Former England coach Trevor Bayliss admits the touring bowlers will need to come up with “something a little different” to combat Australia’s flat pitches.
The Australian-born coach, who led England to an Ashes series win in 2015 at home, is wary of Australia’s superstar pace trio of Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc.
Speaking during a Sydney Thunder press conference, whom Bayliss will take charge of this BBL season, he said he expects Australia’s trio to get more out of the pitches than England.
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“The three big, tall pace bowlers Australia have got have done a lot of damage over the last few years and have bowled extremely well on these flat Australian pitches,” Bayliss said.
“They’re able to bang the ball in, they’ve got good pace, they’re tall, and they’re able to get a bit more out of it because of that pace and extra bounce.
“So that’ll be something that the England batters will have to negate. But as we saw on the last tour, they might have lost 4-0 but on different occasions they showed they could score runs against that attack. It’s about that consistency and doing it Test after Test, which I’m sure they’ll be looking for.”
With Australia the favourites to retain the Ashes urn, Bayliss said it is up to England’s bowlers to recognise and adjust to the difference in pitches compared to what they’re accustomed to back home.
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“The England bowlers will have to come up with something a little different,” he said.
“If you stray off line here in Australia, you can get hurt. So it’ll probably revolve around… being nice and accurate and consistent; not giving a lot away and building pressure that way.
“At home, the ball moves a lot more than it does here in Australia. It brings their pace bowlers into it that are used to playing those conditions.
“Then in Australia, the ball probably doesn’t move quite as much.”
One big boost England will have heading into the Ashes series, which starts on December 8 in Brisbane, is the return to superstar all-rounder Ben Stokes.
Stokes was originally left out of England’s 17-man squad due to finger surgery, while at the same time taking an indefinite break from the game to deal with mental health issues.
Bayliss lauded Stokes’ leadership and said his arrival will prove to be a “positive influence” on the squad.
The 30-year-old Stokes had missed England’s last tour of Australia in 2017-18 due to his involvement in a highly publicised street brawl.
“[It is] a massive bonus for him to be available [given he was] not here in the last one,” he added.
“It’s not just his batting, bowling or fielding, he is one of those guys who is a leader within the group. He’s a very positive influence on the group.
“There were times when he didn’t play because of injury in England and the team felt his loss when he wasn’t there. When he plays, he certainly is able to drag a lot more of the players along with him. He’s got a never-say-die attitude… I’m quite sure they’ll be happy to have him.
“I’m sure it’ll be a very competitive series.”
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