Botham says England's demolition of India has laid platform to regain Ashes next year

Former England Test cricketer and captain Ian Botham believes that India's demolition at the hands of England has laid the platform from which the Ashes can be regained next year.

Botham said that the turnaround from Lord's has been stunning and shown that England has enough talent to mount a serious challenge over the next 12 months. He added that the squad needs to keep winning and head into the Ashes with real confidence.

There is a seven-month gap between Test matches, which feels like a lot, but Botham said that next summer will roll around quickly and England must be ready for that acid test, The Mirror reported.

Botham said that England was found wanting by Australia last winter, but it has galvanised them into turning things around and building from the bottom again. He said that as long as the squad has got pacer James Anderson leading the attack they would always be in with a shout.

Botham also said that he genuinely thought Anderson would go past his Test match wickets record of 383 this summer and the way the pacer was bowling by the end at the Oval, it is a surprise that he didn't, finishing just three short.