Star pacemen making Aussie quicks walk taller

Premier pacemen Josh Hazlewood and James Pattinson are having an immeasurable impact on Australia A's battery of fast bowlers pushing for Ashes selection.

With the Australia A squad surrounding Pattinson prior to the squad's first training session of their four-day cricket campaign in Brighton on Thursday, the Victorian delivered a passionate sermon on how to bowl in English conditions.

Forget trying to pitch the ball up and swing it, Pattinson preached, and focus on hitting a length that will see the red Dukes ball hammer into the knee roll of the batsman's front pad.

That inside information from Pattinson, who has dominated first-class cricket in England in two stints with county club Nottinghamshire over the past three seasons, could prove vital as Australia look to win the Ashes away from home for the first time since 2001.

Pattinson's message was received loud and clear from the entire group, in particular squad newcomers Jackson Bird and Chris Tremain, who have been drafted in for the red-ball leg of the A tour.

Pattinson and Hazlewood didn’t bowl at the Sussex County Ground on Thursday – they are set to steam in on Friday in the squad's main training session ahead of the start of the start of their clash at Arundel on Sunday – but their presence alone lifted the other quicks. 

"James Pattinson is in a league of his own (with) his strength, pace, power, aggression and (is) an ultimate asset in any form of cricket," Tremain told cricket.com.au.

"And he's working really hard on his batting, he always has, and he's starting to become a genuine allrounder.

"Patto's work ethic is something you can admire.

"Josh Hazlewood's simplicity and ruthlessness in the way he repeats his job is exceptional.

"Fast bowlers are all different but if you can take little bits and pieces from what they do and implement them into your own game to be better, provided it doesn't hinder what you do, there's no downside."

While it's one thing to take tips and pointers off Pattinson and Hazlewood, Bird has learned the hard way that sticking to his own strengths is best practice.

"In the past I've fallen into the trap of trying too hard around those sort of guys," Bird told cricket.com.au.

"Josh is one of the best fast bowlers in the world and he's a fair bit younger than me, but he's definitely a bowler I look up to and learn a lot off him.

"And sometimes I've fallen into the trap of really trying to bowl like him and I go away from my strengths.

"I'm never going to be the type of bowler he is. It's just sticking to what I do best and not worrying what the other guys are doing because they've got their own strengths and weaknesses.

"I've just got to really focus on my strengths and nail those skills."

In only his second visit to England, Tremain is soaking in every word from the likes of Pattinson and bowling coach Ryan Harris.

But the right-armer, who has dominated the Sheffield Shield competition in the past three seasons with 138 wickets in 30 matches, says he won't stray too far from what works for him, a method that was passed on by an Australia A teammate at the very start of his career.

"The best piece of advice I ever got from a fellow fast bowler was from Josh Hazlewood about seven years ago when we were both kids," Tremain told cricket.com.au.

"He said, 'if I bowl it about an inch outside off-stump and it goes away they nick it. And if it goes in, it hits the stumps'.  

"That's as basic and brilliant as anything needs to be." 

Australia A tour of the UK

Get live scores and all the latest news from Australia A's tour of the UK on cricket.com.au and the CA Live app

Australia A one-day squad: Travis Head (c), Matthew Wade, Will Pucovski, Peter Handscomb, Mitch Marsh (vc), D'Arcy Short, Kurtis Patterson, Ashton Agar, Michael Neser, James Pattinson, Josh Hazlewood (vc), Sean Abbott, Andrew Tye

Australia A four-day squad: Tim Paine (c), Marcus Harris, Kurtis Patterson, Will Pucovski, Travis Head (vc), Peter Handscomb, Matthew Wade, Mitch Marsh, Michael Neser, Jon Holland, James Pattinson, Jackson Bird, Josh Hazlewood (vc), Chris Tremain

One-day fixtures:

June 20: Australia A beat Northamptonshire by six wickets

June 23: Australia A beat Derbyshire by seven wickets

June 25: Australia A v Worcestershire, match abandoned

June 30: Australia A beat Gloucestershire by five wickets

July 2: Australia A beat Gloucestershire by nine runs

Four-day fixtures:

July 7-10: Australia A v Sussex, Arundel

July 13-16: Australia A v England Lions, Canterbury

July 23-26: Australia v Australia A, Hampshire