Ex-Oz captain Taylor advises team to cultivate 'winning' spirit ahead of Ashes

Former Australian Test captain Mark Taylor has advised the Australian squad to use the next two weeks leading into the opening Ashes Test to foster a winning team spirit.

Taylor, who is Cricket New South Wales' independent member on the Cricket Australia board after the resignation of former state chairman Harry Harinath, conceded that an important part of his role was to oversee the rebuilding of the national team, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

Urging Michael Clarke's men to get together over the next two weeks and forge a better team feeling, Taylor said that the next two weeks are crucial, and advised players to get a feel of the position in which they expected to be ahead of their two tour matches against Somerset and Worcestershire to get comfortable when they would be actually playing.

Citing the example of struggling former deputy Shane Watson's current position and leadership in the team, Taylor also said that if Watson is able to make a century on the first day at Trent Bridge, he will play a big role in making the team comfortable enough to display success in the later games, given that they already have bowlers to win matches for them.Meanwhile, Taylor said that the issues being reported in the media were nothing new, adding that the only difference between the earlier eras to now is the saturation coverage of cricket.

Taylor's return to the board coincides with a time when the national team, once the world's benchmark, is struggling but has commanded a multi-million dollar broadcast deal, the report added.