Michael Vaughan feels Root might have to "lie a bit and con" to give England confidence in Ashes

Michael Vaughan feels Root might have to "lie a bit and con" to give England confidence in Ashes

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Michael Vaughan has stated that Joe Root has to convince his team that they can win the Ashes, even if he has to "lie a bit and con” them. Vaughan has also stated that the Australians were still a dominant side at home even though they are not as formidable a force as the team of yesteryear.

Even before the Ashes has kicked off, most cricket pundits have written off England's chances of winning without Ben Stokes. Even Steve Waugh came out to state that England will be desperate to avoid a scenario like a 5-0 drubbing handed out to them the last time they travelled Down Under in 2013-14. Vaughan believes that Root will have to lie to his England players to convince them they can beat Australia in the forthcoming series.

“’s greatest challenge is going to be to convince the team they can win. It may be that he has to lie a bit and con them. He might have to blow up a few tyres that might be flat, and convince them they are good enough to beat this Australian team,” Vaughan said on Thursday, reported AFP.

“I don’t think it is right to go there and talk down the Aussies. I’ve been around captains that do that and it doesn’t work. It is worth saying they are good. They are not what they were 20 years ago but they are dangerous and you know what they will produce over five matches.”

Vaughan, who captained England to a home Ashes triumph in the famous series of 2005, ending 16 years of the Australian domination, stated that Root would have to convince his players that they could not contain the Aussies by only playing an attacking brand of cricket.

“I don’t see them blowing Australia away in three days. They will win over there by playing how they did in 2010-11, by scoring lots of runs in the first innings, batting for periods of time, nullifying good spells of bowling and not thinking ‘we are going to attack all the time’,” Vaughan added.

“I am sure Australia respect a lot of our players but the one they fear the most is not going to be there. I’ve not seen too many celebrations from the Australians but I am sure in private they have cracked open a few bottles. If (David) Warner was injured next week and out of the Ashes I am sure you would find the England players celebrating."

England will be without their talismanic all-rounder Ben Stokes, who was in an amazing run of form before being arrested last month in Bristol on suspicion of causing bodily harm and suspended from internationals until further notice following a fight outside a nightclub. Vaughan feels that his unavailability is a big loss for England team in their series defense calling him the second best batsman of the team.

“It is not disrespecting Alastair Cook but I would say Stokes is England’s second best player with the bat. With the ball, he is erratic at times but he has an impact. In the field you know he will produce something. More importantly, it is his mindset. I watch England walk out on the field and when Stokes is in the team they walk out two inches taller. If he is not there in Brisbane you would have to say the Australians are clear favourites to win the series."

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