NEW DELHI: Former England pacer James Anderson has offered a piece of advice to his fellow bowlers ahead of the five-match Ashes series starting in Perth on Friday. Anderson believes that relying solely on pace won’t be enough to trouble the Australian batsmen.

England are likely to unleash a full-throttle pace battery featuring Jofra Archer, Mark Wood and Josh Tongue as they bid to reclaim the Ashes urn Australia have held since 2018.

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This will be the first Ashes tour in Australia that Anderson has missed since 2002-03, and the legendary seamer has shared some key advice for England’s fast-bowling unit ahead of the series opener at Perth Stadium.

“The pitches will have a little bit of movement in them, they have done in the last two tours we’ve been there. So you do need accuracy, as well as pace,” Anderson said on the BBC’s Tailenders podcast.

“I think one of the question marks for England will potentially be Ben Stokes – out of that group of bowlers, he is the one bowler that could churn out those spells of accuracy and skill.

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“But he’s also got that injury record hanging over him, so that could be a big part of the series as well.”

Anderson believes England should unleash their strongest pace attack in the opening Test to capitalize on the absence of Australian veterans Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, giving themselves a chance to seize early momentum in the five-match series.

“I think if you’re going to play them (Archer and Wood) together, potentially the first Test at Perth, where it’s fast and bouncy, you want to get off to a good start in the series so hit them straight away with proper pace,” Anderson added.

“After that I imagine they’ll try and play one of them, and rest and recover the other. That leaves space for Brydon Carse or Gus Atkinson. They’re still quick enough, but they’ve got skill as well, and probably a bit more control than the others.

“They’re going to have a big part. If England are going to win this series, or have a chance, then the bowling attack has got to be relentlessly good.”

‘Australia are still favourites’

However, Anderson believes Australia still hold a slight advantage at home despite the absence of Cummins and Hazlewood.

“There are question marks there, and definitely there are cracks that England could potentially expose. There’s a great chance for England to get on top early,” Anderson told TNT Sports.

“But I don’t think England are quite favourites. I’d say Australia are still favourites, in Australia.

“There’s still a lot of quality in their batting line-up, there’s still a lot of quality with their bowlers as well, even if Cummins is missing.

“It’s a tough one to call, so I’d say Australia, just.”