Aussies must be willing to chop and change bowling depending on conditions, says Darren Lehmann

There’s a lot to be said about horses for courses with Australia’s Ashes series hopes resting heavily on finding the correct bowling attack for the contrasting conditions, writes Robert Craddock.

If Australia is going to win this Ashes series, it will have to be as brave off the field as it is are on it.

That means occasionally telling senior players things they don’t want to hear when they make necessary team changes based on conditions.

Darren Lehmann, who coached Australia’s last two Ashes squads in England, does not have to scratch his chin when asked what is the one move Australia have to make if they are to snap their run of four consecutive losing Ashes series in England.

“Getting the right pace ­attack if the wickets are green,’’ Lehmann said.

“We need to chop and change our bowling attack depending on conditions. If it’s really green you might play James Pattinson instead of Mitchell Starc for one game, but if it’s at Lord’s you would go the other way.

“I have said before we should have played Peter Siddle at Trent Bridge on the last tour. That was a mistake.

“But Justin Langer will be all over that. I am a big Pattinson fan. I don’t think he can get through five Tests but I still think he can play a big role in the Ashes.’’

Pattinson, who must make the squad of 16, looms as the X-factor who could have a ­dynamic impact if managed properly.

The fifth fast bowler is set to come from Peter Siddle, Jackson Bird, Chris Tremain and Michael Neser, and a four-day trial next week between two Australian teams in Southampton will be decisive.

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James Pattinson could be a huge inclusion on the right wicket.

Horses for courses is not the traditional Australian way in an Ashes series but, despite the fact you can drive from one end of England to the other in a few hours, the nation can contain a significant number of contrasting wickets which demand subtle selection tweaks.

Pattinson has had a notoriously troubled time through injury and has played just 17 Tests at age 29, but he is raw and quick and worth a try on a green deck.

Selection chairman Trevor Hohns, who adored Jeff Thomson, has always had a soft spot for crazy fast bowlers and Pattinson’s hot blood is a factor in his favour.

The thought of rotating Starc seems chastening but it could well work in his favour if it freshens him up during the compact five Test series.

Darren Lehmann says getting the bowling attack correct depending on conditions is crucial.

Since Terry Alderman, bowling his 130km/h wobblers, took a staggering 83 wickets on two Ashes tours in the 1980s, Australia have often asked themselves what is the perfect style of fast bowler for English conditions, without settling on the answer.

At times they have tried to play Australian cricket in England and blast out the Poms with pure pace, yet the records of Mitchell Johnson (38 wickets at 36) and Brett Lee (29 at 45) suggest slow English decks can dull the fast men’s edge.

This will be a fascinating Ashes series.

Michael Vaughan, who led England to victory in the 2005 Ashes, maintains Australia are a lot closer to winning in England, than England are of winning in Australia.

No one is sure what effect England’s epic World Cup win will have on the players who now return to the Test team.

Will they be emotionally supercharged and bulletproof?

Or will they still be floating on Planet Pluto and be dragged back to Earth only when Australia surge through their dropped guard?

THE GOOD

Australia being smart enough to send an Australia A team to England this summer, which allows for a meaningful four-day selection trial between two Australian sides next week before the Ashes squad is announced. Credit to former performance boss Pat Howard for the idea.

THE BAD

The horrendous “most fours wins’’ rule which decided the World Cup cricket final. The rule will be changed but it won’t matter because you could play the game 100 times and it wouldn’t happen again.

THE UGLY

Former British Open champion David Duval losing two balls off the tee, then accidentally hitting the wrong one en route to a 14 on the par-4 seventh hole in the first round of this year’s Open, destroying his round but giving heart to hackers around the globe that the pros can suffer like the rest of us.

Originally published as Aussies must be willing to chop and change bowling depending on conditions, says Darren Lehmann