Australia's problems won't be solved with Smith and Warner's return: Michael Vaughan

After India defeated Australia 2-1 in the just-concluded Test series Down Under, the Baggy Greens’ arch-rivals England are licking their lips ahead of the next Ashes which is scheduled in England in August-September this year. Australia, who hadn’t lost an Ashes to England between 1989 and 2002 and then haven’t won on the English soil since their 2001 win, stand little chance to reverse the trend this year either, feels former Three Lions’ captain Michael Vaughan.

Vaughan was the captain of England in the historic 2005 Ashes which they won after almost two decades and the 44-year-old thinks even the return of the likes of Steve Smith and David Warner to the Australian side would not be able to make any difference to the hapless side’s fortunes. Australia have lost their last three Test series against South Africa, Pakistan and India and their last series win in the longer format was in the 2017-18 Ashes at home.

“If you think Australia’s problems will be solved the moment Steve Smith and David Warner are available for selection again then you are wrong … every facet of their Test team has to improve,” Vaughan wrote in his column for The Telegraph, UK. The former England batsman was so ruthlessly confident that he said that the hosts of Ashes 2019 shouldn’t even bother about preparing bowler-friendly wickets that have hurt the Australians in recent tours.

‘Just make a good Test wicket and the results will show’

“I don’t think you need to do that against this Australian side. England do not need to take any risks. Just prepare a good Test match wicket because the best team will come out on top and in English conditions that is England.”

He said it was an easy excuse for Australia to cite the absence of Smith and Warner, who are serving a ban in the wake of the Sandpapergate in South Africa in March last year, as the reason for their poor run, adding that the Baggy Greens’ issues run deeper than just missing the two high-class batsmen.

England defeated India 4-1 in a five-match Test series at home last year though Vaughan conceded that the scoreline didn’t suggest how closely the series was fought.

Tim Paine, who has managed to win just one Test as Australia captain since taking over after the ball-tampering scandal, however, was not ready to look that far at the moment and wanted to concentrate on the two-Test series against Sri Lanka starting January 24, news.com.au reported.

[interaction id=”5c3435018f833d4fdcea7d46″]

Get the latest Cricket News and updates, Match Predictions, Fantasy Cricket Tips and lots more on CricTracker.com.