Englands top order can set up Englands Ashes triumph, says Cook
The high-octane Ashes series begins in Perth next month with England last winning in Australia in 2010-11.
New Delhi: For England to win an Ashes Test match in Australia for nearly 15 years and then the series, their batting unit has to fire, believes former captain Alastair Cook.
The high-octane series begins in Perth next month with England last winning in Australia in 2010-11.
Cook scored 766 runs with three hundreds in that series but since then England haven't had much success Down Under with 5-0, 4-0 and 4-0 defeats.
England though believe that under Ben Stokes, they can turn the wheel of fortune amidst a growing belief that Australia are not what they used to be but remain the favoured side.
"We'd be naive to say Australia aren't favourites," Cook said on Tuesday, as quoted by Reuters.
"But the way this England side plays you think they've got a really good chance. Look at the batting line up, England's top seven. On their day they score runs at a tempo and pace to knock Australia off their lines and lengths.
"Everyone who plays England knows if you're not on it every minute, they can change games in an hour or two."
Opening partnership key
Australia haven't had a settled opening pair since David Warner's retirement where England could score an edge with Zak Crawley's partnership
with Ben Duckett having the ability to dictate matches.
"That's a big competitive advantage the way that England's top order can go hard," the 40-year-old said.
"If you look at Australia, (Usman) Khawaja and (Marnus) Labuschagne and maybe one other, that's not a fearful top order in terms of getting on the front foot.
"I think Australia will be so respectful of Crawley and Duckett. Crawley's a different opening batter to what history says you need; very inconsistent and averages 30.
"But on his day, he plays innings which I don't think anyone else in the world can play at the top of the order. If he has three or four good days against bowling which should suit him, he is a real danger.
"They're definitely fearful of him. An hour and a half of Duckett and Crawley playing well on a first morning, England build huge momentum."