Faf du Plessis backs England to win the Ashes this Australian summer

After losing to the home side by a margin of 3-1, South African skipper Faf du Plessis now backs the English side to come out triumphant in the all important Ashes series on Australian soil, starting later in November. Du Plessis mentioned that if the conditions in Australia support swinging and seaming conditions, then there’s no stopping the visitors to retain the urn.

England head coach Trevor Bayliss, however, stated that even though the Three Lions have been on the winning side in the recent past, there are few issues which need to be looked at as he feels that some of the spots within the English playing XI are not yet cemented. England needs to replace Keaton Jennings, who had an unimpressive run in the recently concluded England-South Africa series, with someone who looks more assured opening the batting with Alastair Cook.

England’s batting consultant has been keeping young Lancashire opener Haseeb Hameed within the folds and it won’t be a matter of surprise if we see the teenager opening the batting in the First Test match at Brisbane. There also have been speculations regarding bringing back Ian Bell into the scheme of things but nothing has been materialised as of now.

That said, losing captain Du Plessis has his money on England in the upcoming Ashes series. “I think it’s dependent on the conditions. I’ve always felt Australia as a team played really well on flat wickets, bouncy flat wickets, (but) if the conditions allow a bit of seam and swing and spin, then I think England will be favourites,” claimed Faf du Plessis according to ANI.

England still has some spots ‘uncemented’: Bayliss

However, England’s head coach believes that there are few issues to be addressed. “It’s always a good thing that you’re winning but we’re not papering over the cracks. We know there are some spots that haven’t been cemented down. We’re still looking for those guys to prove their worth at this level. Hopefully, not before too long we do see some big scores from some of those guys” stated Trevor Bayliss.