Anderson and Broad? What’s England’s XI for Brisbane?

Nasser Hussain: “Say you turn up and it is your typical Brisbane pitch and the sun is shining. If that is the case, you will definitely need your main spinner in Leach”; England begin their bid to win back the Ashes from Australia on Wednesday

By Ben Kosky

Last Updated: 06/12/21 5:58pm

England must decide whether to play both Stuart Broad and James Anderson in the Ashes opener at Brisbane

The red-hot battle of Ashes cricket resumes in Brisbane on Wednesday – but the weather means England’s build-up in Queensland has been a little damp.

The tourists managed just 29 overs of action in their first internal warm-up, while their second saw days one and two washed out before they eventually got some game time in on days three and four.

Australia named their side three days ahead of the first Test, while England are keeping their plans under wraps – and, with further rain expected in Brisbane before and during the match, how might that affect team selection?

Turning desire

Jack Leach has got plenty of practice in over the past nine months – when it comes to carrying the drinks, that is.

The left-arm spinner’s last Test appearance came during the final match of the series in India, when he was unable to extract the kind of lethal turn from the Ahmedabad pitch obtained by Ravi Ashwin and Axar Patel to condemn England to an innings defeat.

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England’s Jack Leach says their disrupted preparations for the Ashes may have a positive outcome.

England’s Jack Leach says their disrupted preparations for the Ashes may have a positive outcome.

Since then, Leach has spent an entire summer as a non-playing member of the squad, with England opting instead to overload their line-up with seamers and rely on captain Joe Root or the now-retired Moeen Ali to offer a modicum of variety.

They could maintain that policy if the Gabba wicket appears to be on the green side – but there is little doubt that Ben Stokes’ return raises the prospect of Leach featuring in the first Test. Not so much because of what the all-rounder offers with the ball, but because of his presence in the middle order.

That factor makes Leach more likely to get the nod over his former Somerset spin colleague Dom Bess, who is generally acknowledged to be a superior batter and therefore a better bet to add a useful 30 or 40 further down the line-up.

Speaking on the Sky Sports Ashes Podcast, pundit Rob Key said: “I would play Leach but he is going to have to be a mentally-tough lad, having gone through the whole summer with it almost seeming like Root doesn’t back him.

Jack Leach has not played Test cricket since England’s series defeat in India nine months ago

“He is going to have to try and bowl in pretty tough conditions for spinners. He will be compared to Nathan Lyon so good luck to him.

“But you have to play a spinner as far as I am concerned – unless it is that one per cent chance that it is so green.”

Rotation, rotation

There’s very little time for a breather during this Ashes series, with only three blank days between the scheduled end of the Gabba Test and the start of the second match in Adelaide.

Inevitably, that raises the question of whether England can realistically expect both members of their long-established seam pairing – James Anderson, 39, and Stuart Broad, four years his junior, to withstand a punishing schedule.

Ben Stokes’ return makes the balance of England’s line-up clearer, according to Michael Atherton

It must be said that the situation has been clumsily managed in the past, with Anderson being rushed back for the last Ashes series only to break down, and Broad’s nose put firmly out of joint by his omission against West Indies in 2020.

Yet it is also worth considering that, with the second Test a day-night affair, there must be a strong temptation to hold back Anderson in particular and entrust him with the pink ball at the Adelaide Oval.

“The range of conditions determines selection,” said Sky Sports’ Nasser Hussain. “Say you turn up and it is your typical Brisbane pitch and the sun is shining. If that is the case, you will definitely need your main spinner in Leach.

Mark Wood missed much of the T20 World Cup with an ankle injury

“You will also need some kind of variety in your attack, which is Mark Wood’s pace. You would then probably need to split up Broad and Anderson with the day-night Test to follow.

“You have to judge conditions well on the opening morning at Brisbane, which previous England captains haven’t.”

Supporting cast

Even if England opt to play both Anderson at Broad at Brisbane, that still leaves the issue of one other bowling place to be filled.

Ollie Robinson, essentially, is the man in possession after a highly impressive first international summer that yielded 28 wickets in five Tests at an average of below 20.

Ollie Robinson has made an encouraging start to his Test career with 28 wickets in five matches

With Jofra Archer missing the tour due to injury, Mark Wood is England’s only option if they feel raw pace is the order of the day.

Yet Wood’s own injury history is well documented and, having missed the first four of England’s six games at the T20 World Cup with an ankle problem, there will be concerns as to whether he can last the course.

Again, England will want to avoid starting the series with a lengthy-looking tail and that consideration could well give Robinson, or perhaps Chris Woakes, the edge here.

Sky Sports’ Michael Atherton said: “I think the balance of the side is pretty set with Stokes back. Five bowlers, with Stokes being one of them and Leach as the spinner – then it’s which of the other three you go with.

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England captain Joe Root does not agree with Stuart Broad’s view that the first Ashes Test will be a lottery given their lack of preparation time.

England captain Joe Root does not agree with Stuart Broad’s view that the first Ashes Test will be a lottery given their lack of preparation time.

“Are you going to put Anderson and Broad together? Is Wood going to be able to get through following his injury issues in the T20 World Cup? The others are Woakes and Robinson, really.

“It’s three from those five. They will turn up in the morning, look at the surface and decide how they are best going to take 20 wickets.”

The best pick at No 6

Unusually, there has been little debate as to the make-up of England’s batting and, with Stokes pencilled in to resume his preferred position at five, there appears to be just one place up for grabs.

The plan to see whether Haseeb Hameed can forge a solid opening partnership with Rory Burns is still in progress, while Dawid Malan’s experience of the last Ashes tour – during which he hit a century at Perth – should count in his favour.

Jonny Bairstow could be in line to feature in his sixth Ashes series

So it looks as though only the identity of the man who follows Stokes to the crease is still unclear, with Jonny Bairstow, Ollie Pope and Dan Lawrence the candidates to fill that role.

Pope, quite frankly, could consider himself lucky to be handed another chance against India at The Oval – having failed to reach 50 in his previous 14 Test knocks – but he made the most of that opportunity with an innings of 81 on home turf.

Lawrence registered exactly the same score earlier in the season against New Zealand yet, despite some gutsy efforts in the Indian sub-continent last winter, his overall average of 27.32 is underwhelming.

Bairstow, with not only 78 Tests but the experience of five previous Ashes series under his belt, will be viewed as the safest pair of hands available and should take the number six position when England launch their bid to regain the urn.

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