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Passion rudder England’s Ashes stars are expected to get an intense workout in this week’s warm-up match in Perth and he insisted England The Lions Test is not about getting the team in form.
head coach Brendon McCullum He has not selected any tour matches against local opposition ahead of the marquee series, preparing at home with a three-day clash against Andrew Flintoff’s second string at Lilac Hill in Perth.
The standard of domestic opponents has not always been convincing and England will hope Thursday’s international match will be enough to sharpen their competitive edge ahead of the opener at the Optus Stadium on November 21.
And Hull, a one-time fast bowler who remains firmly on the management radar at the age of 21, is hoping to make his contribution by making life difficult.
The 6ft 7in left-handed batsman, who was surprisingly given the chance to make his international debut in 2024 after only a few first-class games, told the PA news agency: “For England you want the batsmen to be in good form and perform well, but once you get into the fight, my job as a bowler is to try to take wickets for the Lions.
“Obviously there are two sides to it but my main job is to get those guys out. You want them to have good runs out and feel good but we’ve got to play our part by being really competitive.
“We’ve got some big names to bowl to, whether it’s (Joe) Root or (Harry) Brook or two opening batsmen who can be really difficult to bowl to. It’s a great test for us and it’s really exciting.”
“Hopefully I’ll be able to get a bit more out of it than the home pitches, they’re quite bouncy and that could really help.”
Hull also has another role in bracing England’s batsmen for the angle of Australia’s fast bowler Mitchell Starc’s long, left-arm delivery.
Starc was clean bowled Rory Burns With the first ball of the 2021-22 series And, while Hull makes no pretensions to being in the league of all-time players with 402 Test scalps to his name, he is in a small group that can replicate some of his key qualities.
He said, “There has been no specific conversation about it but I am very similar to Starc in terms of being ‘like for like’.”
“He’s obviously a lot better than me and he’s someone I’ve largely idolized. If I can do something like him it would be helpful but we’ll see when we get there.
- 1st Test, Perth – 21-25 November
- Second Test, Brisbane – 4–8 December
- 3rd Test, Adelaide – 17-21 December
- Fourth Test, Melbourne – 26-30 December
- 5th Test, Sydney – 4-8 January
“You look at other left-handed players and think ‘What do I need to do to be the best?’. That’s why I look at Mitchell Starc. I have similar qualities and if I can do anything like him, it will be successful.”
He will join the Lions group if England require any additional support midway through the tour, but Hull is considering resuming his senior career.
“My focus at the moment is on the Lions, bowling as well as I can and seeing where I am,” he said.
“I’ve learned a lot about myself since I played my Tests and there have been times when it’s really clicked. I have a good idea of where my areas are to bowl people out and it’s about doing it more consistently.”