Australia will ‘target’ England star in the Ashes, says Matthew Hayden

Australia legend Matthew Hayden says Shoaib Bashir will be ‘targeted’ should he be selected for England’s opening Ashes Test in Perth.

England’s selectors have put their faith in Bashir as their frontline spin option heading into this winter’s eagerly anticipated showdown, with Will Jacks, Jacob Bethell and Joe Root the only other alternatives available to the tourists Down Under.

But there are no guarantees that Bashir will see any action for the visiting side, who are expected to rely heavily on an all-pace attack as they seek a first series victory on Australian soil in 14 years.

By contrast, Australia have Nathan Lyon in their armoury – a vastly experienced and widely respected off-spinner who boasts 152 wickets in his 24 Test matches against England.

There had been some speculation that Lyon could be left out of the first contest, starting this Friday, given Optus Stadium has a reputation for delivering a fast and furious surface that tends to favour pace bowling.

But while Bashir is expected to miss out on selection, injuries to Australia captain Pat Cummins and fellow quick Josh Hazlewood mean Lyon is likely to play a central role for the hosts.

During England’s disastrous tour of Australia in 2021/22, Jack Leach endured a torrid time, finishing with six wickets and an average of 53.50 across his three matches in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.

And former Australia opener Hayden is confident Bashir will face similar challenges if he comes into the side given the youngster ‘doesn’t turn the ball very much’ at this early stage of his career.

‘The big tipping point might be the spinner,’ Hayden said on SENQ radio in Australia.

‘Bashir is a big tall boy and yes he’ll get some bounce, but he doesn’t turn the ball very much.

‘I think he will be targeted, whereas Nathan Lyon is just a superb spinner who finds a way to take wickets in all conditions.’

Asked if Ben Stokes and Co could triumph over Australia this winter, Hayden replied: ‘They’ve got the arsenal.

‘We’ve probably got them covered in our bowling.

‘But their batting is a bit more solid and certainly more in form with some real confidence about it.’

The tourists were given an almighty scare last week as Mark Wood left the field with a hamstring issue during the side’s warm-up win over England Lions.

Considering it was the same leg that Wood had surgery on in February, many England fans began fearing the worst for the Durham quick, who has a suffered with injury problems throughout much of his Test career.

But there was a collective sigh of relief as Wood was given the all clear and deemed fit enough to play the opening Test in Perth.

‘It’s great news,’ England pace bowler Brydon Carse said.

‘He’ll have a couple of days off and then a good bit of training up to that first Test.

‘For any player, when you’re waiting on the result of a scan, it can be a little bit niggly. He was fairly confident it was going to be nothing serious and he received some positive news.

‘He’s got a huge amount of resilience. You look at some of the setbacks he’s had in his career, to keep coming out and keep going through the processes shows the character he has.’

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