England should be feeling bullish about their chances of winning the Ashes, says Ian Botham

Ian Botham said that once the English bowlers can get past the David Warner and Steve Smith there is very little cause of worry. (Source: Instagram)

Former England all-rounder Sir Ian Botham has come forth and stated that the Three Lions have nothing to fear in the upcoming Ashes series and said that they should be feeling bullish about their chances. Deeming Australia’s batting order as one of the poorest and Botham also said that once the English bowlers can get past the David Warner and Steve Smith there is very little cause for worry.

In his column for The Mirror, Botham wrote, "England should be feeling bullish about their chances of winning the Ashes because Australia's batting line-up is one of the poorest I've seen. I keep on hearing and reading from former players about how England are going to get hammered … the reality is the Aussie batting should hold no fears for England because once they get past David Warner and Steve Smith, there is very little else to worry about.

"Let's get a bit of perspective here after the opinions of the so-called experts, who must realise that Warner and Smith could end up with some serious back pain come January after carrying the load. There is not a lot of support behind them and England have a stronger line-up from where I'm sitting, despite their concerns at No.3."

Commenting on the Australian pace attack and its potential threat to the English batsman, Botham said,  "More common is the sight of their fast bowlers breaking down. The series hasn't even started yet and James Pattinson has been ruled out with a back injury. Starc is returning from a foot problem which has kept him out of action for most of the year and Pat Cummins has never played a Test match at home because of an injury-ravaged career that has restricted him to five Test matches in six years!", he added.