Michael Vaughan predicts Australia to whitewash England in Ashes 2021-22

Former England skipper Michael Vaughan is known for making bold predictions ahead of the Test series and he has gone on to another ahead of the Ashes 2021-22. On Friday, it was announced that the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has given “conditional approval” for the Ashes.

With all the speculation that the Ashes might be cancelled or postponed, this is indeed good news for all fans in England and Australia. Speaking about the result of this series, Vaughan said that he feels that England might lose 0-5 to Australia. He cited the recent records of English teams Down Under. He also mentioned that if England doesn’t start well then it might be a long and sad tour for them.

“This series could be 5-0. You’ve got to be realistic. In the last four tours of Australia, England has lost 5-0 twice and 4-1 once. Obviously, they won in 2010-11, 3-1. I think this England Test match team if they get on a roll, keep playing well, will be fine. But if they start badly, it’s going to be a long tour for them,” Michael Vaughan said on ABC Sports. 

England can beat good sides, but they can also lose against anyone: Michael Vaughan

The English Test team hasn’t had a good year so far. They started the year well with a series win in Sri Lanka. However, since then, they lost 1-3 in India, 0-1 at home against New Zealand, and were trailing 1-2 against India at home when the series was indefinitely postponed. Vaughan expressed that it is very hard to predict England because there is always an element of uncertainty.

“They went to India on the back of a series win in Sri Lanka, won that first Test because Joe Root put a huge score on the board, and then they lost the series convincingly. They do have it in them to beat good sides, but they also have it in them to lose against anyone,” Vaughan added while highlighting England’s away struggles earlier this year. 

The former Ashes-winning captain further added that England doesn’t quite have really quick bowlers in unhelpful conditions to create a bit of magic. He highlighted the conditions in Oval which were very flat during England’s last Test of the summer against India. He said in those kinds of tracks, teams need a good spinner or a really quick pacer, but England has neither of those.