Australia’s former coach, Justin Langer, has offered some advice to England for the upcoming Ashes series.
Langer believes that if England wants to reclaim the Ashes trophy, they must play with an aggressive mindset. The legendary Australian player has urged England to maintain their aggressive approach to end their long drought of not winning a Test series in Australia, a tour that will take place at the end of this year.
Since 1987, England has only won one Ashes series in Australia and has failed to win a single Test series in their last three tours. In their recent Test match against India, England drew the series 2-2 at home, securing the fourth spot in the ICC World Test Championship standings. However, Langer says that England needs to adopt a different approach for the five-Test Ashes series in Australia at the end of this year.
According to Langer, England’s team has struggled against Australian bowlers in recent foreign tours. He specifically mentioned that England’s batsmen must effectively face Australia’s best fast bowlers in the first Test match, which is scheduled for November 21st in Perth.
Langer told the BBC Sounds “For the Love of Cricket” podcast, “Whether you call it ‘Bazball’ or an aggressive approach, I think England should play with the same strategy in Australia.”
Langer added, “Do you know who succeeded against Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath? The players who attacked them. They hated it when someone fought back because no one else did.” Langer wants England’s batsmen to show their aggressive form.
He continued, “It takes courage because Australia has bowlers like Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, and Pat Cummins, who are exceptional bowlers and rarely miss their mark.”
The most recent Ashes series in 2023 ended in a 2-2 draw. Langer is concerned that when the opportunity arises, England lacks the lethal power to defeat the Australian team.
He believes the series will be a close contest. Langer questioned the England team, asking if they have the cowardly tendency to end the series in a draw. He said, “We saw 2-2 in the last Ashes series, and 2-2 against India. Will it be the same this time?”