Ashes: Smith says England going 'wrong way' by choosing pace for Perth Test

Steve Smith, Australia's stand-in skipper for the first Ashes Test, thinks that England are going 'wrong way' by planning to go with full-on pace attack in Perth. The statemen comes nearly a week before the the Ashes opener at Optus Stadium which starts November 21. All of England's pacers in the squad are able to clock in excess of 145 km/h mark and are spearheaded by Mark Wood and Jofra Archer. Both, Wood and Archer would be eager to make a mark early in the series as England aim to win first Ashes Down Under since 2011.

Smith on England's all pace plan

"Those sort of nibblers can be quite tricky," Smith said, as reported by cricket.com.au on if England's pacers will have an impact in Perth. "So they might have got things the wrong way around, if that makes sense, in terms of the pace from previous years. But obviously they've got those guys at their disposal now. They probably weren't fit, ready or old enough a few years back."

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This would be first time in more than a decade that England will be playing without James Anderson and Stuart Broad, both of whom relied on swing rather than pace.

Australia survive Hazlewood injury scare

Playing in Australia premier domestic red-ball tournament Sheffield Shield for New South Wales, premium international pacer Josh Hazlewood and Ashes squad back-up quick Sean Abbott left the field on day three of the match against Victoria. The pacers had already bowled nine overs each in the second innings. The duo did not take the field after lunch on day 3 of the match and were taken for scans for hamstring issues.

After the scans, Hazlewood was cleared to play in the first Tests as he only had some tightness in hamstring while Abbott has been withdrawn from the squad as after scans revealed moderate grade strain.