England hope Archer is on target against Smith in second Ashes Test

LONDON: England are set to field a revamped attack featuring fast bowler Jofra Archer as they try to finally get Australia´s batting star Steve Smith out cheaply and level the Ashes in the second Test at Lord´s.

Holders Australia, bidding to win their first away Ashes series for 18 years, humbled England last time out thanks in large part to Smith, who returned to this level following a 12-month ban for his involvement in a ball-tampering scandal with two centuries as they cruised to a 251-run first Test win at Edgbaston.

England have only twice won the Ashes after losing the opener -- when all-rounder Ian Botham turned the 1981 series on its head with several superb solo efforts, and in the thrilling 2005 contest which they edged 2-1.

Defeat at Edgbaston was made worse for England by the fact that James Anderson, their all-time leading wicket-taker, broke down after bowling just four overs with a calf injury that has ruled the 37-year-old swing specialist out of a Lord´s encounter starting Wednesday.

"We are very aware that England played without James Anderson, one of their best players and we got lucky," said Australia coach Justin Langer.

"That´s the truth of it, with him not playing. He´s a brilliant fast bowler, one of the all-time greats, so if he only bowls four overs for the match then we got lucky there.

"Here at Lord´s there´s different conditions and different pressures so we just have to make sure we´re right for this Test match," added the former Australia opener, who played at the ´home of cricket´ for English county Middlesex.

Anderson´s absence means England are set to give a Test debut to Archer, who will be returning to the ground where he bowled the dramatic Super Over that sealed a thrilling World Cup final win over New Zealand last month.

But the 24-year-old, coached at Sussex by former Australia paceman Jason Gillespie, has played just 28 first-class matches and Langer was looking to his batsmen to wear Archer down in a way that´s not possible in a one-day international, where bowlers are restricted to a maximum of 10 overs.

"It´s the same for everyone in Test cricket, get them into their second, third and fourth spells," Langer said.

But a defiant Archer insisted he was ready for the challenge, having proved his fitness for Sussex in a 2nd XI match against Gloucestershire during which he took 6-27 in the first innings and then scored 108 after a side strain ruled him out of contention at Edgbaston.

"I´ve played a lot more red-ball cricket and it´s my preferred format," Archer said. "I´m more ready than I´ve ever been.

"I bowled 50 overs in one game for Sussex and am the one usually bowling at the end.

England are also set to field left-arm spinner Jack Leach, who scored a career-best 92 in the one-off Test win over Ireland at Lord´s last month, after Moeen Ali was dropped following the off-spinner´s lacklustre display at Edgbaston.

Analysis by CricViz shows Smith averages a modest 34.90 against left-arm spin compared to a superb overall Test mark of nearly 63.

But as for suggestions Smith had an inherent weakness when confronted with this type of bowling, Langer replied: "No, I don´t buy into it.

"He has got this incredible ability to solve problems."

Australia could rotate their attack at Lord´s, with left-armer Mitchell Johnson and Josh Hazlewood looking to test an England top order prone to collapse.

"Whether it´s a green top or a dry wicket, we have really good options," said Langer.

"We have six high-class fast bowlers and we´ll work out what´s going to be best for this Test match and the whole series."