Key players to watch out for in the Ashes

The eagerly anticipated latest edition of the Ashes between Australia and England starts on Thursday morning (SA time) in Brisbane.

Here are three key players on both sides.

AUSTRALIA

Steve Smith (captain)

Steve Smith. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)

The world’s number one ranked Test batsman took over the Test captaincy from Michael Clarke at the end of the last Ashes series in 2015, and will be leading Australia for the first time in Tests against England. Has scored 20 100s in 56 Tests at 59.66, with a highest score of 215 in the last Ashes series at Lord’s. The fidgety right-hander batting at four looms as his side’s big batting hope with his improvised shot-making.

David Warner 

David Warner. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)

Pugnacious on-field character and opening batsman. Warner is the top-ranked opener in Tests and overall the fifth-ranked batsman. This is his fourth Ashes and second at home, and he possesses the rare ability to turn matches with his destructive hitting. Has scored 5,705 Test runs at 47.94 interspersed with 20 hundreds in his 66 Tests. Superb outfielder with incredible hands and the accuracy to throw down the stumps from distance.

Mitchell Starc

Mitchell Starc. (Photo by Mark Brake/Getty Images)

Lethal left-arm quick who is Australia’s pace spearhead with an incredible strike-rate. In 36 Tests Starc has captured 148 wickets at 28.35, with 29 of those coming in eight Ashes Tests. This will be his first home Ashes series and he has taken half his Test wickets (74) in Australia. Starc gets alarming bounce from his 1.96m height and can swing the ball. Has taken six wickets in an innings three times, including 6-111 against England at Nottingham in 2015. Heads into the series with back-to-back hat-tricks for New South Wales in one Sheffield Shield match this season.

ENGLAND

Joe Root (captain)

Joe Root. Photo: Peter Parks/AFP.

The 26-year-old right-hander is the most talented batsman in the England squad as well as having the responsibility of being skipper, with this his first overseas series as captain. Since taking over as captain earlier this year, he has averaged more than 60 in Tests.

Jonny Bairstow

Jonny Bairstow. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

The 28-year-old son of the late England wicket-keeper David Bairstow has become a mainstay of the side with both bat and gloves. On paper, he appears to give England an edge behind the stumps, given the reaction that greeted Australia’s decision to recall wicketkeeper Tim Paine from the wilderness. Increasingly reliable with the gloves, Bairstow can also change the course of an innings with dynamic middle-order batting.

James Anderson 

James Anderson. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

England’s all-time leading Test wicket-taker remains Root’s go-to bowler in the field, so if Australia can get after him then England could well struggle. Although he reached 500 Test wickets earlier this year there are concerns that, at the age of 35, this could be one tour of Australia too many for Anderson. Unlikely to get the swing-friendly conditions that make him so dangerous in England, he will be looking to improve on a record in Australia that has seen him take 43 wickets in 13 Tests at an average of 38.

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