LONDON
Australia cricket legend Dennis Lillee believes his country will regain the Ashes from England because Ricky Ponting’s team has a stronger bowling attack.
Lillee, who took 355 wickets in 70 Tests from 1971 to 1984, knows what it takes to win the Ashes after forming a lethal partnership with Jeff Thomson to destroy England in the 1974-75 series in Australia.
While Australia’s current crop of bowlers may not be in the same class as Lillee and Thomson, the fiery paceman still expects the likes of Mitchell Johnson and Doug Bollinger to prove too strong for England when the Ashes gets underway next month.
“In the end it’s got to be (about) your attack – you’ve got to bowl sides out twice,” Lillee told Sky Sports Radio. “If I look at both attacks I think Australia – even without (Shane) Warne and (Glenn) McGrath – have a better attack than England.
“(England’s) spinning attack – they may use spin twins (Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar) – may be better than ours because Nathan (Hauritz) is still evolving, but overall our attack is better and that’s where games are won.” England’s last trip to Australia ended in a 5-0 thrashing for the visitors, but Lillee is convinced the forthcoming series will be a lot tighter than that.
“It’s going to be much closer than the other ones (recent Ashes series in Australia). But we should probably win it 2-1 or 3-2,” Lillee said.
