Only six days to go, and Australia have turned up the heat in the pre-Ashes psychological battle. Shane Warne says that no England player would get in Australia's side, and that only the second whitewash in Ashes history is a serious prospect. He's not talking about England winning 5-0. "One shred of self-doubt in English minds is all it will take for Australia to crush England in the Ashes series," Warne said. "There is absolutely no doubt in my own and every other Australian player's mind that if we play to our ability we are man for man better than the English.

"And for our part there is complete belief we have the form and mindset to beat England. In truth, if the question was 'would any England player get in the current Aussie team?' the answer would probably be no."

England have been more bullish than usual ahead of the series, but Warne remains unimpressed: "Immediately [this] says to me they don't believe they can beat us. This time England are talking more positively, but if their attitude is not spot on they have no chance."

If positive talk is a method of disguising fear, Australia must be seriously afraid. Glenn McGrath has already outlined his intention of shattering Michael Vaughan's burgeoning reputation, and Justin Langer has also talked up the possibility of a 5-0 victory.

"If we play as well as we have been and execute our plans well to their batsmen we can win the series 5-0," Warne said. "England are heavily dependent on their top three batsmen - Trescothick, Vaughan and Butcher. If they struggle their middle order is exposed and they'll be in trouble. They are also struggling with injuries, with Flintoff and Gough both looking likely to miss the first Test."

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