Atherton Australia warning: Michael Atherton says Australia could "implode" before the next Ashes and has urged England to keep the pressure on when their white-ball tour of Australia begins on Friday November 13.
Speaking on the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast, the former England captain argued that a difficult run of results and selection calls have left the hosts exposed, with England due to play three one-day internationals and five T20 internationals.
Atherton Australia warning over selectors and schedule
Atherton framed the eight white-ball matches as an opportunity to heap scrutiny on Australia's decision-makers and senior players, even with several leading names absent.
"Although some of the big guns are not playing, it is a chance to keep some pressure on Australia now - pressure on their selectors after the decisions around Labuschagne and what have you, pressure on some of their big-name players and pressure on them to keep their results modest."
He also pointed to former players turning on the team, a pattern he said began early in the previous Ashes series in Perth before England let the hosts off the hook.
Australia's Test problems after South Africa defeat
Australia lost their Test series in South Africa 2-1, a result that lifted South Africa to the top of the Test rankings. In the process Australia were bowled out for 99 and 111.
Marnus Labuschagne has now gone 49 innings without a Test century and looks certain to be dropped ahead of the home series against New Zealand. Selectors have also faced criticism for recalling Nic Maddinson, who had not played a first-class game since March 2025 and made 56 runs across four innings in South Africa, including a 33-ball duck, before being left out.
Beyond the batting, Australia face a congested calendar with an ageing bowling attack: a four-match assignment against New Zealand around Christmas, five Tests in India, a day-night Test at home to England marking the 150th anniversary of the fixture in March, and then the away Ashes.
That is the sequence Atherton believes could go badly wrong. "You could see it going horribly wrong, couldn't you?" he said.
England's white-ball opportunity
England's Test side has its own gaps, including a lack of a frontline spin option, but Atherton expects the tourists to take encouragement from Australia's Test troubles even if they say little publicly.
Australia have rested Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins for all eight matches. Travis Head, Alex Carey, Cameron Green and Matt Renshaw are among the Test players who could feature in the one-day internationals.
David Warner, analysing the Cape Town collapse for Fox Sports, called the batting "terrible", "disgraceful" and "un-Australian".
Analysis: why Australia should not be written off
The recent record cuts both ways. Australia were widely described as too old before the last home Ashes and won 4-1 to retain the urn, and at the 50-over World Cup in India they lost their first two matches heavily before winning nine in a row to take a sixth title.
England also have their own warning from the same venue. In Perth at the start of the last Ashes they had the first Test in their grasp, gave wickets away with loose drives and lost inside two days, and never recovered from it.
What to watch next
The first ODI starts at 3.30am UK time on Friday November 13, with the T20 internationals scheduled for 8.15am UK starts.
The original report is from skysports.com.
