ENGLAND must not be afraid of losing if they are to beat Australia and regain the Ashes, according to former captain Michael Vaughan. England’s bid to avenge a 5-0 defeat in 2013-14 begins on July 8, with every ball covered live by Test Match Special on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra and online.
“They have to take Australia on with the mentality of ‘we don’t care about losing’ because that will make the Aussies fear them more,” said TMS pundit Vaughan.
“If they have any kind of worries or concerns, then they will get walloped.
Alastair Cook’s side will take on Australia with new coach Trevor Bayliss in place after displaying a revamped positive approach in the Test and limited-overs series against New Zealand.
And Vaughan, who led England to Ashes success in 2005, says he can see parallels between this summer and that successful campaign of 10 years ago.
“I can sense the country is really enjoying cricket and the way England are playing,” said Vaughan.
“If England can play in the same spirit as we’ve seen in the ODI series, even though the Ashes are a different format, they have a chance of causing a shock.
“My concern is England haven’t played this way for long enough. In 2005 we played it for 18 months; it was embedded into our brains. I don’t know if this England have done it for long enough to trust themselves.”