England Men's Cricket Team

Marc Higginson
BBC Sport Senior Journalist

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The main debate around England's batting line-up for the first Ashes Test against Australia in Perth next week is who bats at number three.

Ollie Pope is the man in possession and assistant coach Marcus Trescothick has suggested that will remain the case when the first Test gets under way on 21 November.

However, some favour the claims of Jacob Bethell who scored his maiden professional century against South Africa in September.

Bethell, 22, has played four Tests since making his debut and BBC Sport asked CricViz to look at his non-boundary strike-rate to figure out his overall effectiveness with regards strike rotation - a perceived weakness.

If you consider all the deliveries he has faced in Tests and exclude the boundaries he has scored, Bethell has a strike-rate of 23.4.

In comparison in the same timeline, Harry Brook and Ben Duckett are striking at 44.9 and 42.0, excluding their boundary shots.

If we push the timeline back to since Brendon McCullum took over as the head coach of England's Test team, Bethell's non-boundary strike-rate is still the lowest of all top seven batters in the timeline, behind the likes of Alex Lees and Ben Foakes.

Pope is fourth of all those batters, with a non-boundary strike-rate of 38.4, behind Brook, Duckett and Joe Root.

A small detail but one which Bethell will be keen to improve.

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Josh Hull is hoping to give England's Ashes batters a thorough workout in this week's warm-up match in Perth and insisted England Lions are not there to play the Test side into form.

Head coach Brendon McCullum has opted against any tour matches against local opposition ahead of the marquee series, taking preparations in-house with a three-day clash against Andrew Flintoff's second string at Perth's Lilac Hill (13 November, 02:00 GMT).

The standard of domestic opponents has not always been reliable and England are banking on Thursday's fixture being enough before the first Test at Optus Stadium on 21 November.

And Hull, a once-capped seamer who at the age of 21 remains firmly on the radar, is hoping to do his bit by making life hard.

The 6ft 7in left-armer, who was handed a surprise international debut in 2024 after only a handful of first-class games, said: "For England you want the batters to be in good form and whacking it about but once you get into the battle, my job as a bowler is trying to take wickets for the Lions.

"There's obviously two sides to it but my main job is to get those guys out. You want them to have a good run out and feel good but we'll play our part by being really competitive.

"We've got some big names to bowl at, be it (Joe) Root or (Harry) Brook or the two openers who can be really difficult to bowl at. It's a great test for us and it's really exciting.

"Hopefully I can get a bit more out of the pitches than I do at home, they're a lot bouncier and that could be really helpful."

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Ben Duckett says England captain Ben Stokes has gone into "beast mode" as the Ashes series in Australia nears.

Stokes has been sidelined since late July with a shoulder injury but he is expected to be fit to lead England in their first Test against Australia, starting on 21 November in Perth.

"We've been out here for a few days and he's been in beast mode," opening batter Duckett told the Willow Talk podcast.

"He's been running, bowling two spells, batting for two hours. The way he trains these days is something I've never seen before. He's an absolute beast.

"He's probably the most important man in this side when he's bowling so hopefully he stays fit for all five Tests and he's bowling in all of them because he's crucial for us."

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Legendary former all-rounder Lord Botham has suggested England should pick four frontline fast bowlers in the first Ashes Test against Australia.

Jofra Archer, Mark Wood, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue and Matthew Potts are all in England's squad alongside all-rounder and captain Ben Stokes.

Picking four quicks would likely mean omitting spinner Shoaib Bashir.

"I think the West Indies did pretty well with four pace bowlers - and another six waiting to get in," said Botham, who played 102 Tests between 1977 and 1992.

"I think it's the right way.

"You want to be aggressive, you want the ball to come through. Players who aren't in good form don't like it in the ribs, so it will be interesting."

Botham also name-checked Durham pace bowler Carse, who has taken 36 wickets in nine Tests but is yet to play in an Ashes series.

"I think Carse might surprise a few of you," Botham told reporters in Melbourne.

"He's a very aggressive bowler and he's got enough pace to make you hop around a bit. He can bat a bit as well."

Timothy Abraham
BBC Sport journalist

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Australia batter Steve Smith has been warned to expect Bodyline bowling from England's pace attack in the forthcoming Ashes.

Former Australia opener Simon Katich has predicted England coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes will deploy an approach akin to the controversial tactics to unsettle the 36-year-old.

Smith has scored 3,417 runs in 37 Tests against England at an average of 56.01, including 12 centuries and is seen as a pivotal player for Australia.

