Rob Key column: England can build a side to win the Ashes in Australia

It would be a massive achievement for this young England side to win the series against South Africa, even if they are not as strong a batting side as they once were.

England have spoken lots about their focus being developing into a side that can win in Australia in 2021-22 and in the past two Tests they have made big strides in that regard. We have seen players like Dom Sibley, Zak Crawley and Dom Bess improve immeasurably in a short space of time. The nucleus of a squad is emerging.

I hope England don’t worry too much about the World Test Championship, which I see as a complication in their aim of winning in Australia.

I fear it might make them think short term rather than building a great side. I don’t care about them being in the final of that as much as I want them to compete in Australia and go to No1 in the world. In the Joe Root and Ben Stokes era that should be possible.

The batting has been a huge problem for such a long time, but a line-up is taking shape now. Let’s be clear: South Africa are a weak batting side, but they have a world-class bowling attack. Kagiso Rabada, Vernon Philander, Anrich Nortje and Keshav Maharaj is high quality and they have found space in the team for a fifth bowler, too. Against that, England have found a way to score big runs in the past two matches. They will need to do the same in Johannesburg.

The Wanderers is one of the great cricket grounds. I played there on the 2004-05 tour and we pulled off a great win. The atmosphere, with people banging on the tunnel as you walk out, was incredible. I put on a decent partnership with Andrew Strauss and remember it being a lovely pitch for batting. Cape Town and Port Elizabeth had been slower and not so fun to bat on, but at the Wanderers there was great bounce and it was a joy to bat.

That is why I am a bit baffled by the current rhetoric about the place and England’s talk of playing five seamers and leaving out Dom Bess.

From the narrative now it is like you get out and head straight to A&E. I don’t remember it being like the WACA, which really flew through. This is the ground with the highest-ever ODI run chase (438) and that was 14 years ago.

Spin will still have a role to play, so England should pick Bess, who has done so well over the past two Tests. He might not get many wickets, but he will be required to keep the run rate down and provide rest for the quicks.

If Jofra Archer and Mark Wood come through training today, I would pick them both. I can’t think of one batsman around the world who would think, “I hope they play Archer and Wood, because that is going to be easier”. No one wants to face that sort of pace. One brings X-factor, but why not have as many in the team as possible?

Wood was terrific in Port Elizabeth and Archer is a special talent who has three five-wicket hauls in just seven Tests. If he is fully fit, now is the time to unleash them together. Throw in Ben Stokes’s pace and you have to go back 15 years to Steve Harmison, Simon Jones and Freddie Flintoff to find an England attack that quick. Stuart Broad can play the Matthew Hoggard role.

Archer and Wood are another example of elements of the England team that could succeed in Australia. Keep them fit and you have a choice of what you pair them with. Broad and Jimmy Anderson would like to still be around for one last shot (time will tell on that), but there’s Sam ­Curran, Chris Woakes, Olly Stone, Henry Brookes and Saqib Mahmood, too. The future looks bright.

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