For Australia’s fast bowlers, this year’s Ashes has been all about versatility and balance. Like one of those Chinese tile puzzles, pieces have been slotted into and out of place in a careful and deliberate line of progress towards an eventual aim. The right components have been employed at the right time. The same has applied on the field, where tactical approaches have shifted with the moment.
Take the short ball. The past two Ashes series in Australia have been dominated by bouncers on pitches suited to bowling them, and the Lord’s Test this year was dominated by Jofra Archer’s scone-botherers on a pitch that wasn’t. Archer got carried away for a minute. Australia’s bowlers, uncharacteristically, never did.
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