A look at the form and fitness of all the leading quicks who could play in the Magellan Ashes
Australia's fast bowler form guide
Mitchell Starc
Age 27 State NSW
Form guide (since the start of September)
Image Id: 671970F172D0428AB63CCB3C15BE2EE9Arguably 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.
Josh Hazlewood
Age 26 State NSW
Form guide
Image Id: 103C139C555648EE808C4A85129217C1The 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
Image Id: 71E6A9E5CF61415EB50CAF22EABCCBD2Cummins 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.
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
Image Id: 517AA9A99D854F83954DEF8ABC2523E2A 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.
Jackson Bird
Age 30 State Tasmania
Form guide
Image Id: 5CA1A42F1F9D4FE6B9DC9D772D7D40E0Bird 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
Image Id: 804D087B67C24A4B8D3BD69E86CBC018Persistent 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.
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.
Chadd Sayers
Age 30 State South Australia
Form guide
Image Id: AC905F7661394D5D95EBB70BE1661C09The 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.
Peter Siddle
Age 32 State Victoria
Form guide
Image Id: 3F1EE6239E2E4D73BFD3FAC6F490FB18One 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.
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