Langer believes that England lacks the ruthlessness for the Ashes

• Langer believes that England needs to improve its ruthlessness.
• England has not won a series of Ashes in Australia since 2010.
• The first Test of the Ashes series will take place on November 21.

Former Australia coach Justin Langer expressed doubts about whether England possesses the "killer instinct" required to prevail in the Ashes on Australian soil this winter.

England, under the captaincy of Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum, is preparing for a challenging series, aiming to win the Ashes for the first time since the 2010-11 series.

The last three series in Australia have not yielded any victories for England, and the hosts usually dominate, having won two matches in the latest series in England.

Langer, who coached Australia from 2018 to 2022, noted that in the last series, which ended in a 2-2 draw, the English team did not manage to capitalize on their chances for victory. "My question to England is: do you have the killer instinct to finish the series when the opportunity arises?" he said in the podcast "For the love of cricket."

In the 2023 series, England demonstrated an aggressive approach in batting, but still finished 0-2 and failed to level in the final match at The Oval.

Langer emphasized that a key moment in the series was the episode with spinner Nathan Lyon being injured during the second Test, which significantly impacted the course of the game.

The first Test of the Ashes series 2025-26 is scheduled for November 21 in Perth. Langer stressed that England needs to play aggressively to counter the Australian bowlers.

Tags: Sport