/ 7 June 2010

England’s Ashes won’t go swingingly says Siddons

Bangladesh coach Jamie Siddons warned England's bowlers "it doesn't swing, it doesn't seam in Australia" ahead of their Ashes defence 'Down Under'.

Bangladesh coach Jamie Siddons warned England’s bowlers “it doesn’t swing, it doesn’t seam in Australia” ahead of their Ashes defence ‘Down Under’ later this year.

England, in overcast conditions and with the ball swinging spitefully, skittled out Bangladesh, following on, for just 123 inside 35 overs as they won the second Test by an innings and 80 runs inside three days at Old Trafford here on Sunday.

That gave England a 2-0 series win after they beat Bangladesh by eight wickets in the first Test at Lord’s.

But no-one, least of all England, are kidding themselves that a series win over Bangladesh represents any kind of guide to their Ashes chances.

England may hold the Ashes after a 2-1 win at home last year but it is 23 years since they last won a Test series in Australia.

Even against Bangladesh, there were times when England struggled to take wickets with the old ball on a flat pitch when the sun was out.

Siddons, a prolific run-scorer in the Sheffield Shield but uncapped by his native Australia at Test level, said England’s attack would need to find a way of coping with local conditions.

“They are obviously good enough to win, they have just beaten Australia,” Siddons told reporters at Old Trafford.

“But I made a throwaway comment that it ‘doesn’t swing, it doesn’t seam in Australia’ and it certainly won’t swing like that.”

Steven Finn, already being touted as an Ashes prospect, marked only his second Test in England with a return of five wickets for 42 runs here on Sunday and Siddons said the lanky paceman – Finn is 6ft 8in tall – had what it took to succeed in Australia.

“Maybe the new ball will swing for four or five overs, so you need to be like Finn and put it in good areas and maybe get it up a bit fuller because short stuff isn’t going to worry Australia.

“They [England] are good enough definitely, they have the batsmen to make enough runs and a good off-spinner [Graeme Swann] for days four and five.”

Former England captain Michael Vaughan wants current skipper Andrew Strauss to deploy a five-man attack in Australia, even though the side’s present preference is for six batsmen and four bowlers.

But Siddons said: “I’m not sure about the composition of their team, you have to make enough runs to give your bowlers a chance. It’s a balancing act, like in Test cricket here [in England].

“Each wicket in Australia is different; Adelaide will spin a lot more and take it earlier, Brisbane probably won’t take any [spin] at all until the last day or two.”

England now face oldest foes Australia in a five-match one-day series at home starting in Southampton on June 22, having beaten them in last month’s World Twenty20 final in Barbados.

“It will be a hard series for both teams to play,” Strauss said of England’s upcoming clash with the world champions.

“The subtext to it is both the Ashes coming up and the World Cup [in Asia next year] and these will be five important games for both sides in their preparations towards that.

“We see it as a chance to test ourselves against the top one-day side in the world and less than 12 months before the World Cup that is a good thing to do,” the opening batsman added.

England, who have a packed home season, face Pakistan in a four-Test series in July and August.

It looks as if Pakistan will be near full strength after several players, including former captain Younus Khan who was given an indefinite ban, won appeals against a variety of disciplinary punishments handed down by the Pakistan Cricket Board.

“We want to play the best quality Pakistan side possible,” Strauss insisted. “It is going to be a good test for us prior to the Ashes series.” — AFP