No fear anymore for Aussie opponents

Shane Warne believes England can bully Australia this winter and have their "best ever" chance of winning the Ashes Down Under.

Warne says England's win in the NatWest Series has reinforced the view that Australia do not strike fear into their opponents any more and that their team lack the match winners of the past. He also believes Ricky Ponting's job as captain is on the line.

"The transition period for Australia is over now," he said. "They have a good squad but are not a stand-out team. Whenever you lose the Matthew Haydens, Adam Gilchrists, Shane Warnes or Glenn McGraths guys who could win a game off their own back — it is hard and there are not four or five guys in the side who can do that now. I'm not sure how many match winners they have now. England have some serious players.

"Ricky's future as captain is on the line for sure. He has been one of the best batsmen in the world and over a long period of time and maybe having his captaincy on the line will bring out the best in a great player."

Old wounds

Warne, who is in Las Vegas playing poker for the 888.com team, believes England have cast off their reticence when playing Australia, important for a cricketer who loved to "reopen old wounds" when he played Ashes series.

"I think they are going to Australia with their best ever chance," he said. "Winning in Australia and in India are probably the two toughest countries for any side. Australia have the best home record over the last 20 years. In my time, we lost one series, and that was against West Indies in 1992-93 when one run separated us.

"Australia's record at home over the last three or four years hasn't been as strong — they lost to South Africa and drew with India — but it is still a tough ask winning there.

"England have lost the fear of playing Australia, which is a big change. One of the major things when you come up against Australia is the English attitude. I think that has always been, ‘We can beat them but we must play at our best because if not they are too good for us'. But I think England are saying, ‘You know what, we are looking forward to this Test series'.

"They believe they can bully Australia and that feeling is in the whole squad and not just one or two star players, which was the case in the past. Australia are still a very good side but England just don't have any fear of playing against them, which is why it is going to be a hell of an Ashes series."

Warne confirmed yesterday that he intended to continue playing for one more season in the Indian Premier League, where he hopes to remain the captain and coach of Rajasthan Royals.

Last week the Indian board told the 10 franchises they would be able to retain a number of cricketers on staff, but that is being challenged by most teams, who want a fresh auction of all players to give the new sides, the Pune Warriors and Kochin, a chance.