Botham backs England to 'cash in' at Old Trafford like 'excellent' Aussies

Former England Test captain Ian Botham has praised the Australian team for regaining control of the third Ashes Test although he backed England batsmen to cash in at Old Trafford like their rivals.

Australian captain Michael Clarke completed a brilliant 187 on day two of the third Ashes Test at Old Trafford as part of his side's huge declared 527-7 which took control of the Test.

According to the Mirror, Botham touted the tourists as excellent for having another good day at Old Trafford, stating that they are allowed to play well, with Clarke leading the way once again.

However, the former Test player also backed England bowlers, saying that they did not do much wrong on a pitch, which is very favourable to batsmen, although he admitted that the Australians played a positive game and batted well all the way down.

Stating that he expected England batsmen to cash in like their Australian counterparts, Botham further said that although Clarke played a good game and made the most of the match given that he was long due for a good score, England have more than one world-class batsmen in their side while Australia has only Clarke.

According to Botham, England can still do well at Old Trafford even though they have a massive day's work ahead as their batting line-up is clearly stronger than Australia's, adding that England has exceptional batsmen like Kevin Pietersen, Jonathan Trott, Alastair Cook and Ian Bell while only Clarke is exceptional in Australia.

Botham also said that it is now time for the English top order to improve their game and join Bell and Root in scoring big hundreds and regaining control of the series back again.