Lack of pace and warm-ups worry me

The problem for England is they lack the one thing you need in Australia: raw pace. Mark Wood is very important but the problem for him is you need movement as well, and the Kookaburra ball does nothing. It means I am not sure how much of a threat he will offer.

The skiddy, shorter bowlers with pace can be successful in Australia but they need to be skilful like Darren Gough. Wood is more about pace than movement.

You also need a quality spinner. The only time they have taken a high-quality spinner to Australia in my lifetime was with Graeme Swann.

England do not currently have a high-class spinner, but they do have Jack Leach.

He has to look at what Keshav Maharaj did for South Africa five years ago. He kept it tight in the first innings before being more of a threat later on.

But he only had success because the batters scored runs. The key to England’s chances is batting for a long time. They cannot be a 300 all out team. They will do nothing that way. They have to train their brains to make 400 in the first innings. They are going to need at least 600 runs per Test match. Even that might not be enough, but it is a minimum requirement.

If they do that then they will take the game deep and will ask Australia captain Tim Paine tactical questions. That is when he has come unstuck in the past. Late in Test matches is when he struggles: 2019 Headingley and last year against India in Brisbane and Sydney.

If you push Australia into the final sessions of Test matches that is when you challenge them.

You only need 16 or 17 players in

They cannot be a 300 all out team. They will do nothing that way. They have to train their brains

a squad. Sometimes you can have too many and it can become a distraction.

They need to make a call early and pick 17, leaving the rest to go off and be with the Lions or play a bit of Big Bash. You can always bring someone back in.

Another important aspect is the two warm-up games. They cannot play state sides because of Covid, so I would arrange two very competitive intra-squad matches and give them first-class status.

It must be 11 versus 11, proper games of cricket with players thinking the numbers count on their first-class records. There has to be consequences for playing a poor shot or bowling a bad spell.

I would make it dead obvious as well. I would pick my top six for the first Test match in one team, and my first choice bowling attack in the opposing side. Make it blatantly obvious, so those who are not first choice have something to play for and think: “Hold on a minute, I’ve got to do something here to get in the top six or in the bowling unit.”

Those games cannot be 13 versus 13. You have to play tough cricket going into an Ashes series. The only time England have won in recent years is by playing tough games against state sides.

Make those warm-ups competitive and edgy. Even let them chuck in a few quid between them as prize money. Anything that will make it competitive so they realise that bad shots matter.

I am sorry, but 13-a-side games are just rubbish. They have no edge. In Australia, you have to provide an edge.