This is Australia's secret weapon for the Ashes, how he was honed at Nottinghamshire and why he exposes a huge hole in England's years-long plan to regain the urn

It was a delivery arcing in from round the wicket and taking a hairpin right turn to nudge back the top of off-stump that got followers of the Sheffield Shield excited.

In their social media ratings, some observers bestowed high praise upon it. ‘Seed,’ they wrote. Others the highest: ‘Absolute seed.’

Those drooling at the video clip of Fergus O’Neill’s handiwork would also have noted, however, that as the Tasmania batsman Caleb Jewell groped at thin air, there was another player in close proximity: Victoria wicket-keeper Sam Harper was stood up to the stumps.

This was neither the kind of damage synonymous with Australian fast bowlers - think of broken fingers or ribs. Nor the kind of scene England have envisaged during two years of extensive planning - think of balls flying into the slip cordon.

Yes, England are bringing their paciest attack for an Ashes Down Under at a time when Australian pitches, so long carrying a reputation for being too flat, are becoming more conducive to seam movement. You’re right, you couldn’t make it up.

And in O’Neill they have a bowler who is taking full advantage, with a stock delivery that hovers around 80mph. He was the Shield’s 2024-25 player of the year, taking a competition-high 38 wickets, and his efforts so far this winter have helped propel Victoria to the top of the table. In between, he bagged 21 victims in a four-match stint at the start of Nottinghamshire’s County Championship-winning season.

‘Everyone knows the type of bowler Fergus is - he has to have a high level of skill because he doesn't rely entirely on pace to get his wickets,' Nottinghamshire captain Haseeb Hameed tells Daily Mail Sport.

'I know the pitches are potentially spicier than what they used to be back in the day, but, with the Kookaburra ball, for him to have the record that he does, is testament to him.

‘The other thing that didn't surprise me, but really impressed me, playing with him and captaining him for four games, was how much he thinks about things. How knowledgeable he is. He was super intelligent with his plans and knows exactly how he wants to get a batsman out. He was really gifted in that sense.

‘For example, one of the things he spoke about was how in Australia, you have to bowl slightly fuller to be able to attack the stumps because of the extra bounce.

'In England, he felt he could actually still hit the pitch a fraction short of a length and still attack the stumps, and that’s important because a massive part of his arsenal is getting wickets bowled and lbw.’

A bowler whose nagging accuracy has drawn comparisons with ex-South Africa seamer Vernon Philander also won the hearts of his team-mates at Trent Bridge through his attitude.

'In his last game for us, he was like, “It’s my last game for a while, just bowl me into the ground if you need to. If you want to chuck me the ball, just do it”,' says Hameed.

‘He was a really wholehearted cricketer, fully committed to us and honestly, I can't speak highly enough of him.'

O’Neill, 24, is vying for an Ashes squad place with the 31-year-old Brendan Doggett, who heads with South Australia to Hobart this weekend - where the Jewell dismissal took place - in form after returning from an early-season hamstring injury to bag a six-wicket haul against Western Australia in the previous round.

Doggett was called up for Australia duty 12 months ago as injury cover for Josh Hazlewood, and summoned again for the World Test Championship final after starring with 11 wickets in SA’s Shield final win.

To maintain continuity, he is likely to be selected as the spare bowler in the squad for the first Test in Perth on November 21, with Scott Boland promoted into the XI as replacement for injured Australia captain Pat Cummins.

Behind the ageing Cummins and Mitchell Starc, Australia do not possess an out-and-out pace bowler of the ilk of Jofra Archer or Mark Wood but Doggett is a swing bowler who operates at a pace a yard or two quicker than O’Neill. The latter's ability to nip the ball around and contribute with the bat from No 8 could see him play in what is expected to be a low-scoring floodlit second Test at the Gabba.

Of his own prospects, Doggett, whose spell with Durham last season was cut short by injury, said: ‘I've been in and around it a few times now, but I think we've got the best bowling attack in world cricket, and I feel like we have done for a long time.

'It's great for me to share a changing room with these world-class bowlers, just watching how they go about it, how durable and professional they are. It's been great learning for me, being around that environment.’

But he has also warned against prejudging the surfaces that lie in store for England around the five Test venues, telling Daily Mail Sport: ‘Look, we don't really get to play on these Test wickets too often.

'Obviously, we do here at Adelaide Oval, but we don't play first-class cricket at Optus (in Perth). Rarely do we get on the SCG. Same with the Gabba. I don't know what the pitches are doing, to be honest, but we'll see what happens.’

Ron and Sue, here's to you 

Spare a thought for Ron and Sue Forster, a couple from Cumbria whose dedication has seen them follow England’s one-day team to all corners of the globe over the past couple of years.

Twelve months ago, they were in the Caribbean as West Indies took the 50-over series 2-1. Then they took their places among a small travelling contingent that went to India earlier this year, and were in New Zealand this past fortnight to witness yet another 3-0 whitewash.

The one saving grace of watching defeat after defeat for the national team during English cricket's domestic off-season?

It limited the number of Carlisle United matches they were able to attend during a 2024-25 campaign which ended with the Blues plunging through the League Two trapdoor into non-League.