The Ashes: England’s bowlers in the spotlight after ‘great opportunity’ wasted in Perth, says Michael Vaughan

England great Michael Vaughan admits the tourists have likely already missed their best chance to win a Test this Ashes, with concerns Australia will only get stronger. Ben Stokes’ side will have to overcome Australia’s near-imperious pink ball record of 13 wins from 14 pink-ball Tests to get their tour back on track at the Gabba in the wake of their Perth flop. But having seen their chances of victory evaporate inside two sessions at Optus Stadium, former English captain Vaughan said Australia will only get better, even without the return of Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood in Brisbane. “This Australian side, I don’t think they’re going to play any worse than they did in Perth. That for me was England’s great opportunity, without Cummins and Hazlewood,” Vaughan said on the BBC’s Test Match Special podcast. “Australia will be stronger this week, so whatever England do, they’ll have to play a lot better than they did in Perth, play a stronger game for longer periods.” While much of the fallout from the first Test loss was centred around England’s failures with the bat, Vaughan harboured concerns over their bowling unit and their lack of pace in the second innings. “It’s all the talk over the batters and the way they play, but I have real great concerns about the bowling unit in the second innings,” he said. “I know they only had 30-odd overs’ rest, but they didn’t bowl a great deal on day one, but the paces were so far down, and if the heat is exactly what it’s going to be [in Brisbane], I have a bit of a worry about the England bowlers being able to cope.” He believes England’s bowlers lack match fitness, only exacerbated by their decision to skip the practice match against the CA XI in Canberra over the weekend. “This England side hasn’t played enough cricket. They haven’t spent enough time in the field, the skill sets of bowling or batting you can work on in the nets. “I’m more concerned about the bodies being out in the field; they just haven’t been out in the field for long enough. When I saw those paces in the second innings, I thought, ‘oooh this is not a great sign.’” It comes as premier paceman Mark Wood gets set to miss the second Test, with concerns that his series could be over after just two days. “When I was in Durham, I got the sense that his knee was continuing to blow up once he reached high pace, and I think that’s what’s happened here,” journalist Melinda Farrell said. “He was hobbling around in a brace at the Gabba, and we might only see one more Test from Wood if he’s able to play at all, so it is a huge loss.” While England debates over who they bring in, Wood’s injury could open the door for Stokes to take on the new ball alongside Jofra Archer in Brisbane “Stokes has to realise how good a bowler he is,” Vaughan said. “For England to win down here, Stokes has to take the ball earlier, he’s the bowler who can really spice up this Test series, he’s got Ian Botham kind of qualities. “He doesn’t even have to bowl well, and he’ll take wickets, he’s got that knack, he was probably England’s worst bowler in that first innings in Perth, and he ended up with five.”