England legend Ian Botham is expecting the upcoming Ashes series to be a tight and tough contest.
Australia will look to retain the famous urn on home soil and enter the highly anticipated five-Test series as overwhelming favourites.
But Botham isn’t writing England off as Joe Root looks to inspire his country to a first Ashes series win since 2015 and a first on Australian shores since 2011.
“We could end up with a couple of games under lights, I think the England boys would be quite happy with that,” Botham told SEN Breakfast.
“The bookies always lose the plot a little bit when we arrive, Australia go racing ahead in the prices.
“I think it will be a lot tighter than the bookies think. Most Ashes series are.
“You get the odd thrashing like we did in 1989 and 2007, you get that. But to be honest with you, more often than not, they’re good contests.
“They’re tough contests and enthralling quite often.”
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Botham is confident left-arm orthodox spinner Jack Leach can have an impact on the bouncy Australian pitches.
The 30-year-old has taken 62 wickets in 16 Tests at an average of a tick under 30 and is the number one spinner in England’s 17-man Ashes squad.
“Don’t write off Jack Leach, do that at your own peril,” the champion all-rounder said.
“He can bowl the lad.
“Our boys should do alright over here, they’ll enjoy the extra bounce.”
Despite a disrupted preparation, England will look to hit the ground running when the first Test gets underway in Brisbane next Wednesday.