Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood prove delivering peak performance is an inexact science

NICK HOWSON AT HEADINGLEY: The Australia seam pair have had contrasting periods of preparation for the Ashes series - but their displays have been startling

Both averaging under 17, hitting 88mph on the speed gun and leaving England batsman looking foolish, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood have virtually matched each other stride-for-stride during this Ashes series.

The latter did not play at Edgbaston, but since his ascent into the team, the seam pair have been deadly with the ball in hand. Joe Root's team have of course provided little resistance, but Cummins and Hazlewood have been primed to pick up the pieces.

Their build-up for the duel with England could not have been more different.

Cummins played in all 10 of Australia's World Cup matches. In nine, he bowled seven overs or more, being used for his full allocation four times. His 14 wickets was a paltry return for an extraordinary physical effort, which was all in vain as Australia were dumped out in the semi-finals.

Hazlewood meanwhile had a watching brief. Not merely as a 12th man, but having been omitted completely from the five-time winners' plans for the 50-over tournament. Though the New South Wales native had fully recovered from a back injury suffered during the Test series against India, he was given extra time to get ready for the Ashes. Few England players were afforded the same luxury.

That the pair have been the scourge of England in this series is no surprise. Both are in the top 15 of the ICC Test bowling rankings, - indeed, Cummins is No.1 - and have perfect actions and techniques for English conditions.

Sports science is always cited as the greatest development in elite sport in the last quarter of a century. The physical well-being of competitors is analysed with intense scrutiny, with physicians charged with identifying red-zones like medical Mystic Megs. But their algorithms would be all over the place when looking at Cummins and Hazlewood.

^{Josh Hazlewood was omitted from the Australia World Cup squad}

For a bowler whose career has been as equally defined by his injuries as it has by his successes on the field, Cummins' performances have been miraculous. He was afforded a rest of just 12 days between Australia's World Cup exit and his return to action. No player has more than the 16 scalps he has claimed in this series and only a rest when the urn has been retained might prevent him from ending the summer as the leading wicket-taker.

Hazlewood exists at the opposite end of the spectrum. He went four full months without bowling a competitive ball in anger, his outings restricted to bowling at Australia's World Cup stars in the nets. In as early as May he was bowling off his full run-up but was forced to recoil for another three months.

His return to cricket was tentative, too. He played three List A matches; Northamptonshire once and Gloucestershire twice, but took just three wickets from 30 overs. An unrewarding outing against Sussex at Arundel followed before he took a wicket in both innings of the probables v possibles shooting match between Australia's entire squad in Southampton.

Perhaps understandably he was omitted for the first Test with James Pattinson preferred having impressed with Nottinghamshire. Three wickets in a tour game at Worcester was enough to convince the selectors he was ready for the second Test, grabbing 3-58 in the first innings at Lord's.

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For two men whose preparation for the series has been so contrasting; one who has gone through a marathon summer while the other has been rested to the point of gathering ring rust, the velocity they have equally generated has been remarkable.

Jofra Archer had remarked how he held back his pace on day one, instead bowling a nagging length and allowing the pitch and the overheads to do the rest. Under blue skies, Cummins and Hazlewood have ditched such a strategy and bowled with venom, imposing themselves on some of England's woeful batsman with a cocktail of pace and bounce. The hosts have failed to stomach that approach and have looked desperate in their attempts to do so.

The post-mortem of England's failure in this series will include how the rigours the World Cup influenced their preparations and performance. But Cummins and Hazlewood's contrasting experiences show that there is no specific blueprint when striving to deliver peak performance.

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