Jimmy’s officially the world’s No.1 bowler as he’s tipped to swing balance in Ashes

JAMES ANDERSON has more reasons to celebrate after rising to the top of the world bowling rankings again, just in time for the Ashes Down Under.

And with the two teams now finally under starters orders for the muchanticipated contest, it is an Aussie who has delivered the first shot across the bows on behalf of England. Trevor Bayliss might be a dyed-in-the-wool New South Welshman but his hopes and dreams are firmly aligned with his English employers – and he reckons his countrymen are looking unstable. England have got one or two selection headaches to resolve where their batting is concerned, but in the bowling department the resurgent form of Anderson has been the key behind two out of two Test series wins this summer.

He has moved past 500 wickets and Bayliss reckons Anderson’s reliability with the ball will be just as important this winter, especially in the first two matches where there could be some swing for him.

“The ball will swing a bit early, particularly somewhere like Brisbane,” said Bayliss.

“We also have a day/night game

in Adelaide and it

might swing around a bit there too. I think when you get to Australia the main thing is your consistency and accuracy.

“You can be very fast but if you are not doing much with the ball or you are bowling both sides of the wicket or too full or too short you’ll go for runs.

“That has been the thing where Jimmy is concerned, he gets wickets but doesn’t go for a lot of runs. He gets the ball in the right areas.

“We’ve got question marks over

a couple of spots but I think our opposition in the

Ashes is far from stable either.”

Australia have some concerns with their batting line-up at No. 3 and at No.6, while their muchvaunted pace attack is currently forming a queue outside the doctor’s office.

England expect to have both Stuart Broad and Mark Wood operating at full tilt by the time the plane leaves for Oz, and they should have a new bowling consultant in place too.

Even though National Academy coach Kevin Shine is standing in for the ODI series, coaches including Andy Pick and Chris Silverwood will also be linking up with the squad to show Bayliss what they can offer. And Bayliss (above) is bullish about what England might do this winter with Joe Root in charge, even if their catching has been woeful of late. He added: “Joe’s done fantastically well, two series wins, we would take that every time. He is a positive player and that shows through in his captaincy.

“We are not going to make up the numbers. We are going to leave here with a view to win, simple as that. One thing this group has got is plenty of fight and character.”