![\"Henry](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/henry-blofeld.png\")
<\/p>\nLegendary cricket commentator Henry Blofeld has declared England can win the Ashes this summer, insisting Australia\u2019s growing injury list has blown the series wide open.<\/p>\n
He told GB News: \u201cLook, Australia aren\u2019t unbeatable. Not this year. Their attack is falling apart, they\u2019re scrambling for replacements and England are in the perfect position to take advantage.\u201d<\/p>\n
Blofeld, who spent decades calling cricketing battles from the commentary box, said England now have the chance to deliver a \u201cstatement first Test\u201d that would \u201cshake Australia to the core\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf England come out swinging, this could be over quicker than people think,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cStokes has the bowlers. He has the aggression. And now, with Australia wounded, he has the opening.\u201d<\/p>\n
The former BBC Test Match Special icon said England should not be fazed by the Australians\u2019 reputation for toughness, saying: \u201cThat aura isn\u2019t what it was. Not with half their attack on the physio\u2019s table. England must smell blood.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also claimed the home crowd Down Under could play a decisive role in unsettling a depleted Australian side, adding: \u201cThese players know English crowds. <\/p>\n
“They know the noise. Add the pressure, add the expectations, it all builds. And right now, it builds against Australia.\u201d<\/p>\n
Blofeld argued captain Ben Stokes\u2019 leadership style is a key advantage and said: “Ben knows how to win ugly. <\/p>\n
“He knows how to fight. This is exactly the sort of contest where he thrives.\u201d<\/p>\n
Blofeld argued that Stokes\u2019 leadership style is a key advantage<\/p>\n
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GB NEWS <\/p>\n
Asked whether England truly have what it takes to reclaim the urn, Blofeld did not hesitate, commenting: \u201cOf course they do. <\/p>\n
“England have the talent, the conditions and now, the luck. The door is open. They must walk through it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Australian captain Pat Cummins and seamer Josh Hazlewood have both been ruled out of Friday\u2019s first Test at Perth\u2019s Optus Stadium \u2014 Cummins with a back problem and Hazlewood sidelined by a hamstring injury.<\/p>\n
Their expected replacements are veteran Scott Boland and uncapped paceman Brendan Doggett, while Michael Neser has been drafted into the squad following Hazlewood\u2019s late withdrawal.<\/p>\n
![\"Ben](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ben-stokes.jpg\")
Ben Stokes is leading the Ashes <\/p>\n
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GETTY <\/p>\n
Mitchell Starc, one of Australia\u2019s famed \u201cbig three\u201d alongside Cummins and Hazlewood, will now shoulder senior responsibility in the attack with spinner Nathan Lyon.<\/p>\n
All-rounder Cameron Green is the only member of the squad under 30, leaving Australia heavily reliant on experience as they head into the opener.<\/p>\n
The Ashes gets underway overnight with the opening Test in Perth, before the series moves through Brisbane, Adelaide and Melbourne, culminating in a final clash in Sydney in the new year.<\/p>\n
UK viewers can watch every ball live on TNT Sports.<\/p>\n
The first Test begins at 2.30am UK time on Friday, with live build-up on TNT Sports 1 from 1.30am.<\/p>\n
England have touched down in Perth and Ollie Pope looks in formidable form, staking his claim in the batting order after hitting 100 and 90 in last week\u2019s warm-up against the England Lions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Legendary cricket commentator Henry Blofeld has declared England can win the Ashes this summer, insisting Australia\u2019s growing injury…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":275661,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[1721,50,217,101,56,54,55,88857],"class_list":["post-275660","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cricket","tag-cricket","tag-news","tag-sport","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom","tag-video-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/275660","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=275660"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/275660\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/275661"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=275660"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=275660"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=275660"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}