan Ashes series. Ruled out of the Qantas Tour of India in March with a fractured foot, the left-armer returned for the Champions Trophy in June but then missed Australia's Test campaign in Bangladesh and limited-overs series in India with his troublesome foot yet to fully heal. With three JLT Cup games and a career-best eight-wicket haul in NSW's Shield opener last week, Starc will hope he can emulate his feat from last season by not missing a single Test this home summer.

Super Starc snares career-best figures

Josh Hazlewood
Age
26 State NSW

Form guide

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The ironman of Australia's bowling attack, Hazlewood's run of 22 Tests on the trot finally came to an end when he broke down with a side strain on the Qantas Tour of Bangladesh in August. Like Starc and Pat Cummins, Hazlewood had originally been pencilled in to play the opening two Shield rounds before his injury ruled him out of Australia's ODI tour of India. After getting through 10 overs for his club side St George in NSW Premier Cricket on Saturday, Hazlewood is set for his first major outings of the summer in the Blues' next two Shield games ahead of the Ashes opener on November 23.

Pat Cummins
Age 
24 State NSW

Form guide

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Cummins has had a cursed run with injury since his famous Test debut as an 18-year-old in 2011, but the speedster's fortunes have taken a turn for the better this year. Thrown in the deep end on Australia's Test tour of India as Starc's replacement, he sent down 77 overs in two games with a single Shield game behind him and came through unscathed, showing he'd lost none of his trademark pace in his years in the Test wilderness. He carried his good form through the Champions Trophy, the tour of Bangladesh – picking up the mantle as the attack's spearhead when Hazlewood went down – and the ODI leg of the return trip to India. Years of careful management by Cricket Australia look to finally have paid off in the lead-in to an Ashes summer.

England beware! Cummins primed for Ashes blitz

Behind the 'Big Three', Australia currently has the luxury of a pool of fast bowling talent at their disposal should form or fitness issues strike down the front-line quicks.

Jason Behrendorff
Age
27 State Western Australia

Form guide

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A long-awaited international debut during the T20 leg of the recent tour of India was just reward for standout performances from Behrendorff for WA and Perth Scorchers in recent seasons. The left-armer snared 4-21 in the second T20I in Guwahati, giving Australia a brief taste of his skill with the brand new ball. Expected to return to WA's Shield squad for their clash against a star-studded NSW outfit this weekend, Behrendorff has the chance to push himself up the fast-bowling queue in arguably the most scrutinised match of his career. And as the only southpaw among the contenders outside the expected first Test attack, he looms as a like-for-like replacement for Starc should the spearhead miss any action this summer.

Behrendorff blitz leaves India reeling

Jackson Bird
Age
30 State Tasmania

Form guide

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Bird himself has admitted he doesn't see himself unseating the Australia's leading Test quicks this summer, but the reliable paceman appears to be among the next in line. It's a position the Tasmanian is used to being in, having now gone on seven Test trips abroad (including Australia's two tours of the subcontinent this year) but only played on two of them. Overlooked again in Bangladesh, he suffered a hamstring injury two matches in to the Tigers' JLT Cup campaign. He recovered for their Shield opener against WA, impressing with the ball despite Tasmania going down by 301 runs.

Nathan Coulter-Nile
Age
30 State Western Australia

Form guide

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Persistent injuries had him considering giving the red-ball game away completely not too long ago but Coulter-Nile now finds himself right in the Ashes mix. He did his chances no harm on Australia's limited-overs tour of India, finishing with 12 wickets across both formats and at one stage had dismissed Virat Kohli three times in four games. While presently in good shape physically, Coulter-Nile will miss the Warriors' next Shield game after impressing with four wickets in their opening match against Tasmania. Instead, he will captain a WA XI against England in the visitors first hit-out of their tour, perhaps giving them a glimpse of things to come later this summer should the cards fall Coulter-Nile's way.

Coulter-Nile happy to wait his while

James Pattinson
Age 
27 State Victoria

The Victorian's dream of a home Ashes debut has cruelly been put on hold after he was ruled out of the Ashes with a reoccurrence of a back injury. CA medical staff this week confirmed Pattinson is expected to undergo surgery in a bid to stabilise his lower back, where he's suffered four different stress fractures that haven't healed from his teenage years.

Luckless Pattinson reveals why his fire still burns


Chadd Sayers
Age
30 State South Australia

Form guide

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The miserly South Australian has made a habit of proving the doubters wrong in recent seasons and has forced himself into national reckoning through sheer weight of numbers. His 62 Shield wickets came at an average of 19 last summer and he did his Ashes hopes no harm by picking up six more – including the prized scalp of Test skipper Steve Smith – in the Redbacks' season-opener last week. Sayers has been as durable as any domestic quick in recent seasons and will be front of mind should selectors seek a reliable back-up to take on England.

Seaming Sayers claims four Blues wickets

Peter Siddle
Age
32 State Victoria

Form guide

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One quarter of Australia's 2013-14 Ashes bowling attack, a refreshed Siddle remains in the hunt for a recall this summer. The Victorian broke down after the opening Test of last season against South Africa with a recurrence of a lower back injury, a blow that would keep him on the sidelines for the entire summer. While he's made his name as long-form bowler, Siddle was outstanding in the JLT Cup. Playing in all seven matches for the Bushrangers, he finished with an economy-rate of 3.95, an uncommonly low figure in modern one-day cricket. And although his name has been absent from much of the pre-series hype, the right-armer is a proven Ashen performer should they need some fast-bowling reinforcement.

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2017-18 International Fixtures

Magellan Ashes Series

First Test Gabba, November 23-27. Buy tickets

Second Test Adelaide Oval, December 2-6 (Day-Night). Buy tickets

Third Test WACA Ground, December 14-18. Buy tickets

Fourth Test MCG, December 26-30. Buy tickets

Fifth Test SCG, January 4-8 (Pink Test). Buy tickets

ODI Series v England

First ODI MCG, January 14. Buy tickets

Second ODI Gabba, January 19. Buy tickets

Third ODI SCG, January 21. Buy tickets

Fourth ODI Adelaide Oval, January 26. Buy tickets

Fifth ODI Perth TBC, January 28. Join the ACF

Prime Minister's XI

PM's XI v England Manuka Oval, February 2. Buy tickets

T20 trans-Tasman Tri-Series

First T20I Australia v NZ, SCG, February 3. Buy tickets

Second T20I – Australia v England, Blundstone Arena, February 7. Buy tickets

Third T20I – Australia v England, MCG, February 10. Buy tickets

Fourth T20I – NZ v England, Wellington, February 14

Fifth T20I – NZ v Australia, Eden Park, February 16

Sixth T20I – NZ v England, Seddon Park, February 18

Final – TBC, Eden Park, February 21