Australia is a country with no culture: Gower

London: Stoking the fires ahead of the Ashes series, former England captain David Gower has said Australia is a country with "no culture" and that its cricketers have a "certain animal mentality".

Asked if England`s long-standing rivalry with Australia was a clash of cultures, Gower said: "I`m tempted to say, how can you have a clash of cultures when you`re playing against a country with no culture? That would almost be sledging." "It`s the same with sledging on the field. There`s a certain animal mentality, and if they sense a bit of weakness, they`ll try it on more," Gower told `Radio Times`. Gower`s comments come ahead of a busy fixture list between the two rivals, which begins with a Champions Trophy clash at Edgbaston on Saturday and continues with five Tests, two T20 internationals and five more one-day internationals in the coming months. Gower, who played 117 Tests for England from 1978 to 1992 and captained his side to victory in the 1985 Ashes series, said: "If you`re on the boundary you have to be very, very thick-skinned, because the Aussie crowd will try you with absolutely anything. "The trouble is, if they`ve had 10 cans of lager, their ability to come up with something akin to Oscar Wilde diminishes. A lot of it therefore tends to be very stereotypical. But it`s feral; if they sense weakness, they`ll come at you." PTI