Australia legend Glenn McGrath has admitted his trademark 5-0 whitewash prediction for this summer's Ashes is a "bit tongue-in-cheek" this time around given England's stunning turnaround in form under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum.
Since the pair took charge last summer, England have won ten out of 12 Tests playing a new positive and aggressive brand of cricket that has been dubbed 'Bazball' after McCullum's nickname.
And McGrath, who had made a habit of predicting Australia will beat England 5-0 ahead of every Ashes series, has been impressed by Stokes and McCullum's impact. When asked for his prediction ahead of this year's upcoming series, McGrath stuck with his typical answer but admitted it came with a caveat.
"'5-0," he told the Daily Mail. "But I'm not going to ever say anything else, am I? I might be being a bit tongue-in-cheek.
"Australia have not won a series in England since 2001. They will need to start well. They can't let England go 1-0 up with the way England are playing at the moment."
And, echoing comments made when he spoke to Mirror Sport in November, McGrath drew comparisons between the Australia side he played in and England's new 'Bazball' approach. "If you play without fear, it's amazing what you can achieve," he added.
"The Australia team I played in played with a lot of freedom and we backed ourselves, but England have taken it to the next level. They feel they can win from any situation.
"They put the pressure straight back on the opposition and back themselves to chase down any target in the fourth innings. That's something pretty new. When you've got the buy-in from the whole team, that's pretty special.
"Test cricket is under pressure and you've got to keep it fresh and exciting. The cricket they are playing is definitely doing that."
