The young bowlers with the talent to rescue England

Tourists turn to largely untested trio of enormous potential in attempt to save Ashes series from disaster

Any hopes of this winter's Ashes series still being alive by the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne are dependent on the ability of England's bowlers to take 40 wickets over the next two weeks. During this period there are back-to-back Tests in Adelaide and Perth, of which Nasser Hussain's beleaguered team need to win at least one.

Following a ruinous list of injuries to all of England's experienced bowlers bar Andrew Caddick and Matthew Hoggard, the responsibility for such carnage has been placed in the raw and generally untried fingertips of Richard Dawson, Alex Tudor and Stephen Harmison

Ashley Giles' fractured wrist has thrown Dawson straight into the thick of England's plans and unless the weather plays a part he can expect to play in tomorrow's second Test here against Australia. For Dawson, however, this is not a new experience because it was in December last year that the same thing happened during England's tour of India.

Again he was brought in to replace Giles, who on that occasion was forced to pull out with Achilles tendon trouble. The Yorkshire off-spinner acquitted himself well against several of the best players of spin bowling in the world in Chandigarh. On his debut he bowled 43 overs and took the respectable figures of 4 for 134.

His second Test victim was the notable scalp of Vangipurappu Laxman, the batsman who had battered Shane Warne eight months previously when he scored 281 in Calcutta. However, Laxman was not Dawson's most memorable scalp on this tour. That came during the second innings of the second Test in Ahmedabad. Here, at the end of a tame draw, he found the inside edge of Sachin Tendulkar's bat and had him caught at short leg for 26.

It was not the names that the 22-year-old dismissed which was impressive on the India tour, but the way he went about his business. Dawson showed during those three Tests that he is a fierce competitor. Not once did he appear over-awed by the experience of playing in the country of and being compared with some of the greatest spinners the game has seen.

Dawson, who has a degree in exercise and sports science from Exeter University, is an intelligent cricketer, but is still some way from being the finished article. Like any young spinner his action needs working on, as does his ability to cut out the bad ball. But, bowling an attacking line outside off-stump, Australia's batsmen will know he is on the field should he play.

If Dawson does not make the side, Tudor and Harmison will. Both are tall men who hit the pitch hard. This enables them to extract steep bounce out of most surfaces, which is the thing batsmen dislike most.

Tudor is the more experienced of the two, having so far played in nine Test matches. The record of the Surrey fast bowler is good when he has played. But getting him on the field has been a major task for the selectors since his debut on England's last tour of Australia four years ago.

Tudor's fitness has frustrated the selectors to such a degree that after a good summer against Sri Lanka and India he was overlooked for this Ashes tour and sent to the National Academy in Adelaide to toughen up. However, it was not long before the recurrence of Darren Gough's injury led to him being called up as a replacement.

A lot of people look at Tudor and think that he should be a fast bowler because of his size, but the 25-year-old should be described as a fast-medium bowler who bowls in a similar style to Curtly Ambrose or Glenn McGrath.

Australia know how well Tudor can bowl ­ he took 4 for 89 on his debut in Perth. He has taken 14 wickets at 26.8 against them and is sure to earn further opportunities over the next two months.

Harmison is England's wild card. With the pace and bounce to intimidate the best batsmen, the Durham fast bowler could have an outstanding career ahead of him. With his loose-limbed run-up and high action he reminds some observers of a West Indian fast bowler and just like them he has batsmen rushing for their chest guards.

It should come as no surprise that he cleaned up Giles in the lively Adelaide nets because he is the bowler that all of England's batsmen want to avoid at practice. During this same session yesterday he also hit John Crawley on the head. Fortunately, there was no damage.

The one area that lets Harmison down is his control. On this tour so far the 24-year-old has been wayward, and that is something you cannot afford to be on these pitches against such high-quality batsmen. He made an impressive England debut last year against India at Trent Bridge but lost his place when Caddick returned to fitness.

The fact that all three bowlers are under 25 is good news for England ­ and they will have the chance to mature quickly over the next couple of weeks.