England great James Anderson has urged his fellow bowlers to ensure they remain incredibly relentless when constructing their plans to topple Australia cheaply in the upcoming Ashes series. As the five-match Ashes series begins on Friday in Perth, England are expected to unleash an all-out pace featuring Jofra Archer, Mark Wood and Josh Tongue. Anderson believes that pace will have a huge role in dismantling the hosts in their own conditions.
"The pitches will have a little bit of movement in them; they have done in the last two tours we've been there. So you do need accuracy, as well as pace," Anderson said on the BBC's Tailenders podcast.
"I think one of the question marks for England will potentially be Ben Stokes - out of that group of bowlers, he is the one bowler that could churn out those spells of accuracy and skill. But he's also got that injury record hanging over him, so that could be a big part of the series as well."
England are in their quest to win back the Ashes and claim victory Down Under for the first time since 2011. Meanwhile, Australia will head into the first Test without captain Pat Cummins and pacer Josh Hazlewood, giving England an advantage. And Anderson feels that England might rotate Jofra Archer and Mark Wood as the series progresses.
"I think if you're going to play them together, potentially the first Test at Perth, where it's fast and bouncy, you want to get off to a good start in the series so hit them straight away with proper pace," Anderson stated.
"After that I imagine they'll try and play one of them and rest and recover the other. That leaves space for Brydon Carse or Gus Atkinson. They're still quick enough, but they've got skill as well, and probably a bit more control than the others. They're going to have a big part. If England are going to win this series, or have a chance, then the bowling attack has got to be relentlessly good."