England giant keen to unleash Ashes pain

England will be aiming to get their tour of Australia off to a bright start when they take on a WA Chairman's XI side at the WACA Ground this week.

England batsman Kevin Pietersen

England batsman Kevin Pietersen has hit the training track in preparation for this summer's Ashes. (AAP)

England paceman Chris Tremlett has endured his fair share of physical and emotional pain in recent years.

Now, he wants to transfer some of that misery onto Australia's batsmen during this summer's Ashes series, with skipper Michael Clarke already in his cross hairs.

Tremlett's future hung in the balance after he was forced to undergo complicated spinal surgery in February last year.

His comeback barely got off the ground before he tore cartilage in his knee and was forced to go under the knife yet again.

Tremlett terrorised Australia's batsmen three years ago when England retained the urn on enemy territory.

In that series, Tremlett snared 17 wickets across three Tests, including a match haul of 8-150 in Perth.

Although he failed to fire during the recent English county season, his previous hot form in Australia has him right in the mix to feature in this summer's return Ashes series.

And the 32-year-old knows just how crucial it will be to snare the wicket of Clarke, who remains Australia's best batsman despite his own ongoing back issues.

"It's always important that you target the captain in any side and obviously he's been their form player in the last few years," said Tremlett, who dismissed Clarke twice in Perth three years ago.

"If you can get one over the captain in any side, obviously it's an advantage.

"So he's one player we'll target, as well as some other guys."

This week's three-day tour match against a WA Chairman's XI could end up becoming a crucial bowl-off for Tremlett, Boyd Rankin and Steven Finn, who are all battling for a spot in the first Test at the Gabba starting on November 21.

England batsman Kevin Pietersen, who only arrived in Australia on Sunday following the recent death of a close friend, hit the nets on Monday.

Pietersen remains one of England's biggest weapons, and Tremlett hopes the 33-year-old will fire this series.

"He's in good spirits," Tremlett said.

"It's nice to have him rejoin the camp.

"We know how destructive he can be.

"He's capable of taking any situation away from any opposition.

"We're hoping Kevin will be fine when it comes around to going out there."

Tremlett has snared 49 wickets at an average of 26.75 during his 11-Test career, and is hopeful his body will allow him to play into his mid-30s.

"There were some pretty tough and painful times coming back," Tremlett said.

"But also having played Test cricket and done well at Test cricket and then having to be forced out with injury, it's always that extra motivation to get back.

"So that's something that's really driven me to keep going.

"Sitting back here today and being back on a tour to Australia ... it's worth the pain of going through those tough times."


Share

3 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world