James Anderson's form for Lancashire should be of concern to Australia. Photo: Getty Images/Harry Trump
I have two concerns. Yes, lack of pace is a problem. They have to pick the right moments for Mark Wood to play. Jofra Archer is a concern, but it's not training related, he just got an elbow injury. Ollie Stone has always had injury problems and hasn't done enough in the England shirt to guarantee success this summer. The captain clearly has a bad knee. But this is the guy who looks injured all the time, but then all of a sudden does a 15 point spell to win the test.
This England team is tearing up the manager's manual and saying, «We don't do that anymore.» I admire them for this. How many times have you heard players say that their brains are exhausted from the daily treadmill trying to get things done? Yet this England side is playing Test cricket as they are playing for the club side on Saturday.
You come and have fun. This is the most difficult mentality to achieve. If they continue to do so, they will succeed.
Anderson will be a key player. In full form and bowling the way he is now, he will regularly beat the top two or three players.
There seems to be a lot of hype around Archer because he's fast, but Anderson is the leader. Flash back to 2019 when he left at Edgbaston after four overs. He didn't play another Test and England were exhausted.
Forget his age and the worries of relying on a 40 year old. If I were the captain, I would rely on a good bowler like him. I don't care how old he is. He is a genius. Australians know it too. That's why, if I was in Australia, I would try to find a right-hander at the top of the order.
For me, it's Mitchell Marsh. If you throw two left-handers at Broad and Anderson, they will not believe their luck.
I just got back from India and when talking to Australians all they ask is how the "Bazball" work against Pat Cummins, Mitchell Stark and Josh Hazlewood? I would flip it. How will Australians handle Bazball? They will be discovered if they don't prepare for it.
Part of the problem lies in the Indian Premier League, and in this country they are treated with prejudice. We remain suspicious of this and that players are making money. Whether people like it or not, this is how the world works now. It's the landscape of cricket.
Hopefully one day we'll be talking about our own prestige midsummer tournament that everyone wants to play. England are changing Test cricket and the challenge is to make the 102nd best IPL in the world.
Cricket has a platform this summer. I hope that in the future we will talk about 2023 in the same breath as 2005. There's a chance this summer could spark cricket for the next generation: a good ash with an England win and a hundred with all of England's ash. Heroes playing in it. Several championship games played in April and May will not affect these results in any way.
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