Mitchell Starc, the tearaway Australia fast bowler, sent out a warning to England with his spectacular form in a Sheffield Shield game where he claimed a hat-trick in each innings. Playing for New South Wales, the pacer tore apart the Western Australia lower order to finish with 7 wickets in the match.

Joe Root and his men will be wary of an Australian bowling attack that has their tail up. The expected Aussie bowling lineup of Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon all showed up for New South Wales, each one claiming at least 3 wickets in the domestic first-class match. 

On the other hand, a number of key England players' Ashes are under doubt: Ben Stokes due to disciplinary reasons, Steven Finn to a knee injury and a question mark over a possible injury to Moeen Ali. As both Root and senior bat Alastair Cook failed to score in a tour match, England will be under more pressure ahead of the Ashes than they would have liked.

Fast. Lite. Innovative. Shareable. Download our HW Cricket App, for Android and iOS!