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The big advantage that Australia has over England in the Ashes
SENZ • October 11th, 2025 5:13 pm
UK journalist Tim Wigmore believes that England’s focus on trying to match Australia’s bowling pace could open up an advantage for the home side ahead of the Ashes.
With the Ashes just over a month away, England have already selected their squad and have decided to make a point of selecting pace bowlers to match Australia.
This has seen England select Jofra Archer, Mark Wood, Josh Tongue, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse and Matthew Potts in their 16-man side that is coming down under. As a result, they have only selected one full-time spinner in Shoaib Bashir.
But with a focus on pace, however could leave England at a disadvantage if the wickets in Australia are to be more spinner-friendly according to Wigmore, who works for The Telegraph.
“Australia’s spin with Nathan Lyon, that is a big advantage over England, that’s the case if the wickets turn,” Wigmore told SEN 1170’s Afternoons.
“That would actually suit Australia, and in a funny sort of way, the wickets we have seen in Australia recently, which have been doing a lot, Bazball might struggle under that.
“Whereas weirdly on like flatter wickets, it actually might suit England more.
“So it’s kind of a different strand. You would say if it’s doing a lot, maybe, or it’s spinning, it favours Australia.
“It’s kind of the opposite to what we expect with England, obviously obsessed with the idea that you need a lot of pace to win in Australia.
“We’ve seen that they’ve gone all in…with Jofra Archer, Mark Wood, and then you’ve got Gus Atkinson and Brydon Carse, who are not quite as quick, but they’re still quick.
“We had all those tours of Anderson, Broad and Woakes, and it feels that it will be very different approach for England this time.”
Wigmore would also talk about how England would look to approach Scott Boland with his inclusion into the Australian team for the First Test becoming more likely with Pat Cummins racing against time to be fit following his back stress injury.
He thinks that Boland would be the bowler that the English batters would focus their attacking efforts on due to his consistent line and length.
“England will often look at the most consistent of opposition bowlers, seamers especially, who can bowl it on the length ball after ball,” he noted.
“I think that they can use that against them because we know where they are going to bowl and vary where we are batting on the crease and all those sorts of things.
“That will be something that England try and do.
“If they can hit him out of the attack and lead him to be dropped, then suddenly Australia have to go deeper into their reserves and plans they didn’t want to be making.”
The Ashes will get underway on November 21 at Optus Stadium in Perth.
SEN will have live coverage of every ball bowled throughout the five-match series.
