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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Matthew Cooper

Australia issued Ashes warning with England 'playing like they don't give a "s***'

Australia have been warned they "better get ready" for the new and improved England Test team, who are "playing like they don't give a s***" under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum - and enjoying great success.

England have won eight out of nine Tests so far under Stokes and McCullum and their new positive and aggressive approach has earned widespread plaudits. And former captain Michael Vaughan, who famously led England's 2005 Ashes triumph, has warned Australia they will face a difficult challenge when they attempt to retain the urn next year.

"They're playing like they don't give a s***, England," Vaughan told Fox Sports. "That's the way they're playing. They're like, 'we don't care if we lose'.

"[Australia] better get ready, because the juggernaut is not easy to play against. I honestly think Ben and Baz have revolutionised Test cricket.

"The more you look at the approach that they're going for, the more it makes sense, the more it fits into the modern player, the more that you realise that's what they're pretty much brought up to do these days [be attacking]. So why not do it in Test match cricket?"

Vaughan went on to highlight the fact that England have actually won an away Ashes series more recently than Australia, suggesting Pat Cummins side are "being naive" by playing down England's new-found success under Stokes and McCullum.

"If you look at what Australia has done in English conditions over the past 17 years, they haven't succeeded that much," Vaughan continued. "They only drew the Ashes last time here [in 2019].

England captain Ben Stokes has made a remarkable impact since taking over as skipper (Philip Brown/Popperfoto/Popperfoto via Getty Images)

"I think Australia, Pat and his team would be silly to not start thinking that this England side are onto something. England will have Jofra [Archer] back. Mark Wood, [James] Anderson, [Stuart] Broad and [Ollie] Robinson – we know what threat they are in the UK.

"And the juggernaut of the batting team will come out swinging. So I think the Aussies are being naive if they think, 'oh we've got Pat, we've got Josh, we've got Starcy, we've got Nathan Lyon'.

"There will be bumps, but I wouldn't want to play against it. That's all I'm saying."

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