RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Josh Tongue and Jofra Archer have formed England's new seam quartet with Ollie Robinson and Gus Atkinson [Getty Images]
Comparisons can be made between England's new-look pace attack and the famous Ashes-winning quartet of 2005, according to interim head coach Marcus Trescothick.
Ollie Robinson, Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson and Josh Tongue have come together for England in the aftermath of Ben Stokes' retirement and bowled the home side to a series win over Pakistan.
The complementary skills of the new foursome have similarities to the legendary seamers of 21 years ago: Stephen Harmison, Matthew Hoggard, Simon Jones and Andrew 'Freddie' Flintoff.
Trescothick was part of the England team that won back the urn in 2005 and is now in charge for this series before new head coach Stephen Fleming takes over in the winter.
"We do have some real skill, and you look back to 2005 and the sort of comparisons of Harmy, Fred, Simon and Hoggy, you could easily make those sort of comparisons," said Trescothick.
"I'm enjoying the fact we've got four who are match fit at the moment and we've a few [other bowlers] behind it that we're starting to get ready."
Trescothick has presided over a halt to England's previous poor run of only two wins in 10 Tests. Successive victories over Pakistan has given the hosts their first series win since 2024.
The wretched run of form came at what turned out to be the end of Stokes' reign as captain. The all-rounder's retirement not only ushered in Joe Root's second spell as skipper, but also left England looking for a way to balance their XI.
The answer, at least for now, has been to choose four frontline seamers and omit a specialist spinner, with Dan Lawrence offering some part-time off-breaks if required.
And, whereas the England era under Stokes and former head coach Brendon McCullum often put a premium on bowlers with high pace, Robinson's recall after more than two years out of Test cricket looks to have resulted in a more rounded unit.
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Archer, Tongue and Atkinson are all capable of high speed, while Robinson often operates below 80mph with the wicketkeeper standing up. His accuracy and ability to extract movement have seen him take 23 wickets this summer at a remarkable average of 8.3.
"We've got a good contrast in what we're trying to do at the moment," said former opener Trescothick.
"What we do have is three guys bowling at 92 miles an hour, which is really nice to have in your armoury and to have the potency in what you're trying to do.
"And the more that they play together and the more experience that everyone gets together, then it fits into place to how you want it to be."
Writing for the Telegraph on Monday, England's captain in 2005 Michael Vaughan said the current attack can only be compared to his bowlers when they win a major series.
But Vaughan added: "They are certainly capable of doing something really special, and winning back the Ashes for England next summer."
England will aim for a 3-0 clean sweep of Pakistan in the third Test at Edgbaston, beginning on 9 September.
The home side will confirm a squad for the series finale in Birmingham in the coming days.
There were seven pace bowlers in the squad for Lord's. Brydon Carse was originally included, only to be removed following an incident outside a nightclub in Derby. He is not expected to be considered for England again until the conclusion of investigations by the police and Cricket Regulator.
In Carse's absence, England's back-up seamers are Sam Cook, Sonny Baker and Matthew Fisher.
The trio have only four Test caps between them, yet Trescothick hinted England are likely to resist the temptation to give the reserves more Test experience.
"First and foremost I want to win the series 3-0, and I think if you're going to do that you want to play the most consistent team possible," said the 50-year-old.
"We've got to see how they all pull up from this game, and they've got four or five days now of break which they've not had for a good period of time because the schedule has been so busy.
"Once we know that then we'll be able to make that decision, but emphasis massively on winning the series 3-0."
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