MELBOURNE, Nov 11 - Raw pace and short-pitched
bowling could be the undoing of England in the forthcoming Ashes
series, said Australian test hopeful Shaun Tait.
The South Australia fast bowler took 3-21 as the Prime
Minister's XI thrashed the tourists by 166 runs at Canberra's
Manuka Oval on Friday.
Tait says Australia captain Ricky Ponting would do well to
see how England struggled with the shorter deliveries.
"There's some guys there that really don't play the short
ball that well and are prepared to have a go at it," Tait told
reporters. "So we exploited that today and it came off.
"We got two or three wickets from short balls, so the
Australian team can look at that and maybe exploit that as
well," added Tait, who is competing with the likes of Mitchell
Johnson, Stuart Clark and Nathan Bracken for a test place.
Alastair Cook, Andrew Strauss and Kevin Pietersen were all
dismissed trying to pull shorter deliveries in the tour opener
and PM XI skipper Cameron White said the ploy of harrying the
England top order with rib-tickling bouncers had paid off.
"We talked about putting them on the back foot," White said.
"If that helps out the Australian team in some way I think we've
done our part.
"There are not too many people who play a short ball at your
head at 150kph too well."
England can expect similar treatment in the three-day match
against New South Wales starting at the Sydney Cricket Ground on
Sunday, with test bowlers Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee, Clark and
Bracken featuring in the hosts' lineup.
The first test of the five-match Ashes series starts in
Brisbane on Nov. 23.