The two former Australia captains think their side will do it despite going in as underdogs.
Former Australian Test captains Mark Taylor and Steve Waugh have given their side a vote of confidence as they head into the Ashes with England in July.
Australia named their 16-man squad for the tour on Tuesday (local time), with the side opting for experience over youth as 35-year-olds Brad Haddin and Chris Rogers have both been recalled.
Only one uncapped player was named in James Faulkner and Haddin was announced as Watson’s successor as vice-captain.
Yet despite being considered as second-best for the upcoming Ashes series in England, Taylor and Waugh are quietly confident Australia can regain the famous urn.
“We can beat any team in the world,” Waugh said on Sky Sports.
“We’re not that far away. It’s a matter of the top six getting some consistency, getting some confidence.
“England have themselves been very inconsistent over the past 12, 18 months.”
Waugh played 168 Tests for Australia between 1985 and 2004, scoring nearly 11,000 five-day runs and along with twin brother Mark was part of what is thought of as a ‘golden age’ of Australian cricket.
Taylor and Waugh played alongside each other in the Test team for 10 years, both operating under each other’s captaincy at times and although Taylor shares his former teammate’s view to a certain extent, he has more concerns.
“I think the biggest worry from my point of view is that there’s not a lot of young batsmen coming around at the moment,” the 48-year-old was quoted on Sky Sports.
Taylor skippered Australia to three Ashes victories during his reign as leader and could boast the likes of the Waugh twins, Adam Gilchrist and Ricky Ponting in his batting line-up.
Now the Aussies are struggling to find anything near that quality, with current captain Michael Clarke the only man to score a century for the side in their last Test series – a 4-0 whitewash in India.
Australia certainly have a lot of work to do if they are to live up to these former legends’ expectations.
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