Troy Cooley works with a young James Anderson in Jamaica in 2004
(Picture: Getty Images)England have confirmed that Troy Cooley – their bowling coach during the iconic 2005 Ashes series – has joined their support staff as a consultant ahead of the latest edition of their Test rivalry with Australia, which begins in a fortnight.
Cooley, 55, has been bowling coach for both England and Australia in the past, and has joined England’s squad in Brisbane, working under Jon Lewis, their bowling coach.
Cooley is with the team in Brisbane, and will also work with England Lions when they face Australia A from December 9.
Mo Bobat, the ECB performance director, declared that “Troy’s understanding of what it takes to be successful in Australian conditions is second to none”.
Stuart Broad also hailed the hire of Cooley, who is set to join the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) National Cricket Academy in the coming months.
“He arrived when we got out of quarantine (on) Saturday, but he’s with us for a decent period of time,” Broad told the Cricket Australia website. “Really looking forward to picking his brain on Australian conditions, and Australian players.
“He’s been in their setup for a long period of time, through development and at the top level.
“He can give us great insight into Australian batters’ mentality; what they’re looking to do, where they’re looking to score, where they don’t like the ball, how (we should) be around them – whether you talk to them, whether you ignore them, whether you sledge them … can you annoy them enough to make a mistake?
“All this sort of detail, we’ll be picking Troy’s brain, because anything you can get – even a one-percenter on someone – will be really useful for us.
“You need all that sort of stuff to win in Australia. You need to be at the top of your game at all times, and find little chinks in the opposition’s armoury.”
England’s preparation for the Ashes has been disrupted by rain, with day two of their opening warm-up match washed out.
