Former Nottinghamshire batter David Hussey has warned his native Australia they will have to be at their best to overcome England in the upcoming Ashes.

“It’s going to be a really close series,” said the 48-year-old, who represented Notts in over 200 all-format matches, scoring in excess of 10,000 runs.

“England play with no fear, and with a really aggressive, almost Australian-like brand of cricket, so it will be tough.

“I still think Australia are going to win the series overall, especially in their home conditions, but it’s going to take some doing.”

Speaking from his Melbourne home on the eve of the series, Hussey notes a distinct absence of the calmness that he says usually precedes an Ashes series in his homeland.

“I think the normal Australian swagger that comes ahead of playing a home Ashes series is not really around,” he explained.

“There’s more nervousness around, and a lot of that comes from the way England play their cricket, but also missing captain Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood from the first Test.

“They will be a big loss, so I do think the confidence for Australia isn’t quite there.”

Influential skipper Cummins has been a long-term doubt for the hosts since suffering a back injury, and has not played a Test since July.

Conversely, the metronomic Hazlewood is a late absentee, having strained a hamstring playing for New South Wales during a Sheffield Shield clash against Victoria last week.

“Hazlewood is such an accurate bowler in all formats of the game, and to lose him, when he’s practically the leader of the attack, is a real blow,” said Hussey.

“He works out great strategies and executes his skills under immense pressure, and I think Australia will really miss him.”

However, Hussey believes the hosts can have full confidence in the man selected to replace one half of their missing duo, in Scott Boland.

“He’s a handy backup!” smiled Hussey. “He’s an excellent player, and an excellent person too, who’s worked very hard at his craft.

“I know he’s 36 years of age, but he’s still at the peak of his powers and can execute new skills, and he’s dominated for Victoria too.

“He’ll be primed to be one of the leaders of the Australian attack without Cummins and Hazlewood, and from a Victorian point of view, I personally hope he does really well.”

Much of the discussion around the Australian side, other than the absences of Cummins and Hazlewood, has, as Hussey touched upon, been about the squad’s age profile.

It has been heavily publicised that Cameron Green, 26, is the only member of the hosts’ group who is under the age of 30, though the concern is not one that overly perturbs Hussey.

“For this series coming up, I don’t see age being an issue,” he said. “I actually think the experience might end up counting in Australia’s favour.

“Yes, they might end up having to rotate a few bowlers to get them through a five-Test series, but I don’t think it’s a major problem.”

He is similarly keen to play down the impact the other aspect that Australia will lose without Cummins on the field, which is the skipper’s leadership ability.

The hosts’ stand-in as leader will be Steve Smith, a man who was permanent captain of his country for 40 Tests.

“I think you’ll find, that even when Cummins is captain, he still goes to Steve Smith a lot on the field for strategies and tactical advice,” explained Hussey.

“I think Pat’s a great leader of men, and an excellent man-manager, but I do think he relies heavily on Steve Smith from a strategy point of view.

“Steve’s record as a captain is phenomenal, and he’ll be treating it as a one-off, so hopefully he can put in a good performance with the bat too.”

Despite his natural relaxed demeanour about many of the questions that do face Australia, Hussey still expects a fiercely-competitive series.

“I think there’s always rain in Sydney, so that will probably be a draw, but there will be results in the other games,” mused Hussey.

“I’m worried about the English fast bowlers, and I’m not sure if they can all get through five Tests, but they’re full of talent, and are definitely good enough to win matches in this series.

“I’m actually going to say a draw, 2-2, and Australia retain the Ashes!”

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