August 02, 2006	Wednesday	Rajab 6, 1427

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window)

PERTH, Aug 1: Australian cricket greats Dennis Lillee and Rod Marsh are encouraging Andrew Flintoff and other leading England players to test themselves in local conditions before the upcoming Ashes series.

Fast bowler Lillee and wicket-keeper Marsh worked in tandem for Australia in the 1970s and 80s.

Now Lillee, a former mentor to Australia's pace bowlers, and Marsh, who has been head coach at the Australian and English cricket academies, are working for the Western Australia and South Australia state cricket associations.

Lillee backed moves to have Flintoff play club cricket in the western capital Perth.

The England all-rounder has been ruled out of the northern summer with an ankle injury and is keen to get some match practice before England's Ashes defence starts in Brisbane, Australia, in November.

Lillee said Australians had benefited from playing county cricket in England, and the English players could benefit by playing Down Under – making for a highly competitive Ashes series.

“If they feel like they'd like to come over here and get a bit of practice and learn about the conditions before the series, good luck to them,” said Lillee, head of the WACA. “We've done it before.”

Marsh, named on Tuesday as the high performance director for the South Australia Cricket Association, is endorsing the SACA's invitation to English players to work in Adelaide ahead of the Ashes.—AP