Back to Perth, Without the Ashes Ghosts: England's Batters Against Australia's Next Pace Attack

The last time England walked into Perth Stadium, it went badly. The first Test of last summer's Ashes was over inside two days, Travis Head made a century that people here still talk about, and England went on to lose the series 4-1. This time they come with a different brief and a different coach role: Brendon McCullum now runs only the white-ball side, and the 50-over World Cup in southern Africa is 12 months away.

England have prepared differently too. Instead of an intra-squad game on a slow club pitch at Lilac Hill, they played Western Australia in a 50-over warm-up at the WACA, on a surface much closer to what they will find on Friday. It was not smooth. England were bowled out for 251 in 48 overs, with Ben Duckett's 59 the only score above 30 in the top six, as WA's quicks kept pinning them with the short ball. Then Jofra Archer (3 for 34) and Adil Rashid (4 for 35) bowled WA out for 159, and England won by 92 runs. McCullum called it a scrappy win and said 275 to 280 might have been par.

That is a fair picture of this England side at the moment. They lost three of four games at the tri-series in Pakistan and missed the final. Yet before that they won their three previous bilateral ODI series, all 2-1, and under Harry Brook they have won 11 and lost 11 of 22. They can look brilliant and brittle in the same week.

Australia have left out Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood to keep them fresh for the Test cricket ahead, and Nathan Ellis has not recovered from a side strain. That puts Xavier Bartlett at the head of the attack. He is 27, has 23 wickets in 12 ODIs, and has taken 16 wickets in two Sheffield Shield games this season. Next to him are Spencer Johnson and Mahli Beardman, a 21-year-old who could make his ODI debut on his home ground.

The bowling is new. The batting is not. Captain Mitchell Marsh, Travis Head, Cameron Green and Josh Inglis have all won World Cups, and Matthew Renshaw has become a three-format player over the winter as the selectors moved on from Marnus Labuschagne. Green may not bowl after a shoulder problem during the Test series, which opens the door for Jack Edwards, the tall seam-bowling allrounder who took 5 for 67 in Johannesburg, and Liam Scott. Ollie Peake, only 20, already has eight ODIs.

Australia's form is mixed. They have played 12 ODIs since their last home game and won exactly half, and their only series win in four was 3-0 in Zimbabwe. They lost 2-1 in Pakistan, Bangladesh and South Africa. A possible XI, as cricket.com.au sees it: Mitchell Marsh (c), Travis Head, Cooper Connolly, Cameron Green, Josh Inglis (wk), Matthew Renshaw, Jack Edwards, Xavier Bartlett, Spencer Johnson, Adam Zampa, Mahli Beardman. Alex Carey could keep wicket instead of Inglis, and Scott or Peake may come in depending on how much bowling Green can do.

England's batting is in rude health. Brook made 202 off 116 balls against Sri Lanka in Pakistan last month, the fastest double-century in ODI history. Duckett's last ODI innings was 167 off 132 balls. Tom Banton, recalled while Jacob Bethell was injured, has six scores of 50 or more in his last seven innings, including 126 at The Oval in September. Joe Root needs no introduction in a 50-over game.

The bowling has one gap. Josh Tongue has gone home with a toe injury, but Archer is back after being rested for Pakistan and looked quick at the WACA. Gus Atkinson, Sonny Baker and Jamie Overton give England real pace on a ground built for it. The spin call is harder. Rashid was left out of three games in Pakistan in favour of Liam Dawson, then took four wickets in the warm-up. On Perth's bounce, England may play one frontline spinner, or none at all and lean on Will Jacks and Bethell.

Jacob Bethell is back from a knee injury and is joint vice-captain with Jacks, but he did not play the warm-up and looks doubtful for Friday. A possible England XI: Tom Banton, Ben Duckett, Joe Root, Harry Brook (c), Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer, Jamie Overton, Sonny Baker, Adil Rashid. Who keeps wicket, Banton or Jordan Cox, may depend on how England balance the side.

McCullum has already talked about the "trampoline bounce" at Perth Stadium, and it is the first thing any batter has to deal with here. The ball carries through to the keeper at a height you rarely see elsewhere, so the short ball is a real weapon and the pull and the cut score a lot of runs. Spinners who bowl quickly and get bounce, like Zampa or Rashid, can still do well, but slower finger spin tends to find less help.

This is a day-night game with an 11:30am local start, so most of the second innings will be played in the evening. If the WACA warm-up is any guide, something around 275 to 280 could be a good score, and a side that loses early wickets to the short ball may struggle to get there. England's top order showed in that warm-up how quickly it can go wrong; Australia's young attack has not yet shown that it can make it go wrong as reliably as Cummins, Starc and Hazlewood do.