‘I suffered bruising Ashes defeat in Australia, here’s what it is really like playing Down Under'

Led by Andrew Strauss, England had the likes of Alastair Cook, Ian Bell, James Anderson, Graeme Swann and Stuart Broad at their disposal as they beat the Aussies 3-1 in their own backyard.

Since then, though, it has been nothing but misery Down Under for the Poms - failing to win a single match.

That includes a particularly bruising series in 2017/18 when English cricket appeared to be at its best.

With Joe Root as captain and the Urn in hand, England made their way to Australia full of confidence, even if a certain incident at a nightclub prevented Ben Stokes from making the trip.

But three Tests later and over 1,500 runs conceded and The Ashes was regained by Australia and England's reputation in tatters.

Appearing on that tour was Chris Woakes, who recently retired from international cricket after a shoulder injury kept him out of the squad travelling Down Under this year.

It was a similar story in 2021 when England returned to Australia, having drawn at home, suffering another humiliating 4-0 defeat.

Speaking exclusively to GB News, the Warwickshire bowler admitted that a slow start can cost you dearly and there quickly becomes no coming back.

With BetMGM, Woakes said: "The tours that I went on, unfortunately we lost the first two every time, which kind of puts you on the back foot.

"You do have to start well in Australia. We lost the two early doors and it's just all-consuming because you can't get away from it.

"The press, the scrutiny, them saying what they say and really getting on your backs.

"They try and do anything to kind of disrupt your togetherness as a team.

"And that's what you have to deal with, I suppose. But you've also got to go out there and perform against a very, very good Australian team in their own conditions.

"A lot of it is outside noise and being able to deal with that.

"You can't let that get to you and let that have an impact on how you play your game."

There are high hopes that England can reverse their fortunes in Australia when they kickstart their Ashes campaign this winter.

Brendon McCullum's aggressive form of cricket, embodied by Stokes on the pitch, has given some Poms a growing sense of confidence.

Perhaps that is why an incredible 40,000 fans are expected to breach the Aussie borders over the series.

Woakes also has high hopes for the current bunch, reckoning that England's new boisterous style of play perfectly suits Australian conditions.

He said: "I'm really, really excited, to be honest. I think we've got the best opportunity that we've had in a long time, going there to hopefully bring The Ashes home.

"What has it been, 15 years since we since we last did it? So, yeah, I'm certainly optimistic, certainly on that.

"Sitting on that side of the fence, I believe we've got a great team that actually have got a genuine chance this time to go down under and sort of exploit Australian conditions, where I think in the past we've kind of gone with a team that hasn't really had that.

"So, yeah, I would certainly say I'm on the optimistic side, for sure."

England and Australia meet for the first Test in Perth on Friday (23:30 GMT Thursday).