England may lack 'killer instinct' needed for Ashes - Langer

England may lack the killer instinct needed to win in this winter's Ashes, says former Australia head coach Justin Langer.

Langer, 54, won four Ashes series as a player and was unbeaten in two series as a coach before leaving in 2022.

England played their part in a thrilling 2-2 draw with India this summer and also drew the last series with Australia in the UK 2-2 in 2023.

Speaking to Stuart Broad and Jos Buttler on BBC Sounds' For the Love of Cricket podcast, Langer said: "It's going to be a really, really close series. My question for England will be, have you got the killer instinct to finish off a series if you get a chance?

"We've seen it, the two-all here in the last Ashes series, two-all against India.

"England had the chances to win that series. Have you got the killer instinct to win the Ashes in Australia? That's going to be the big question."

England have only won one Ashes series in Australia since 1987, a 3-1 series win in 2010-11.

Their past three tours have been lost without winning a match and Langer thinks the tourists will have to be aggressive to stand a chance on the tour which starts with the first Test in Perth on 21 November.

"Call it Bazball or the aggressive approach, I think England must play that approach in Australia. No question, because it'll put pressure back on," he said.

"The only players who had success against Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath were those who attacked them. They got back in their face and they hated it because no one did it.

"It's going to take courage because you have got Mitchell Starc bowling like he does, Josh Hazlewood never misses the spot and Pat Cummins is a generational bowler. So it's going to take great courage."

Langer is the latest Australian to cast doubt on England's hopes in the Ashes this winter. The phoney war is well under way.

First Steve Smith said their batters would struggle because of the pitches down under, then David Warner's comments about Joe Root and his surfboard pads, and now Langer has questioned England's mindset.

Given the chance, England fans would likely remind Langer it was Australia who were 2-0 up in the 2023 Ashes but could not complete the job. Had the rain not intervened in Manchester, England would have been the first team to come from 2-0 down to win an Ashes series.

Still, there is something in his comments that will linger. Fresh in the memory is the fifth Test against India, where England were cruising towards a victory and a 3-1 series win only to collapse.

Remember the 4-1 defeat in India in early 2024 too? After winning the series opener in Hyderabad, England had their chances in the subsequent Tests but lost all four.

Ultimately, the uncertainty is what makes this winter appear so intriguing.

First Test, Optus Stadium in Perth: 21-25 November

Second Test, Gabba in Brisbane: 4-8 December

Third Test, Adelaide Oval in Adelaide: 17-21 December

Fourth Test, MCG in Melbourne: 26-30 December

Fifth Test, SCG in Sydney: 4-8 January