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England fast-bowling coach Tim Southee wasn't in agreement with Stuart Broad's negative remarlks about the Australian team ahead of The Ashes. Earlier, Broad had claimed that the current Australia team is their 'worst' since 2010, pointing out how there are a lot of question marks over Pat Cummins' participation in the series. However, Southee believes that there is no such thing as a 'bad' Australian team.
"I don't think there's ever a bad Australian cricket team. Our focus is firmly on what we're trying to do. I think the quality of (England's) side that's going out to Australia is brilliant," Southee told Sky Sports Cricket.
"It should be an absolute cracker, that series. Not only (are) English and Australian people looking forward to it, I think the whole cricket world is," he added.
England's poor record in Australia
Notably, England have an abysmal record when it comes to Tests in Australia. Their last Test victory in the country came back in 2011 when they recorded a historic 3-1 series triumph. The Three Lions lost their previous three Test series Down Under by 5-0, 4-0 and 4-0 respectively. It remains to be seen if the current team will finally manage to break their losing streak or not.
England's squad for The Ashes: Ben Stokes (captain), Harry Brook (vice-captain), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Josh Tongue, Mark Wood.
The two teams have had contrasting starts to their respective World Test Championship (WTC) cycles. While England drew their five-match home Test series against India by 2-2, Australia completed a clean sweep over West Indies by 3-0. The Baggy Greens are currently at the top of the standings with a PCT of 100.00 while Ben Stokes & Co. stand fifth with a PCT of 43.33.
Australia and England's upcoming fixtures
Meanwhile, both England and Australia will be playing white-ball series before The Ashes. The Three Lions will be locking horns against New Zealand in a three-match T20I and ODI series and the Baggy Greens will be hosting India for a three-match ODI and five-match T20I series.
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