Haddin warns England to beware of new Oz pace attack

SYDNEY - Australian wicketkeeper Brad Haddin has warned England to not breathe too easily before the start of the Ashes campaign on July 8 in Cardiff, after the retirement of bowling greats Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne.

Haddin enjoyed a view of the new-look bowling attack during the recent Test series win over South Africa, and was adamant that Peter Siddle, Ben Hilfenhaus and Shane Watson would help spearheads Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee and Stuart Clark could turn the tables on their old foe.

“People might say, from an Ashes perspective, we are an inexperienced team, but as we’ve said, Australian cricket is going through a transition period and we’ve been learning a lot of things - like how to handle different conditions. But we definitely understand what it takes to be competitive,” said Haddin.

“It was a pleasure to keep to our bowling attack in South Africa. They asked a lot of questions of the batsmen. They bowled with aggression, swung the ball and bowled pace. It was a great effort,” The Sydney Morning Herald quoted him, as saying.

“None of the bowlers returned from South Africa with a five-for [a five-wicket haul], which shows they shared the job,” he added.

Haddin, who replaced the retired Adam Gilchrist as wicketkeeper, said the Ashes squad’s younger players, including NSW colt Phillip Hughes, would find life in the fishbowl as hard as performing on the field.

“The big thing you have to get used to is the scrutiny, everything you do is placed under the microscope,” said Haddin, who has crouched behind the stumps in 15 Tests. “Once you get used to that, it becomes fine.” (ANI)