Yorkshire pairing get England chance as Test bowlers miss out on Hobart game

The manoeuvre was formulated several weeks ago when England first concluded extra acclimatisation time for the bowlers before the first Test in sub-tropical Brisbane might be preferable to more overs, or even wickets, in conditions alien to what can be expected in Queensland.

But it was not until yesterday that coach Andy Flower and seamer Stuart Broad both confirmed the four bowlers selected for England's two matches so far on tour will be heading north early.

Wind and rain borrowed from the northern hemisphere forced England indoors for yesterday's Brit Insurance practice day, in which players and media honed their cricketing skills together.

Flower was still sheltering from the elements, in the TCA ground pavilion, when he spelled out: "Four of the bowlers are going (to Brisbane early) – Broad, (James) Anderson, (Steven) Finn and (Graeme) Swann.

Launch our Ashes web-mag

Click here to listen to our CricketTalk Ashes special podcast >>

"They are going with the bowling coach, probably on the evening of the first day of this four-day game."

It will therefore be left instead to Chris Tremlett, Ajmal Shahzad, Tim Bresnan and Monty Panesar to do the bulk of the bowling against Australia A at the Bellerive Oval – while England have the option of also resting Test wicketkeeper Matt Prior or even a specialist batsman, with Steve Davies and Eoin Morgan also in the touring party.

"The reasoning is that conditions in Hobart are very different to the ones in Brisbane, and we want to give that group of bowlers a little head start," Flower explained.

"They are going three days earlier than the rest of us, and it will also give an opportunity to the other group of bowlers to put their names forward and perform well against Australia A."

England have appeared keen on this course of action, ever since the plan leaked out in the press last month, but they have been cautious too about confirming it as a definite intention.

Each of the quartet of bowlers has fared well in the two warm-up matches so far, but a rainy final day in Adelaide limited their opportunity for extra competitive overs and opened up the possiblity that England might think again.

Flower is keen to stress too the challenge being set to England's back-up bowlers, and the likelihood that each of them could easily end up taking part in this winter's Ashes at some point. "Bresnan, Shahzad, Tremlett and Panesar will get a go in this four-day game here.

"They haven't had a chance in the middle yet, so they should be desperate to get out there and prove themselves.

"Without a doubt, I would say, one or two of those guys are going to be playing Test cricket in the next couple of months – you don't have situations where the same bowling attack, or certainly not very often, play five Tests in a row.

"So it's a very real situation, an opportunity for them to put their names forward and also an opportunity for them to get bowling into them in preparation for just maybe playing in the first Test."

Australia have named a 17-man squad for the opening Ashes Test against England at the Gabba, including potential debutants Xavier Doherty, Usman Khawaja and Callum Ferguson.

Selectors have named the larger squad because of concerns over the fitness of several players, including vice-captain Michael Clarke who is battling back problems and fast bowler Doug Bollinger who only returned from an abdominal injury in grade cricket at the weekend.

But, with selectors also keen to analyse form in this week's Sheffield Shield games and the tour-game clash between Australia A and England in Hobart, the squad will be trimmed back to either 12 or 13 players over the weekend before the players assemble in Brisbane.

Australia squad for Ashes series: R Ponting (capt), M Clarke (vice-capt), D Bollinger, X Doherty, C Ferguson, B Haddin, R Harris, N Hauritz, M Hussey, B Hilfenhaus, M Johnson, S Katich, U Khawaja, M North, P Siddle, S Smith, S Watson.

England team, v Australia A at Bellerive Oval, Hobart from: AJ Strauss, AN Cook, IJL Trott, KP Pietersen, PD Collingwood, IR Bell, MJ Prior (wkt), TT Bresnan, A Shahzad, CT Tremlett, MS Panesar, EJG Morgan, SM Davies.