England sign Aussie bowling expert Saker
DAVID SAKER has crossed the Ashes divide once more by signing a contract to be England’s bowling coach for this summer’s five Tests against Australia.
Australian Saker, 56, has been in the winning dressing rooms of both countries in recent Ashes instalments, but took up the challenge of returning to England following an approach from Test captain Ben Stokes last November.
The agreement also includes this autumn’s World Cup in India, but he remains on temporary terms due to an existing contractual obligation with Big Bash League franchise Melbourne Renegades.
‘ I said yes straightaway because of the magnitude of the occasion,’ Saker (below) said. ‘I’ve been involved in Ashes with both parties and the cricket is as exciting as it gets. It’s the biggest Test event and the way the two teams are playing made it pretty easy to make the decision.
‘I was at the World Cup and Ben Stokes said, “I’d like to get you involved in the Ashes”. Rob Key had already floated it, but being so busy
I wasn’t sure if I really wanted to do it. Once Stokesy pushed it, though, it made it an easy decision.’ Saker first joined England in 2010 and oversaw the most successful period in their history as they won the Twenty20 World Cup, an Ashes series Down Under and went to No 1 in the Test rankings.
But, after being involved in a home win over the Australians in 2013, things began to deteriorate and he left after a disastrous 2015 World Cup amid suggestions he had failed to unearth a new generation of seam-bowling talent. Instead, Saker was involved in the development of Australia’s current crop of fast bowlers, spearheaded by Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc.
His three-year spell as assistant coach included a 4-0 win over England in 2017-18, but he resigned nine months into Justin Langer’s tenure, having initially stayed on after the balltampering scandal in
South Africa. England white-ball coach Matthew Mott, his former Victoria team-mate, then recruited Saker as a consultant for last September’s T20 tour of Pakistan, extending it for the successful World Cup campaign that followed and further work in Bangladesh.
After this tour concludes tomorrow, he will spend eight weeks back in Melbourne before hooking up with Brendon McCullum for a Test against Ireland at Lord’s on June 1 that precedes the Ashes.
Saker has good relationships with England’s Test bowlers, having worked with Jimmy Anderson, Stuart Broad and Chris Woakes, but is enthused about Ollie Robinson — ‘ he looks like a hell of a hard work to face in English conditions’ — and appears most excited about the ‘outliers’ Jofra Archer and Mark Wood and their ability to break 90mph.
‘These sorts of bowlers can bowl a spell that can crack a game open,’ Saker said. ‘ Guys that can bowl at that pace can change a game quickly and they are also enormously effective at getting the tail out. The exciting thing is that Jofra is back to that really seriously quick, aggressive bowler.’
For that reason, Saker believes he is in the right camp again. ‘Playing in English conditions, it puts their bowling group in front of the Australians without a doubt,’ he said.