Stokes hints at unleashing both Archer and Wood for Ashes opener in Perth

Ahead of the Ashes opener in Perth from November 21, England skipper Ben Stokes has revealed he is weighing up the possibility of fielding express pacers Jofra Archer and Mark Wood together in the playing XI.

The visitors have arrived in Australia with a fully fit squad and a formidable pace arsenal featuring Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Matthew Potts, Archer, and Wood, all of whom are set to feature in the team’s lone warm-up clash against the England Lions, starting Thursday.

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While it’s impossible to fit all of them into the XI for the first Test at the Optus Stadium, the thought of unleashing Archer and Wood, both capable of generating 150 km/h, has Stokes considering his options carefully ahead of the five-match ICC World Test Championship series.

“It’s great to have the X-factor that Joff and Woody possess in terms of pace,” Stokes said in Perth on Wednesday.

“Woody’s obviously got over his knee surgery that he had quite a while ago. He’s overcome that and he’s looking really, really good. Joff has been out in the park for two and a half years now so it’s great seeing those two flying in and getting some fast balls down there.

“Whether or not they get through (picked for) the first Test series probably remains to be seen,” he added.

When pressed on the prospect of pairing the two speedsters in the same XI, Stokes remained coy. “It would be exciting, wouldn’t it?” Stokes said with a smile.

“It’s nine days until that first Test starts, so there’s a lot of time for stuff to form into place or for something to happen. But, at the moment, from a fast bowling point of view, the guys that we’ve picked are all in really, really good shape,” he said.

Stokes also acknowledged the allure of deploying an all-out pace attack, but emphasized that raw speed alone won’t be enough to trouble Australia’s powerful batting order.

“I think both sides have got very strong bowling attacks and it’s not all just about pace,” Stokes said.

“It’s very nice knowing that you’ve got a bowling attack and they’re all bowling 85 miles an hour and a couple of guys who can get into the low to mid-90s as well. But it’s not just all about pace, it’s about skill.

“We’re fortunate enough that we’ve got a battery of fast bowlers who not only bowl at good pace, but are also extremely skillful in any condition. You can have pace, but if you’ve sprayed it everywhere, that’s not too much use,” he reasoned.

“We’re thankful and we feel that we’ve picked a really, really good, strong bowling group that have complementary skills, that can support each other. It’s going to be a tough five games, so it’s nice having a good battery of fast bowlers to choose from,” he added.