Aussies won't buy into bouncer war games

The blazing arrival of Jofra Archer into the Ashes series, along with the concurrent and resultant removal of Steve Smith from the third Test starting on Thursday, will not bring any manifest changes to Australia's battle plan.

Indeed, men's team coach Justin Langer asserted that the hostile fast bowling from Archer that saw Smith concussed and sidelined from action won't provoke his team into a tit-for-tat response to any so-called 'bouncer war'.

In the space of a single Test appearance, Archer has been ordained by many as both the flag bearer for a new generation of Caribbean quicks (he was born in Barbados) and the weapon with which England will reclaim the Ashes.

That storyline developed in the wake of a handful of frightening spells at Lord's last weekend, during which Archer twice hit Smith (on the forearm and neck) and struck blows upon the helmets of several other Australia batters including Marnus Labuschagne (Smith's concussion substitute) and Matthew Wade.

It has prompted some to suggest an all-out bumper barrage might ensue as Australia's complement of fast bowlers seek revenge.

However, Langer pointed out that whereas previous Australia teams might have been tempted to return fire in the wake of Archer's hostile debut, his outfit is different from many that preceded it and will fashion a response fuelled by preparation rather than pride.

Langer noted that the pitch at Headingley, where Australia has won four of their past five Ashes Tests over the past 30 years, was likely to be slower than the lively Lord's Test strip, and that Australia would select their bowling attack based on that reality rather than its ability to intimidate.

"What we're not going to do is get caught up in an emotional battle of who's going to bowl the quickest bouncers," Langer said after his team's main pre-Test training session at Headingley on Tuesday.

"We're here to win the Test match, not to see how many helmets we can hit.

"(Former England captain) Mike Atherton said a really interesting thing to me the other day. (He said) 'it seems a really different Australian team, in the past you puff your chests out, you grow your beards and you're all tough and see if you can bowl as fast as you want … but this isn't as macho as before'.

"I'm sure the bouncer will still be part of every bowler's armoury, if it helps us get batsmen out then we'll use it. Otherwise we'll keep sticking to the plan.

"Our guys play a lot of short-ball cricket in Australia - we tend to play on bouncy wickets, we play on the WACA, we play on the Gabba, so they're used to playing off the back foot, and I'm sure they'll prepare accordingly.   

"England will be the same, I'm sure they've got plans how they'll get our batsmen out, not just knock them out.

"He (Archer) certainly brings a different dimension to the game and we saw he bowled quick, but also his economy rate was incredible.

"So we know what we're up against, and we're really going to be ready for that.

"We have to be, otherwise we won't win the series."

As the hype simmers around Archer – some of which, as his skipper Joe Root observed, has been stoked by the 24-year-old himself – England coach Trevor Bayliss was doing his level best to re-fit the lid.

Ever since Smith was felled on Saturday afternoon, withdrawn from the second Test the next day and scratched from the third 48 hours before its scheduled start, Archer has become the single focus for the UK's media and cricket fans.

But Bayliss, the former New South Wales batter who took over the England job shortly before the 2015 Ashes series, could have been mistaken for a member of his former homeland's coaching staff when asked if Archer was primed to unleash another bout of blistering fast bowling at Headingley.

"One game doesn’t make a summer," Bayliss said in a clear attempt to quell the escalating hoopla.

"It’s good to see, for England cricket, they’ve got someone able to make the batters jump around.

"There have been plenty of the older English boys quite happy about seeing the guys on the other side of the fence (their Australian opponents) jump around a bit.

"He’s certainly an exciting prospect, that’s for sure."

Despite Bayliss's attempt to hose down expectations, Archer will be the principal drawcard when play begins in the third Test at the 17,500-seat Headingley stadium in Leeds on Thursday morning.

The chilled-out right-armer gained cult status last month when he stepped up at Lord's to bowl the Super Over that saw England claim their first ICC World Cup, and that celebrity has only grown following his exploits in his maiden Test outing.

With a parochial Yorkshire crowd behind him, and local boy Root leading England for the first time in an Ashes match on his home turf, Headingley is expected to resemble a rock venue when Archer takes the new ball.

But Langer emphasised that, in addition to sticking to the blueprint that was devised for his campaign and served Australia so well in the opening Test at Edgbaston, his players' capacity to shut out the surrounding noise would be decisive in the match's outcome.

And if Australia can withstand that heat and forge a victory at a ground where they have enjoyed regular success in the recent past, then they will have ensured retention of the Ashes trophy.

“We keep talking about it ... you’ve got to play on skill, not emotion," Langer said.

"And it’s hard for young players, even senior players, you can get caught up in the atmosphere, you can get caught up in the contest.

"But it’s not an ego game – you’ve got to just keep trusting your skill, keep watching the ball like a hawk.

"I keep saying 'simplify as much as possible' so we’re winning on skill not emotion. But that’s the challenge of mental toughness, that’s the challenge of concentration, that’s the challenge of what the champion players do over the good players.

"The only way you get better at it is by being exposed to it.

"And I’m sure we’ll be exposed to it this series."

2019 Qantas Ashes Tour of England

Australia squad: Tim Paine (c), Cameron Bancroft, Pat Cummins, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Michael Neser, James Pattinson, Peter Siddle, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner.

England squad: Joe Root (c), Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Joe Denly, Jack Leach, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes (vc), Chris Woakes.

First Test: Australia beat England by 251 runs at Edgbaston

Second Test: Match drawn at Lord's

Third Test: August 22-26, Headingley

Tour match: Australians v Derbyshire, August 29-31

Fourth Test: September 4-8, Old Trafford

Fifth Test: September 12-16, The Oval