Langer's advice to England ahead of Australia Ashes showdown

Australia great Justin Langer has implored England to continue their attacking approach when they try and break their long drought away from home in the battle for the Ashes later this year.

England have won just one Ashes series in Australia since 1987 and have failed to taste success in a single Test match in their three most recent trips Down Under.

While England have had mixed results of late and currently sit in fourth place in the ICC World Test Championship standings following their recent 2-2 against India at home, Langer wants to see the side take a different approach when they arrive in Australia later this year in the battle for the Ashes across five Tests.

Langer believes England have been dictated to by Australia's bowlers in recent away tours and wants to see their batters take on the high quality Aussie pace attack when the first Test commences in Perth on November 21.

"Call it Bazball or the aggressive approach, but I think England must play that approach in Australia. No question, because it'll put pressure back on," Langer told the BBC Sounds' For the Love of Cricket podcast.

"The only players who had success against Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath were those who attacked them. They got back in their face and they hated it because no one did it.

"It's going to take courage because you have got Mitchell Starc bowling like he does, Josh Hazlewood never misses the spot and Pat Cummins is a generational bowler. So it's going to take great courage."

The most recent Ashes series ended tied at 2-2 in the middle of 2023 and Langer is concerned whether England lack the killer punch to put away the Aussies when the opportunity arises.

"It's going to be a really, really close series," Langer predicted.

"My question for England will be, have you got the killer instinct to finish off a series if you get a chance?

"We've seen it, the two-all here in the last Ashes series, two-all against India.

"England had the chances to win that series. Have you got the killer instinct to win the Ashes in Australia? That's going to be the big question."

Series schedule:

First Test: Perth Stadium, November 21-25
Second Test: Gabba, December 4-8
Third Test: Adelaide Oval, December 17-21
Fourth Test: MCG, December 26-30
Fifth Test: SCG, January 4-8