England still have chance to play an Ashes wildcard

IT WAS hardly an Ashess quad announcement to set pulses racing or to lift spirits that this tour Down Under will be any different from the last couple.

- Will Macpherson

There was, in the reaction from Australia, a little mirth: just one batter with an average north of 35; just one bowler capable of touching 90mph; 10 first-time tourists; and so on.

What, though, were we expecting? England are not a great Test side, and much of their spark is unavailable. They are without their talismanic, side-balancing all-rounder, Ben Stokes. They are missing another all-rounder, Sam Curran, through injury, and a third, Moeen Ali, because he has just retired. And they are missing two of their three fastest bowlers, Jofra Archer and Olly Stone, to long-term injuries.

It is a squad that provides emphatic reminders that Test cricket, alas, is not a beast easily tameable through planning. Coach Chris Silverwood and captain Joe Root have spoken endlessly in their two years at the helm about building a “blueprint” to win in Australia. It was hardly atom-splitting genius: score big first-innings runs, bowl fast, but their vision was admirable.