Arthur confident Indian experience will spur Australia in Ashes

Sydney: Australian coach Mickey Arthur has said that he believed that the chastening experience of a 4-0 Test series whitewash in India will spur the Australians throughout the Ashes.

Much of the pessimism stems from Australia`s underwhelming performances both on and off the field during the recently completed Border-Gavaskar series. Calling upon his players to learn from the brutal lessons of the Indian tour rather than banishing them from memory, Arthur said that they had a very young squad in India, particularly their batsmen, adding that he hoped that they will be better players by playing in those conditions. According to Arthur, apart from captain Michael Clarke and his former deputy Shane Watson, none of the other players have ever played a Test match in India, which presented a massive challenge, although he added that the team needed more consistent performances from the players. Stating that the team is in transition, Arthur said that although the new crop of players may be unable to fill the considerable gaps left by the retirement of Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey, they can still bring back the Ashes urn provided they work at improving their games. However, Arthur said that the team has a lot of work to do before the Ashes for which massive improvement is needed from each player, adding that to challenge the English in their home ground needed spot-on preparation and attention to detail. Acknowledging the considerable task of trying to beat England on their own turf, Arthur said that the only way to keep the Australian public happy is by winning the Ashes. ANI