The Ashes 2013: Five England players to watch out for

Kevin Pietersen will add chutzpah to this English batting lineup

The hard-hitting batsman is making a comeback after a knee injury kept him out of the game for a considerable period of time. He has found his form immediately and made a striking ton against county championship leaders Yorkshire. He has made the difference against Australia in the Ashes before. His fearless attitude against the fast bowlers, his ability to counter-attack in a situation when the opposition is on top is a priceless asset. He averages just over 52.00 in the Ashes with almost 1500 runs. He has made a habit of making it big when he gets going and therefore Australia will have to come up with a definite plan to get his wicket.

2. Alastair Cook

The left-handed opener was recently compared to the little master by Kevin Pietersen and while that maybe a little bit of exaggeration, he is definitely destructive in his own way. The stability that he provides at the top of the order means that the middle order will always have a platform to build upon. He averages just over 50.00 in the 15 test matches he has played against Australia with 4 hundreds and 3 half-centuries to his name. If he can keep up that record of his, Australia will have considerable trouble containing the English scoring.

1. James Anderson

The greatest threat to the Australian side and England’s trump card. Jimmy Anderson was in full swing at the Champions Trophy as he finished the second highest wicket taker at that event. He is even more deadly in the longer version of the game. He derives lateral movement with the new ball, getting it to move in both direction and once the Duke ball loses its shine he is an expert exponent of reverse swing bowling. Anderson’s bowling action allows him to disguise the ball in such a manner that the batsman has to pick up the swing of the ball in the air. He has improved as a cricketer with the experience that he has gathered over the years in International Cricket. He was the stand-out bowler in the 2010-11 series finishing with 24 wickets.