England seeks NCA fast bowling coach's help for Ashes 2021 triumph against Australia

England and Australia will lock horns in the Ashes 2021, starting off with the first of Tests scheduled to be held at the Gabba Stadium on December 8. Meanwhile, the English squad has hired the services of an Australian coach, Troy Cooley to work as a consultant with their pace bowlers ahead of the Ashes series. Cooley was recently roped in by BCCI president Sourav Ganguly to help out nurturing young Indian pace-bowlers at the National Cricket Academy (NCA), however, he will join the England squad for the Ashes before heading to the NCA.

As per a report by AP, the England and Wales Cricket Board announced on Wednesday that Cooley will support the English bowlers in their preparation at the training camp in Brisbane, prior to joining England’s second-string Lions side which is also touring Australia. As mentioned in the AP report, ECB’s performance director Mo Bobat said, “Troy’s understanding of what it takes to be successful in Australian conditions is second to none, and the players are sure to benefit hugely”.

Troy Cooley has previously worked with Cricket Australia

The 55-year-old served as England’s bowling coach when England won the Ashes series under the captaincy of Michael Vaughan at their home series. He then joined Cricket Australia and went on to work at the governing body’s Center of Excellence in Brisbane. Meanwhile, Australia will play the Ashes 2021 under a new captaincy, following the resignation of Tim Paine, amid his ongoing sexting controversy. England plays two tour matches against the England Lions before the first Test match begins at the Gabba Stadium on December 8.

Ashes 2021 Full Schedule-

• 1st Test match at The Gabba, Brisbane from December 8 to December 12
• 2nd Test match at the Adelaide Oval, Adelaide from December 16 to December 20
• 3rd Test match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne from December 26 to December 30
• 4th Test match at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney from January 5 to January 9, 2022
• 5th Test match at the Optus Stadium, Perth from January 14 to January 18

Ashes 2021 England and Australia squad-

England Squad for Ashes 2021: Joe Root (Captain), Ben Stokes, James Anderson, Jonathan Bairstow, Dom Bess, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Haseeb Hameed, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Dawid Malan, Craig Overton, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood

Australia Squad for Ashes 2021: David Warner, Marcus Harris, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Cameron Green, Tim Paine, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon, Jhye Richardson, Michael Neser, Mitchell Swepson

(Image: AP)