Rare climate phenomenon La Nina to wreak havoc on Ashes series

England veteran James Anderson will be licking his lips after the Bureau of Meteorology confirmed a rare phenomenon would strike this summer.

James Anderson of England celebrates taking the wicket of Virat Kohli. Photo by Eddie Keogh/Getty Images

England’s Ashes preparations took a frustrating turn this week, with Brisbane’s torrential rain spoiling their first intra-squad match at Peter Burge Oval.

Incumbent openers Rory Burns and Haseeb Hameed combined for a 98-run partnership before weather intervened on Tuesday afternoon, with heavy showers forcing a premature end to the day’s action.

Stuart Broad, Daniel Lawrence and Ollie Pope all vented their frustration on Instagram, sharing clips and photos of the Brisbane rain.

“Come to Brisbane they said …” Lawrence posted.

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Australian opener Marcus Harris joked on Wednesday: “I saw somewhere that someone said Jimmy Anderson brought the rain with him. He‘s definitely done that.”

And sadly, meteorologists predict that miserable weather will hamper most of England’s Ashes tour.

On Tuesday, the Bureau of Meteorology confirmed that climate driver La Nina had returned for the 2021/22 summer, and its effects are already noticeable throughout the country.

Sheffield Shield matches in Sydney and Melbourne have been heavily impacted by rain, while October’s rainfall across Australia was eight per cent above average, according to Bureau of Meteorology figures.

La Nina is a major influencer of Australia’s weather, and its return virtually guarantees a soggier summer – on the east coast particularly – as well as lower temperatures.

Rainfall over eastern Australia can be around 20 per cent higher than usual from December to March when La Nina is in play.

There will also be a greater chance of flooding in Australia’s eastern states – the horrific Brisbane floods of January 2011 took place during a La Nina event, which has only occurred in Australia 15 times over the past 121 years.

Stuart Broad and Daniel Lawrence complaining about the Brisbane weather on Instagram.

“Typically with La Nina, it leads to extra cloud cover and extra rainfall through eastern, northern and central Australia,” Sky News meteorologist Rob Sharpe told news.com.au. “It also leads to generally near or below average temperatures in those regions.

“Particularly for the Test matches in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne, there’s a higher chance than usual of rainfall, so a higher chance of games potentially being washed out.

“At the moment, there are already 10 rivers in New South Wales with flooding occurring, and summer hasn’t even started yet.”

Importantly, La Nina does not guarantee that the Gabba, MCG and SCG Tests will be peppered with rain, but gloomy weather is more likely than previous summers.

As frustrating La Nina could be for cricket fans, the cooler temperatures may work in England’s favour.

Cloud cover provides an ideal environment for swing bowling – turbulence caused by hot air under sunlight is reduced and seamers have greater control of the Kookaburra’s movement.

And there’s arguably no bowler in history better at exploiting such conditions than England veteran James Anderson.

Stuart Broad and James Anderson will be licking their lips after Tuesday’s announcement. Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images

Australia was in the midst of La Nina when England toured Down Under in the 2010/11 summer, retaining the urn with a convincing 3-1 series win.

Bowling in cool and damp climates on seaming wickets, Anderson flourished with the red pill during each of England’s three victories, claiming 4/51, 4/44 and 4/66 in the first innings at Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney respectively.

Eleven years later, the 39-year-old must be licking his lips following Tuesday’s announcement of La Nina’s return, while England teammates Ollie Robinson and Chris Woakes will also be perfectly suited for the overcast conditions.

“There’s also going to be a higher chance than usual of lots of cloud cover, so there might be some extra swing available for bowlers compared to other years,” Sharpe explained.

“It’s still going to be pretty warm, so that means it’s not going to be as cool as Ashes Tests in England … it’s still summer in Australia, so we still get our hot conditions coming through.”

England will play another intra-squad match at Ian Healy Oval next week, with the four-day warm-up fixture starting on Tuesday, November 30.

– with Benedict Brook