Confident Australia move on to Perth with urn on their minds

Sydney (Reuters): Australia captain Steve Smith thinks England will struggle to get back into the Ashes series after losing in Adelaide to trail 2-0 heading into next week’s third test in Perth.

Smith admitted to some nerves when the tourists mounted a comeback after he decided not to enforce the follow-on in the second test but said it would now be a long road back for England in the five-match series after a 120-run defeat.

“It’s always tough coming back from 2-0 down, particularly when you’re away from home,” Smith said.

”You’re really only one or two bad sessions away from the series, really. That can really play on people’s minds when you’re behind.

“We have to be confident, we have to continue what we’re doing, doing the basics really well, getting big first innings runs is crucial as we’ve seen, and just backing up day in and day out.”

Four reasons for Australian confidence were occupying row 13 of flight QF 740 from Adelaide to Sydney on Thursday with quicks Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins on one side of the aisle and off-spinner Nathan “Gazza” Lyon on the other.

Although suggestions that the bowling attack is the best to have ever donned baggy green caps are probably wide of the mark, they have done their job by dismissing England twice in both the first two tests.

“I think the exciting thing is our bowling group can only get better,” Starc told reporters on arrival at Sydney airport.

“Obviously we’ve taken 40 wickets over the last couple of weeks and done some really good things but there’s still room for improvement.”

Starc took 5-88 after mopping up the England tail with the new pink ball on Wednesday, while Hazlewood snuffed out hopes of an England win with two wickets, including that of captain Joe root, in the first three overs of the day.

Cummins crucially pegged the English back with the wicket of Dawid Malan on Wednesday night, while Lyon is the leading wicket taker in tests this year and his captain described his bowling in Adelaide as “exceptional”.

“Paddy, Josh and I have grown up together - Gazza’s a bit older - we’ve been around each other for a long time and we’re really close mates,” Starc added.

”I think that shows in the way we play our cricket and we’re gelling really nicely and complementing each other really well.

“Gazza’s bowling the house down at the moment and that allows the other three of us to just do what we do at the other end. Josh does what he does and allows Pat and I to bowl as fast as we want.”

Smith said he was keen for his bowlers and batsmen to get some rest before the Perth test starts next Thursday.

“There’s a reasonable break between now and Perth so the bowlers can freshen up and the batters can freshen their minds, and we can come back and hopefully win the Ashes back in Perth,” he added.

The test will be the last at the WACA and Starc said he was hoping to be presented with a bowling surface that harked back to the days when the likes of Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson terrorised English batsmen in Perth.

“Hopefully we see a nice fast, bouncy wicket, the WACA of old, and get stuck into that as a bowling group,” he said.

Stokes and Hales in England one-day squad for Australia

LONDON  (Reuters) - Ben Stokes has been included in England’s one-day squad for the five-match series in Australia despite being under suspension.

Stokes is currently unable to play for his country pending a decision on whether to charge him in connection with an altercation outside a Bristol nightclub in September.

But he has been named in the 16-man squad for the ODI series starting next month after selectors were given “clear guidance to name their strongest squad”.

He is joined by Alex Hales, who was also suspended after the Bristol incident but has since been told he can play for England after police confirmed he would not face criminal charges.

Both players could yet face disciplinary action by the England and Wales Cricket Board.

But with Stokes’ situation still not determined, he may not feature in the five-match one-day series, let alone the current Ashes series.

The England all-rounder is currently in New Zealand, where he is playing for Canterbury after being granted dispensation by the ECB.

With no decision yet made on whether to prosecute him, his chances of featuring in the Ashes, which has three tests remaining, are diminishing.

“Should the ECB Board receive formal confirmation that Ben Stokes has either been charged or that he will face no charges, they would convene within 48 hours to make a decision on his availability for the team at that stage,” the ECB said.

Also in the one-day squad are Kent batsman Sam Billings and Yorkshire’s David Willey, who is selected ahead of Essex’s Ravi Bopara.

The first one-day international is in Melbourne on Jan. 14.