When England lost Troy Cooley as fast bowling coach it was known then that they had made a big mistake letting him go back to his native country.

Now the news is coming through that the Australians are holding specific twenty20 practice for its pace bowlers this week, getting them to perfect some of the variations required from slower balls to yorkers. And it won’t just be the established players, but also those upcoming, so should they be required they will know their game correctly. Sounds like a good idea for them before what is going to be a very busy period, but not really one England can replicate due to the overload of games we have to currently play!

There hasn’t been much news coming out of Australia in their winter, and with a bit of a break until they play their next meaningful game it may just be some PR bod spinning something that happens anyway, but you can’t help but think they push preparation to the next level and that everyone else is catching up!