Aussie, All Black mentor to help England's Ashes charge

England have employed a veteran Australian bowling coach and an All Blacks mental-skills guru in a bid to win their first Ashes series down under in 15 years.

Almost one month out from the first Test in Perth, England officials have confirmed bowling coach David Saker will return to Brendan McCullum's staff for this summer.

A long-time assistant with both England and Australia, Saker was England's bowling coach when they last won an Ashes series away from home in 2010-11.

He then held the role with Australia between 2016 and 2019, including at the time of the ball-tampering scandal, before returning to England for the last Ashes in 2023.

Saker's arrival comes as England prepare to unleash their quickest attack on Australian shores this century as they attempt to win back the urn.

Speedsters Jofra Archer and Mark Wood are both fit, with the biggest question likely to be how the pair are managed throughout the series.

Josh Tongue, Brydon Curse and Gus Atkinson are England's other quicks, all of whom are yet to play a Test in Australia.

England have previously had New Zealander Tim Southee overseeing their bowling, but he will be away with the ILT20 in the UAE during the Ashes.

Beyond Saker, England have also brought in former All Blacks mental-skills coach Gilbert Enoko into their camp.

Enoka has long been regarded as one of the best leadership coaches in world sport, including being part of two Rugby World Cup wins with the All Blacks.

The New Zealander also formed part of Michael Maguire's coaching staff for last year's NSW State of Origin success.

He has linked with the England team for their white-ball series in New Zealand, and will travel with them to Australia for this summer's Ashes.

"He brings a lot of knowledge on the mental side of the game," England's Test vice-captain Harry Brook told reporters in New Zealand.

"We've actually just done a session with him now for an hour or so. He's a great bloke.

"To have him in the ranks, just to be able to pull him in for a chat for five or 10 minutes is awesome.

"We have goals and ambitions individually and as a team collective, something we've spoken about is keep it within the group and head towards those goals and destinations as a side together."

England will remain without fielding coach Paul Collingwood for the summer for personal reasons.

With PA