By Anna Thompson
BBC Sport at The Oval |
When Aussie Troy Cooley took over as England's bowling coach two years ago he said it was important for England to be able to compete with the world champions in order to keep the game of cricket alive.
"We want cricket to survive and good Ashes battles keep interest alive," he said then.
His remarks were uncannily prophetic as this summer there has been an Ashes frenzy with England on the brink of regaining the treasured little urn for the first time in 16 years.
And this in no small part is due to the bowling attack which has struck fear into the Aussie batsmen and restricted most of them to paltry individual scores.
 |  He has a workmanlike approach and is highly competitive - if conditions suit he takes full advantage with his swing bowling |
England's bowling success this summer has not surprised Cooley.
He told BBC Sport: "I was expecting it. They have been putting the hard work in and my philosophy is if you put the hard work in you get results.
"When I first joined they all had the raw talents and they have all worked incredibly hard to hone those skills and develop new ones.
| His height and the bounce he generates, put together with balls at 90mph makes him a real handful |
"They are always challenging themselves and wanting to improve further. They will not rest on their laurels when this series finishes."
Cooley's remit not only includes coaching the national squad it is also about nurturing bowling attacks of the future.
There is a now a fast bowling programme in place where all the counties provide all manner of information and performance statistics on their players.
| He always had the ability to bowl fast and he relishes the job and loves expressing himself |
Players from the age of 15 are tracked and profiled - where even their growth spurts are documented.
Cooley said: "This summer cricket in England has come alive. I don't know if that is good coaching or good fortune. But the game is a fantastic place to be.
"I need to ensure the bowling unit continues to perform at this level."
But whereas Cooley is happy with how fast bowling is progressing in the country, spin bowling is still a cause for concern.
| Since his cruciate knee ligament injury two years ago, Simon has developed other strings to his bow, like reverse swing, and he has become an integral part of the attack |
Current England spinner Ashley Giles is in the twilight of his career and although there are other spinners around including Gareth Batty and Graeme Swann, England still has a dearth of talent in this area.
Cooley said: "It is a concern. There are plenty of youngsters interested in spin bowling but when they get older it is easier to bowl medium pacers rather than learn the intricacies of spin bowling.
"And when they get to county level, teams are reluctant to play spinners because they can be more expensive and leak runs. What we need is for spinners to be encouraged more and for counties to take a leap of faith."
MMIX
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