Botham backs England to 'relish' having 'field day' in 'fast' Oz pitches in winter Ashes

Former England Test player Sir Ian Botham has backed England to relish winning the winter Ashes series in Australia, starting in November, despite their arch-rivals having the advantage of playing at home.

Botham, who has build a thriving village in Sri Lanka with the help of Laureus Sport for Good foundation to help the people affected by the devastating tsunami in 2004, is set to participate in a 160 mile-charity walk in the island along with legends like Muttiah Muralitharan, Steve Waugh, Shane Warne, Michael Vaughan and Saurav Ganguly.

According to the Mirror, Botham is sticking to his prediction of England winning the return Ashes series 5-0, which he made before the summer series, saying that instead of Australia enjoying home advantage, England will enjoy playing in the winter Ashes and reproducing their 2010/11 form.

Stating that England will have a 'field day' on the quicker pitches, Botham also said that with the help of Kevin Pietersen, Alastair Cook, Matt Prior and Ian Bell, the English top order would bring down Australia, who has forgotten how to win at sport, let alone cricket.

Botham further said that it would be a period of disappointment for the Australian fans and warned England to get ready for tough sledging from the rival crowds as they are still not used to watching losing teams.