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England can win the Ashes 2-1: Nasser Hussain

Former England captain, Nasser Hussain feels Andrew Flintoff and Steve Harmison have the fire-power to win back the Ashes.

Former England captain, Nasser Hussain feels Andrew Flintoff and Steve Harmison have the fire-power to once again captivate the nation by helping England win back its most important series this summer – the Ashes.

Hussain feels the time is right for the English team to win back the Ashes, as Australia is struggling to rebuild after losing back to back Test series against India and South Africa.

"England will definitely be the happier going into 2009, I think they are very close to being a very fine Test team; they are not quite as ruthless as they should be but they have most of the pieces of their jigsaw in place,” he told Sky Sports.

"In contrast, Australia is completely confused about what direction to go in. They are missing Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Adam Gilchrist and the rest badly. You just can't replace those cricketers and Ricky Ponting is finding out that Test cricket is seriously difficult.

"Everyone's already talking about the Ashes because they are waiting to see if this bad run of results is just a blip in Australian cricket or is there a terminal demise. Hence, this series is even more important and everyone around the world will be watching.

"Australia's batsmen are likely to have all played in England so they will score runs but I do worry about their bowling. In 2005 England worked out how to take 20 wickets with a five-man attack. Four fast bowlers battering Australia, reverse swing. There was no let-up.

"If the likes of Stuart Broad and James Anderson can step up alongside Harmison and Flintoff then I think England will have the edge in the bowling and will win 2-1."