England Appoint Troy Cooley As Pace Bowling Consultant For The Ashes

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on Wednesday appointed Troy Cooley as a consultant pace bowling coach of the national team ahead of the upcoming 2021/22 Ashes starting on December 8. 

Cooley, who was the bowling coach when England won the 2005 Ashes and took up a similar role with Australia, will also assist the England Lions team ahead of their four-day match against Australia A on December 9.

"England Men have confirmed the appointment of Troy Cooley as Consultant Pace Bowling Coach for the touring party's preparation ahead of the Ashes Test series starting next month. The former England and Australian bowling coach will work under ECB's Elite Pace Bowling Coach Jon Lewis supporting the bowlers' preparations in Brisbane. Cooley will then assist the Lions seamers in their four-day match against Australia A starting on 9 December. The 55-year-old joined the Test specialists and the Lions during the three-day intra-squad warm-up match starting on Tuesday at Redlands, Brisbane," read a statement by the ECB.

Cooley's appointment was welcomed by Mo Bobat, ECB Performance Director. "It's great to have someone with Troy's expertise and experience supporting our Ashes prep and also working closely with our Lions pace bowlers. Troy's understanding of what it takes to be successful in Australian conditions is second to none, and the players are sure to benefit hugely."

England pacer Stuart Broad was delighted with Cooley working with the team ahead of the first Test of The Ashes on December 8 in Brisbane. "(Cooley) arrived when we got out of quarantine (on) Saturday, but he's with us for a decent period of time. Really looking forward to picking his brain on Australian conditions, and Australian players, to be honest," Broad was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au.

Asked on what he will be looking to gain from Cooley, Broad remarked, "He's been in their setup for a long period of time, through development and at the top level. He can give us great insight into Australian batters' mentality; what they're looking to do, where they're looking to score, where they don't like the ball, how (we should) be around them - whether you talk to them, whether you ignore them, whether you sledge them... can you annoy them enough to make a mistake?

"All this sort of detail, we'll be picking Troy's brain, because anything you can get – even a one-percenter on someone – will be really useful for us. You need all that sort of stuff to win in Australia. You need to be at the top of your game at all times, and find little chinks in the opposition's armoury."