Former England captain Nasser Hussain believes that relying solely on pace won’t be enough for England to make history in the upcoming Ashes series in Australia. The next Ashes series, scheduled for the end of 2025, is already prompting England to prepare a competitive team for the historic challenge.

Ahead of the first Test against the West Indies, England captain Ben Stokes emphasized that the team is building with the future Ashes series in mind. England last secured the Ashes in 2015 with a thrilling 3-2 victory at home, but Australia has retained the trophy since then.

In Ashes series played in Australia, the home team has shown formidable dominance. England has not won a Test match in Australia since 2011, with recent series results being particularly disheartening: 5-0, 4-0, and 4-0 losses in their last three visits.

“Pace Isn’t Everything”, warns Nasser Hussain ahead of Ashes 2025

In his column for the Daily Mail, Hussain cautioned England that having sheer pace alone won’t be enough; skill must complement speed. He identified Gus Atkinson and Mark Wood as the two bowlers certain to make the trip to Australia.

“Pace alone isn’t enough,” Hussain wrote in his column. “If you go to Australia and just bowl fast without control, you’ll be easily taken apart. The key to success down under is a blend of pace and skill, as Gus Atkinson demonstrated in the first match of the series and Mark Wood showed here, even though he didn’t get the wickets he deserved. England can’t afford to rely on the same old strategies. It’s crucial to find solutions beforehand.”

“Pace alone isn’t enough. If you go to Australia and just rely on speed, you’ll end up all over the place. The key is combining pace with skill, as Gus Atkinson demonstrated in the first match of the series and as Mark Wood, despite not getting the wickets he deserved, showed here. England can’t afford to arrive in Australia with the same old approach; they need to find a solution in advance,” Hussain wrote in his column.

Gus Atkinson recently impressed in James Anderson’s farewell Test at Lord’s, where he claimed 12 wickets on his debut and was named Player of the Match. Meanwhile, Mark Wood delivered a spectacular spell in the second Test but was unlucky not to secure any wickets. Both Atkinson and Wood, known for their high pace, could be crucial on the fast and bouncy pitches in Australia.

SEE ALSO:Women’s T20 Asia Cup 2024, Match 07: Sri Lanka beat Malaysia by 144 runs

Nasser Hussain commends Shoaib Bashir

Nasser Hussain also praised Shoaib Bashir for his outstanding off-spin performance on Day 4 of the Test.England’s choice of Shoaib Bashir reflects their strategy of balancing immediate needs with future prospects. Since Muttiah Muralitharan in 2006, no spinner had taken a five-for in a Test at Nottingham. Bashir earned his accolades by demonstrating key qualities of an off-spinner—he extracted a beautiful drop on the ball to dismiss Alick Athanaze and bowled Jason Holder with a stunning delivery.

This performance will benefit him and the entire England bowling attack.England won the second Test against the West Indies by a commanding 241 runs. Despite West Indies initially taking a first-innings lead, England’s aggressive Bazball approach in their third innings allowed them to set a formidable target.

Chasing 385 for victory in the fourth innings, the West Indies faltered and were dismissed for just 143 runs. Shoaib Bashir took 5 wickets for England, while Chris Woakes and Gus Atkinson each claimed 2 wickets.

India aims to end their global title drought, while South Africa seeks to shed their ‘chokers’ tag. Both unbeaten teams will clash in the final at Kensington Oval.

Their flawless campaigns and dominant semi-final wins prove that the two best teams have reached the final in Bridgetown.

The day after South Africa halted Afghanistan’s fairytale run in Trinidad, India defeated England in Guyana to reach their third consecutive global final across all formats.

SA vs IND Final : Pitch Report

“Interesting looking surface. It’s been that way all tournament. They’ve done a fair bit of rolling, but there’s no live grass to hold it together. It’s fairly hard to start with so I’m hoping the ball comes onto the bat quite nicely.” By Ian Bishop

Hope the weather Gods are shining on us. There is a 30% chance of rain and a strong wind blowing towards fine leg for the left hander and that’s the shortest boundary at 56m. Don’t be surprised if Quinton de Kock targets that boundary or Suryakumar Yadav tries to open up his body. It is a central pitch so fairly even boundaries on all sides. Interesting looking surface, it is hard but there is no live grass. By Ian Bishop & Nasser Hussain

This is a fair pitch which might not have the bounce of St Lucia or the low bounce of Guyana, says he hopes there is even pace and bounce, which is all everyone wants. Nasser added

SA vs IND Final: Update

Team India has formed a huddle. Rohit Sharma is giving a pep talk to his team. We are few moments away from the toss. The big game is coming coming. The anticipation is high.

The Sun is beating down at the moment in Barbados. The good news is that there is no sign of rain.

SEE ALSO: [WATCH]: T20 World Cup 2024 Final, South Africa vs India – Rohit Sharma earns major praise from South Africa players

This is the ninth year that India has not won an ICC title.MS Dhoni was still captain when the Indian cricket team won an ICC event at the 2013 Champions Trophy. All of India’s cricket fans would hope for a change of fortune as the team led by Rohit Sharma prepares for the T20 World Cup in Australia in 2022.

However, India’s preparations for the event have been marred by injuries.

According to a PTI report, standby pacer Deepak Chahar will also be unable to play in the T20 World Cup due to injury. Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah have been ruled out due to injuries.

In a podcast on Sky Sports, former England captain Nasser Hussain stated that India must break out of their shell if they are to succeed in ICC competitions.

“India’s issues have been ICC events really. They have been going around beating everyone, with a variety of players, they have rotated and rested. They have hugely experienced cricketers from the IPL and high-class T20 cricketers. But they played some timid cricket in world events, almost gone into their shell. There is a different mindset from a bilateral to a World Cup. They definitely played some fearful cricket in the last World Cup, especially in the power plays. They have got to keep that hitting potential from Rohit, Rahul. Suryakumar Yadav has been in unbelievable form. They are missing two great cricketers in Bumrah and Jadeja. Got to keep the same mindset that they have shown in the bilaterals in the last year or so.”

said the former English skipper on Sky Sports.

ALSO READ: AUS vs ENG, T20I: ENG wins by 8 runs!

India will start their T20 World Cup campaign against Pakistan in Melbourne on October 23.