England are 2-0 down in the five-match Ashes series (Picture: Getty)
Michael Vaughan has backed England to keep the Ashes alive by beating Australia in the third Test at Headingley.
Australia are on the verge of retaining the Ashes after beating England by 43 runs at Lord’s to take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.
Pat Cummins’ side, who were crowned world Test champions last month, are bidding to become the first Australian team to win an away Ashes since 2001.
They clinched a two-wicket win at Edgbaston and another narrow victory at Lord’s has left England with a mountain to climb as they attempt to reclaim the urn.
‘Can England in at Leeds? Of course they can,’ Vaughan said on BBC’s Test Match Special. ‘They need to get to Leeds and I think they can beat this Australia side there.
‘They just need to forget about the three games they need to win and just focus on winning at Leeds. England have to be realistic about the way they have played there cricket too.’
England failed to take advantage of favourable bowling conditions on day one of the Lord’s Test as Australia posted 416 thanks to yet another Steve Smith hundred.
The hosts were 91-0 and 188-1 in reply but still ended up with a first-innings deficit of almost 100 as they lost nine wickets for 137 runs.
England fought back with the ball to limit Australia to 279 but a chase of 371 was just beyond Stokes’ side despite the captain scoring a sensational 155.
Australia legend Glenn McGrath said: ‘Australia were in the box seat at start of play. It was going to take something very, very special from England.
‘We had that early partnership then we saw what happened with Bairstow. What that did do was inspired Ben Stokes and Stuart Broad and what followed was incredible.
‘Every day of this Test something incredible has happened and I don’t think we have seen a Lord’s Test like this one.
‘It will be interesting to see whether this has an impact on the relationship between the teams. They have been very pally, with hugs and jokes, which I’m not a huge fan of off the field. We will see what happens from here.’
Ex-England captain Nasser Hussain, meanwhile, believes Stokes’ team need to be more ‘ruthless’ after letting dominant positions slip in both Ashes Tests.
‘I think England can continue on the road they have been going on, but smarten up a bit and be ruthless,’ he said. ‘Some of the batting when they were 188-1, be a bit more ruthless.
‘Stokes was ruthless in both innings. I think England have believed the hype a little bit and gone away from what made them successful. This is a little wake-up call.’
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The Ashes are suddenly on the line…