England have arrived in Australia with a group of bowlers billed as their most threatening for an overseas Ashes series in decades. With days left until the first Test match, we asked our writers to select their preferred attack for the series opener in Perth.
Jo Harman-McGowan
Wisden Cricket Monthly magazine editor
Stokes, Atkinson, Carse, Archer, Tongue
Will Jacks is tempting. His rapid 80-odd at Lilac Hill gave a glimpse of what he could offer from the lower-order and his dismissals of Joe Root and Harry Brook bolstered his claim, but England looked set to play five quicks at Perth and I don't think a low-key knockabout on a flat one should change that. Jacks has played just five red-ball matches across the last two years, taking 12 wickets. If England really had him in mind for their Ashes XI he should have been given the opportunity to play more red-ball cricket for Surrey this summer and been involved in the Test set-up. As it is, he's not played a Test match since 2022 and as recently as November 2023 he wasn't deemed worthy of one of the twenty-nine central contracts dished out by the ECB. To pick him for Perth would feel like the sort of knee-jerk reaction best avoided on the eve of an Ashes series.
England should stick to their guns and pick four frontline quicks, allowing Ben Stokes to be a high-impact fifth seamer who can be called upon to break partnerships without racking up dozens of overs which could put his body at risk. Given his lack of preparation I'd hold Mark Wood back for Brisbane, giving Jofra Archer and Gus Atkinson the new ball, with Brydon Carse and Josh Tongue in support.
Katya Witney
Wisden staff writer
Stokes, Atkinson, Carse, Archer, Wood
If anything has been learned from the last three years of Brendon McCullum and Stokes, it's that opposing the status quo when you're up against it can bring results. I don't see anything to be gained from going into the first Test with a spinner – either a specialist in Shoaib Bashir or an all-rounder in Jacks. English part-time offies have a history of being mullered in Australia, and if you go with which four specialists are the most likely to take 20 wickets between them in Australia, Bashir isn't in that group.
They have to back their out and out pace – the best plan of action is to try and blow Australia away early, get ahead and then run for the hills. I'm for playing Archer and Wood together, no one should be held back. Ashes tours in Australia are often referred to as marathons, but for England to win this it has to be a five Test sprint, and they must get out of the blocks fast. That leaves one of Carse, Tongue and Atkinson missing out. Out of those three, my preference would be Carse and Atkinson – both offer bits and pieces in the lower order, and give the attack a more rounded feel.
Phil Walker
Wisden Cricket Monthly editor in chief
Stokes, Atkinson, Carse, Archer, Tongue
My four quicks would be Atkinson, Carse, Archer and Tongue. I'd hold Mark Wood back and use the two-dayer between Perth and Brisbane to give him a few more overs. He’ll be needed later in the piece, and with reported hamstring tightness from last week’s inter-squad game, he’s a risk it’s not worth taking. I just hope they take a punt on Tongue, who I think has the raw ability to be their breakout star of the series. Against left-handers in particular, and Australia may have five in their top eight, he can be deadly if it clicks.
I’d resist the urge to play either finger spinner, especially as temperatures are expected to be relatively mild and the pitch lively enough to keep gruelling sessions to a minimum. In a furnace, on a flat one, I’d play Will Jacks at No.8 in place of Carse. If conditions are as expected, I’d go full seam ahead. The spectre of injury hangs over all five seamers (Stokes of course completing the quintet), so there’s strength in numbers. Let them share the load with short, sharp spells. That’s the best way to take 20 wickets at Perth; of the 36 to fall in last year's India Test, only four went to the spinners.
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Yas Rana
Wisden.com head of content and podcast host
Stokes, Jacks, Atkinson, Carse, Archer
I would be really tempted to play an all-seam attack. In part because of how many exciting pace options they have at their disposal, but also because it’d give England adequate cover should one of them go down. Specifically, it’d leave enough options in the tanks to potentially risk Wood. As much as England will be keen to unleash Wood in Perth, it would be a gamble to back him to get through a full game unscathed at this stage – after all, the 35-year-old last played a first-class fixture 14 months ago.
But I think it would also be rash to go in without a spinner. Look at what happened at Perth last year. In 2024, while both sides were skittled first time around, conditions were such that India were able to amass nearly 500 from a day and a half in the middle. If conditions are remotely that batting friendly and it’s as hot as it normally is Perth, you’ll want a spinner.
And why Jacks over Bashir? No visiting spinner has taken more than two wickets at the Optus – a spinner’s main role will be to operate as a containing option that the others bowl around. In that capacity, I don’t see a huge difference between the two and Jacks offers vastly more with the bat.
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