“It’s one of the few times we’ll go to Australia and go as favourites”

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England will be in for a tough winter this year as they will be venturing Down Under to take on Australia in a highly-anticipated Ashes series.

The last time they were in Australia, England were whitewashed 5-0, but former England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff doesn’t think that will happen again this time around. In fact, he believes that England will be returning home with the coveted urn.

But, one has to question why Flintoff is brimming with confidence about’s England’s chances of going into hostile territory and emerging victorious from what is likely to be a gruelling five-Test series.

Explaining why he is backing England to win, Flintoff told Express Sport: “I don’t think it’s about going out to Australia and winning: it’s about how well we win. I think we should going out there looking to win three or four Test matches.

“I spent some time out there before Christmas and I watched quite a bit of the cricket and there’s nothing there which will bother our team. It’s one of the few times we’ll go to Australia and go as favourites which is the biggest pressure we’ll have more than anything.”

Despite England’s chequered past in Australia over the last few years, Flintoff has faith that newly appointed Test captain Joe Root will get the job done in the opposition’s backyard.

“If I was an England captain coming in now, I would think it’s the best time,” he said. “You start with a series against South Africa and then West Indies in England this summer but there’s nothing there to put you off your breakfast.

“I look at the Aussies now and they’ve got some decent players but they’re there for the taking. They don’t seem the fighting prospect that they used to be. They’ve got good players but they seem to have lost that edge that they used to have. That invincibility isn’t there any more. So for Joe, it’s really good timing.”