The 7 burning questions for Australia ahead of the Ashes

SEN Cricket experts Bharat Sundaresan, Adam White and Bryce McGain debated the biggest burning questions facing Australia before the old enemy arrives.

Sundaresan: "Based on what England are doing against India at the moment, I am more confident that Australia goes in (to the Ashes) as favourites. Nice and punchy."

McGain: "I’m confident for Australia. I think they have performed well here, and they should go in confident – particularly the bowlers. The conditions are completely different especially pitch conditions."

White: "I would be less confident based on what I’ve seen here and in the WTC. I still think Australia will win but I’m less confident."

Sundaresan: "Bowlers are sorted, pick between the five. Carey, Smith and Head are locks. Cam Green whether he bowls or not, if his body holds up – I think that changes the equation. I’m not confident on Boland. I can see Marnus coming back at 3. Green, I see dropping back at six but he is a lock (to play regardless). Marnus is a lock. Khawaja is a lock for me. 10 locks but it’s just who partners Uz."

McGain: "The process I will go through is selecting from Shield cricket and who is in form. Your locks are Smith, Head, Webster, Carey then your bowling attack and back-up bowler are locks. We might see a situation where Boland as taken a hat-trick and might miss out on the first Test. So eight locks."

Sundaresan: "They flirted with Mitch Marsh and Green and there was maybe one Test they played together. After the 2023 Ashes. It would be a luxury to have Webster and Green. Beau has done nothing wrong but hasn’t done enough just to be there for his batting. If you have Green I don’t think you need Webster’s bowling as well. I can't see them going with both of them it’s too much of a luxury when you know your batters are not consistent."

McGain: "I agree with Bharat but I would change the batting order. I think Australia have struggled to replace Warner. Having a dynamic opener is valuable to support a less aggressive opener. If Khawaja stays there I would like to see Travis Head bat next to him. It worked in Sri Lanka and why not? Put Green at 5 and then get some flexibility. Bring Marnus into 3. A subtle change in the order but it strengthens being able to fight fire with fire and get Australia off to a big starts especially in the Ashes."

Sundaresan: "I think that’s a great suggestion. Right now one of the problems for selectors is they have Smith at 4, Head at 5 and because they’re stuck there, they’re the foundation, the engine room. It’s 4/5 and all these permutations around them. Head is always open to whatever the team wants. If you have a player like that then why not. Debate will then go back to specialist openers."

McGain: "It will never happen again; it was a one-off for here. The fact the ground was small and it was a pure one-off for these conditions. In Australia you absolutely need to play a spinner."

Sundaresan: "No chance, no way never. The only scenario I see Lyon not playing a Test when he is fit is when we play a pink Dukes ball test at Sabina Park.

McGain: "I’m not sure. They will shut down for a month now. When they come back and how they come back and perform in the two Shield games they play before the Ashes. I would like to see in terms of performance who gets the nod. Cummins is there, Starc is there, so it comes down to those two and it’s a performance decision at the time for me. Boland is a unicorn, what he can come in and do is quite phenomenal and that holds good credits."

Sundaresan: "Without doubt. Scott Boland is the first to admit it that even to be compared with Hazlewood is an honour for him. When Hazlewood is fit, you pick him. For Boland it’s unfortunate that he is doing what he’s doing. I can’t see Boland playing ahead of Hazlewood if he is 100%. I think he is a lock because of how they go about selection. He is bowling as well as he has ever bowled. He is a lock for me."

McGain: "I think we have seen some good batting in extremely difficult conditions. He was monumental in the first Test. His ability to do that was special and that will give him credits. I hope his form is good in Shield leading in."

Sundaresan: "He will play all four Shield games for Queensland. Unless he changes his approach or makes a technical alteration, I can’t see what we will learn when he plays for Queensland. Being a Test batter at 38, the older you get it’s the rhythm you struggle with. When you have longer gaps at that age, it becomes difficult to just come back and get into rhythm. I don’t think you can be 100% confident he will just come good. History suggests he hasn’t got the runs he would like. I don’t think anybody can say he is a lock to score runs because he has done it in the past. I don’t think we can say that anymore."

Sundaresan: "Better than last time for sure. The last one was the pits. It can’t go as bad as that. England will come hard. The Lord’s win (over India) was not Bazball, it was a traditional win. England will make a good go of it, but it will really come down to their bowlers. They will be better than last time but I don’t think they will be the team to make the huge impact on the Ashes. Finish your story England, if not, stop talking about Bazball."

McGain: "I think they will be better, and I think this will be an unbelievable Ashes series. It’s going to be a real challenge."