"Can’t afford to get to Australia and then say ‘same old, same old'" - Nasser Hussain warns England ahead of Ashes tour

Former England skipper Nasser Hussain believes Ben Stokes and company must be fully prepared and not leave anything to chance during their next Australia tour. The reputed commentator reckons the tourists must combine pace with skill, as too much of the former will only prove detrimental.

England skipper Ben Stokes had indicated at the start of their home season that they are building a side to win in Australia. The Englishmen haven't won a Test match Down Under since 2011, and suffered losses by margins of 5-0, 4-0, and 4-0 in their last three visits.

With England claiming the Richards-Botham Trophy by beating the West Indies in Nottingham, Hussain suggested that Gus Atkinson and Mark Wood should be fixed for the tour Down Under.

He wrote in his column for The Daily Mail:

"Pace isn’t everything, of course. Go to Australia and spray it around and you will go around the park. The ideal combination down under is pace and skill, as Gus Atkinson showed in the first match of the series and as Mark Wood, despite not taking the wickets he deserved, did here. England can’t afford to get to Australia and then say ‘same old, same old’. You need to find out an answer in advance."

The Englishmen had the task of defending 385 on a docile wicket at Trent Bridge on Day 4. The hosts did it with aplomb, winning by 241 runs as Shoaib Bashir took a fifer.

"He got his rewards because he did the two things" - Nasser Hussain on Shoaib Bashir

Reacting to Shoaib Bashir's landmark fifer, Hussain observed that the 20-year-old got the ball to drop and turn, making it easy to take wickets. The 56-year-old added:

"Having one eye on the present but also one on the future is why England have gone for Shoaib Bashir. Not since Muttiah Muralitharan in 2006 had a spinner taken a five-for in a Test in Nottingham. And he got his rewards because he did the two things you want to see from your off-spinner — he got lovely drop on the ball to take the left-hander’s edge for the dismissal of Alick Athanaze and bowled Jason Holder with a beauty. It will have done him, and all the England bowlers, some good playing here."

The 3rd Test between England and West Indies begins on July 26 in Birmingham.