"They [Stokes and McCullum] will have seen what the New Zealand did to Steve Smith a few years ago so successfully in Australia," Katich told BBC Radio 5 Live's Ashes preview show.

"I would be surprised if that wasn't the same plan. As soon as Steve Smith came to the crease there were fielders scattered everywhere. I hate to use the word 'Bodyline' but that's exactly what it was, really."

In the 2019 Ashes, England fast bowler Jofra Archer hit Smith on the helmet with a 92mph bouncer during the Lord's Test, which resulted in Marnus Labuschagne becoming Test cricket's first concussion substitute.

Smith subsequently missed the next Test at Headingley through concussion.

"Neil Wagner executed it [for New Zealand] and went hard from the word go. Albeit not the same pace as England have got up their sleeves," added Katich, who played 56 Tests and 45 one-day internationals for Australia.

"I'd be very surprised if that doesn't hit Steve Smith and maybe other Australian batters who are later in the careers in the next few weeks."

England won the Ashes in Australia in 1932-33 under the captaincy of Douglas Jardine using bowling tactics which targeted a batter's body with short-pitched deliveries known as fast leg theory but coined as Bodyline.

The approach led to ill feeling between England and Australia and prompted a change to the laws.

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Australia's batters will not be scared by England's pace attack in the Ashes, according to Mitchell Johnson.

England have assembled their fastest group of bowlers for a generation as they aim to win a series in Australia for the first time since 2010-11.

Jofra Archer and Mark Wood will spearhead the pace attack, with Archer famed for hitting Steve Smith with a delivery so ferocious in 2019, it forced the Australia skipper off the field with concussion.

However, ex-fast bowler Johnson says Smith - and Australia - will not be fazed by Archer's return after years of battling injury.

"Since that match, Archer's debut more than six years ago, he has barely played Test cricket - 14 more games in fact and just two Tests in the past four years," wrote Johnson in The West Australian., external

"The way he is spoken about it sounds like he's played a hundred.

"Archer has been out of the game for a long time with injuries, and while his highlight reel looks great, consistency is what matters in Test cricket.

"Their [England's] Ashes hopes rest on whether Wood and Archer can stay fit, stay fast, and stay relentless across five brutal Tests in Australian conditions.

"The Australian top order won't be fearful of the Wood-Archer combination. Respectful, yes, but not afraid."

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The Australian media trying to provoke England captain Ben Stokes could backfire on the home side in the Ashes, says former fast bowler Steven Finn.

The West Australian Newspaper called Stokes "Cocky Captain Complainer" after the all-rounder arrived in Perth this week before the series starts on 21 November.

Finn, who was part of the last England side to win an Ashes series down under in 2010-11, told the PA news agency: "Ben Stokes thrives when he has a point to prove.

"There are players you really don't want to provoke because it makes them even better and even more determined. He falls into that category."

England have not won a Test in Australia since that 3-1 victory in 2010-11, with scores of 5-0, 4-0 and 4-0 in the three tours since.

However, Finn says the leadership of Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum will not be "timid or meek" as England seek to regain the urn for the first time since 2015.

He added: "You have be wary because the Australian press want to trip you up and find chinks in your armour, but if you're sensible and respectful I don't see any reason you can't embrace the challenge of playing cricket out there.

"Australians respect people who win. If you puff your chest out like we did in 2010-11 and push back, it can turn the other way.

"By the time we'd bowled them out for 98 on Boxing Day, they really turned on Australia and it almost felt like they were supporting us.

"That's the challenge and it feels like something Stokes and McCullum could do."

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Out-of-favour England bowler Ollie Robinson bowled at Australia batter Steve Smith in the nets in Sydney on Thursday, having traveled to Australia to play club cricket.

Robinson, 31, who played the most recent of his 20 Tests in February 2024, was left out of England's Ashes squad but is in Australia for a stint with Sydney University Cricket Club in the Sydney grade cricket competition.

He bowled at Smith and Sam Konstas - the 20-year-old Australia opener overlooked for the first Test - at New South Wales training.

Smith is preparing for the Ashes by playing for New South Wales and scored a century last week on his return to the Sheffield Shield.

While being in Australia would be of some benefit for Robinson were injury to hit England's pace bowling stocks, an England recall appears unlikely.

Robinson, who played in the 2023 Ashes and the 2021-22 tour down under, has lost his central contract and appears to have been discarded by the current management.

A call-up from England's Lions squads, which includes a host of younger pace bowlers, would be more likely if required.