Botham warns England against showing mercy to struggling Oz Ashes squad

Former England Test captain Ian Botham has warned England not to show any mercy and sympathy to the struggling Australian team in the Ashes.

According to the Mirror, Botham believed that England needs to turn the tables on Australia, which did not show any ounce of sympathy when England was beaten 5-0 in the Tests and Australia was enjoying their team's success for 15 years.

Stating that he believed that the entire Ashes series can be won by England next week, Botham said that the idea of showing even a little sympathy for an Australian team struggling to fight their way out of a paper bag let alone an Ashes series is preposterous, adding that he has no doubt that England will triumph at Old Trafford in only three days.

According to Botham, such a win will send the perfect message that there will be no letting up from this England team, adding that the team must ensure that at no time their foot is off the throttle given the Tests are the iconic Ashes, until there are no more games to be played.

Stating that England should use the Australian anger and frustrations and turn them to their own advantage, Botham further said that the current England squad must know that they must keep going better than any other team as they have come unstuck a couple of times, which he added, had hurt them badly.

However, Botham insisted that history would not repeat itself for England given that the current team has a real sense of determination to not fall into the same trap and also because Australia cannot turn the series around, with their strike bowler James Pattinson out of the tour making their chances even smaller.

Backing England bowler James Anderson's assertion that that the aim for England in this series is 5-0, Botham said that this is a serious proposition as Anderson does not make over-the-top and ridiculous statements, although he warned England not to let their well-placed confidence turn into arrogance.

Stating that he cannot see in which department Australia can claim to have the upper hand, Botham stated that even though Michael Clarke has been repeatedly tooted as being a more inventive and proactive captain than Alastair Cook, however, Cook has proved himself to be as steady a hand on the tiller as Andrew Strauss, along with an added flair.