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Australia are set to place their Ashes defence in the hands of their rawest bowling attack to play on British soil for almost a quarter of a century.
With Brett Lee sidelined through injury, none of Australia’s remaining full-time bowlers have delivered a single ball in an Ashes Test in the United Kingdom before the opener in Cardiff starting on Wednesday.
Even the measured England captain Andrew Strauss admitted his men held a considerable edge in their own backyard on the eve of the Sophia Gardens clash.
“English conditions are very different to Australian conditions and that’s one of the big plusses going for us,” he said.
“Neither side has played here before and maybe that’s negated to a certain extent.
“In our conditions, that’s a big advantage.”
The last time that Australia fielded an attack in the UK that had less Test wickets between them was at Lord’s in 1985 when the bowling brigade consisted of Geoff Lawson, Craig McDermott, Simon O’Donnell and Bob Holland.
The good news for Australia was they actually won that game 24 years ago and Lee backed his teammates to do likewise in the first ever Test in Wales.
“We’ve got a great bunch of guys, guys who are willing to go out there and do the hard work,” he said.
“I’ve got the utmost confidence in the guys that they can do the job out there.”
Lee’s untimely complaint has thrown Australia’s selection strategy out the window.
The fast bowler had nailed down the third fast bowling spot with a devastating display of swing bowling at Worcester last week and Australia are going to miss his wicket-taking abilities in similar conditions.
Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle and Stuart Clark are all locked in with the coming weather to determine whether Australia opt for swing bowler Ben Hilfenhaus or spinner Nathan Hauritz.
If there is a considerable amount of rain, Hilfenhaus is set to get the nod but if it holds off, Hauritz is expected to collect the gig for the five-day clash.
Australian captain Ricky Ponting said his troops were much better prepared than in 2005 and primed for another close series this time around.
“I think if you matched both sides up on paper, it would be pretty hard to pick the winner,” he said.
The skipper has been reinvigorated by Australia’s series win in South Africa and clearly looked ready to amend his captaincy record in the Old Dart.
He said his new-look side was looking to form its own identity by making a mark in the five-Test series.
264 Test wickets: (Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle, Stuart Clark, Ben Hilfenhaus)
271 Test wickets: (Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle, Stuart Clark, Nathan Hauritz)Last time Australia took such an inexperienced attack into an Ashes Test:
First Test 1986-87 in Brisbane (83 Test wickets).
(Bruce Reid, Merv Hughes, Chris Matthews, Greg Matthews)In England:
2nd Test Lords 1985 (170 Test wickets)
(Geoff Lawson, Craig McDermott, Simon O’Donnell, Bob Holland)Source: CSW database, www.tastats.com.au
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