Australia will target Swann in Ashes – Moxon

The Yorkshire boss believes the home side may attempt to prepare pitches designed to negate the prolific Swann – Test cricket's leading wicket-taker in 2010.

Swann has run rings around the world's top batsmen since making his Test debut just under two years ago, taking 113 wickets in 24 games.

He was leading wicket-taker during England's Test series in South Africa last winter and has captured 64 wickets in 11 Tests abroad.

In an effort to combat such prodigious statistics, Moxon predicted Australia could prepare seamer-friendly pitches and back their pace bowlers to do a better job than England's.

Australia will field the likes of Mitchell Johnson, Ben Hilfenhaus and Doug Bollinger in the five-match series that starts in Brisbane on November 25, while England's pace duties will rest in the hands of James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Steven Finn – backed up by Chris Tremlett and Yorkshire all-rounder Tim Bresnan.

In stark contrast to England, the biggest chink in Australia's armour is their lack of a world-class slow bowler.

Nathan Hauritz has managed 22 Test wickets this year at 41.31 – compared with Swann's 51 at 23.07 – and claimed just six wickets at 65.00 on the recent tour of India where Australia crashed 2-0.

As England warmed up for their opening three-day tour match against Western Australia in Perth this morning, for which Swann was passed fit after suffering a bruised thumb batting against Bresnan in the nets earlier this week, Moxon cautioned Australia could try to cancel out Swann.

"I think they might attempt to nullify Swann by preparing pitches that suit the seamers and then rely on their pace bowlers to do the job for them," said Moxon.

"They certainly won't want to give Swann any encouragement and will be pretty concerned with their own spin situation.

"I'm definitely not expecting too many of the pitches to turn; if that happens, I'd be very surprised.

"I'm sure Swann will still do a good job over there, but how much turn he gets is a moot point."

Wearing his patriotic hat, Moxon is forecasting a 3-2 England win if the pitches are seamer-friendly – or 2-1 England if the pitches are conventional.

But he believes a definitive prediction is difficult as so many questions remain over both team's batting line-ups.

"There's a hint of fragility in the batting departments," said Moxon, who played one Test in Australia – the Bicentennial fixture at Sydney in 1988, scoring 40 in his solitary innings.

"England have got quite a few concerns when you go down the list – Alastair Cook's got to come to the party after a run of poor scores, Paul Collingwood's had a bit of a dip as well, while Kevin Pietersen needs to get back to the form he is capable of showing.

"And the situation with Australia is similar: Michael Clarke and Michael Hussey are under pressure, so there's a lot of imponderables.

"I'd like to think we might just edge the series, but Australia are always a tough nut to crack on their own patch, so we'll have to play well.

"We certainly need the likes of Cook, Collingwood and Pietersen to do their jobs and, if they do that, I think we'll win."

Marcus Trescothick has no doubt that Cook is mentally strong enough.

"I have been away with Alastair for a bit. I know what he is like and he is certainly the type of person you want in your side," said Trescothick, who averaged over 40 at the top of the order during his six-year stint with England.

"He gels people together and is a fantastic player. Form comes and goes but he'll bounce back. He is a strong boy mentally and he will come good."

One man hoping desperately for a slice of the action is Bresnan, who edged out his Yorkshire team-mate Ajmal Shahzad for a place in the 16-man squad.

Bresnan played the last of his five Tests against Bangladesh in May and is anxious to force his way back into the five-day fold.

"At the moment, it looks as though Tim could be on the outside, but if the pitches are doing a little bit seam-bowling wise then he could well get into the team and come into his own," added Moxon. "The other advantage is that he offers a lot with the bat.

"One of the great things about Tim is that he's a pretty laid-back character and he won't be fazed if he gets his chance. He's the sort of lad who will rise to the challenge; he won't be overawed or anything like that."

England last night named a full-strength squad for today's game, with Anderson also having recovered from injury – in his case a cracked rib suffered during England's pre-Ashes preparation camp in Germany.

England complete their preparations for the first Test with matches against South Australia at Adelaide (November 11-13) and Australia A at Hobart (17-20).

England squad versus Western Australia: Strauss (captain), Cook, Trott, Pietersen, Collingwood, Bell, Prior, Broad, Swann, Finn, Anderson, Morgan, Tremlett.