"Great X-factor that they possess": England skipper hails Archer and Wood's pace ahead of Ashes 2025

Perth [Australia], November 12 (ANI): Ahead of the Ashes 2025 series against Australia, England captain Ben Stokes lauded pacers Jofra Archer and Mark Wood for regaining full rhythm and fitness, saying their pace and energy bring an "X-factor" to the side ahead of the upcoming Test season.

The European side have arrived in Australia with a full book of health to choose from and with a strong pace attack that includes Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Matthew Potts, Archer and Wood that will all be given the chance to shine during the sole warm-up fixture against England Lions that commences on Thursday, according to ICC.

Squeezing them all into the line-up for the first Test at Perth Stadium is impossible, but using Archer and Wood in tandem while they reach speeds in excess of 150 km/h is a prospect that has Stokes pondering the best way to use his wealth of quality quicks ahead of the five-match ICC World Test Championship series.

"It's great to have the X-factor that Joff and Woody possess in terms of pace. Woody's obviously got over his knee surgery that he had quite a while ago. He's overcome that, and he's looking really, really good. Joff has been out in the park for two and a half years now so it's great seeing those two flying in and getting some fast balls down there. Whether or not they get through (picked for) the first Test series probably remains to be seen," Stokes said as quoted by ICC.

Pressed on whether he would use Archer and Wood on the same side in Perth, Stokes remained tight-lipped.

"It would be exciting, wouldn't it? It's nine days until that first Test starts, so there's a lot of time for stuff to form into place or for something to happen. But, at the moment, from a fast bowling point of view, the guys that we've picked are all in really, really good shape," Stokes said.

While the potential to use an all-out pace attack excites Stokes somewhat, the England skipper admitted his bowlers will still need to bowl in the right areas if they are to trouble Australia's strong batting line-up.

"I think both sides have got very strong bowling attacks and it's not all just about pace. It's very nice knowing that you've got a bowling attack and they're all bowling 85 miles an hour and a couple of guys who can get into the low to mid-90s as well. But it's not just all about pace, it's about skill," the all-rounder noted.

"We're fortunate enough that we've got a battery of fast bowlers who not only bowl at good pace, but are also extremely skilful in any condition. You can have pace, but if you've sprayed it everywhere, that's not too much use. We're thankful and we feel that we've picked a really, really good, strong bowling group that have complementary skills, that can support each other. It's going to be a tough five games, so it's nice having a good battery of fast bowlers to choose from," the 34-year-old added.

Australia's squad (first Test only): Steve Smith (c), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Brendan Doggett, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Starc, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster.

England's squad: Ben Stokes (c), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Josh Tongue, Mark Wood.

Series schedule:

First Test: Perth Stadium, November 21-25

Second Test: Gabba, December 4-8

Third Test: Adelaide Oval, December 17-21

Fourth Test: MCG, December 26-30

Fifth Test: SCG, January 4-8. (ANI)

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