Fearless England ready to shake off weight of failure

LONDON :Recent history will weigh heavily on the shoulders of England's players when they take the field in Perth on Friday seeking to end a lamentable run of Ashes failure in Australia.

They have lost 13 of their previous 15 test matches Down Under, drawing the other two, and you must go all the way back to 2011 for the last England victory.

Confident noises are coming out of England's camp, though, and whether or not Brendon McCullum's side can turn the tide, one thing is for sure, the touring side will not die wondering.

England have resembled lambs to the slaughter in their last three away Ashes series, losing the tactical and psychological battles and having technical frailties ruthlessly exposed.

This time, however, under inspirational captain Ben Stokes they look set to fight fire with fire.

Pace-bowling greats James Anderson and Stuart Broad may have left the stage but England boast six fast bowlers capable of denting the toughest Australian armour, top-order batsmen who can score at dizzying rates and a century-hungry Joe Root freed from the shackles of being captain.

"It's going to be hard. But if they get everything right, I look at this and go, actually, England can definitely win the series without a shadow of a doubt," said Alastair Cook, player of the series when England last won in Australia in 2010-11.

"The way this England side plays, they've got a really good chance."

ENGLAND'S FEARLESS APPROACH

The fearless front-foot approach that coach McCullum and captain Stokes have ingrained in England has produced 25 wins, 14 defeats and only two draws in 41 tests.

So-called Bazball produced fireworks and acrimony in equal measure two years ago in England when Australia retained the Ashes with a 2-2 draw having won the