By: Express News ServiceOctober 9, 2025 03:53 PM IST 4 min readThe Australian team celebrate as captain Pat Cummins holds the winners trophy during the victory ceremony for the ICC World Test Championship Final. (AP photo)Former England captain Michael Vaughan feels it is 2010-11 all over again, the last time England tasted success Down Under. In his column for The Daily Telegraph, he elaborates on the reasons Australia are vulnerable at home more than ever before this century. “When you look back to 2010-11, the only England win in Australia in my time, a couple of breaks went our way. Australia were unsure about their best XI, they had not transitioned properly away from the great side of the early 2000s and they lost a top bowler, Ryan Harris, with injury.”Read Pat Cummins in place of Harris. The Australia skipper would miss the opening Test in Perth due to a stress injury to his back. “With the news of Pat Cummins’s injury sinking in, one or two will think England are now favourites this winter. I would not argue against that right at this moment but I would also say be very wary,” he added.He wonders whether he would be fit in time for the second Test in Brisbane as well. “If you have a stress fracture and are not able to bowl on November 21 in Perth, how are you going to be fit for the second Test starting on December 5? A stress fracture requires careful management. As much as the Ashes matter, and the temptation to rush him back will be huge, Cummins has to realise there are other series down the line. If he misses this one, he still has a few years left in the game. The last thing he should do is go all out to play one or two Tests in this series and cause some long-term damage and miss a whole year,” he reflected.His absence would weaken the batting department as well, he pointed out. “But it is the balance he brings to the team that is hard to replace. Scott Boland is a very good stand-in as a bowler but if Cummins is unavailable then all of a sudden Australia are saddled with a very long tail: Mitchell Starc, Boland, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon. Alex Carey is a good player at No 7 but when he looks behind him and sees Starc at No 8, wow, that batting order is light,” he wrote.“Over the last few Ashes series, especially in Australia, their tail has had a massive say in the series. England have struggled to finish them off. But now, you think taking 20 wickets looks that bit easier for England, especially with Australia’s top three looking weak too,” he said.Australia have an unsettled opening pair. Usman Khawaja has showed signs of decline; Sam Konstas erratic, and Cameron Green’s obvious talents flickering than shining. Marnus Labuschagne, meanwhile, is out of the side.However, Australia have a significant edge over England in the spin department. “They have a world-class spinner in Lyon and a good back-up in Matthew Kuhnemann, the left-armer. Are we going to see Australia going for two spinners later in the series because it might take them a couple of Tests to realise that is the best way to beat this England side? The one thing I would not rule out later in the series from Adelaide onwards is the element of spin,” he opined.Story continues below this adHe also praised Steve Smith’s captaincy nous. “Tactically, Steve Smith is an outstanding captain and he will lead Australia well in the absence of Cummins. A lot of Australia’s ideas originate from Smith in the slip cordon anyway. He is always ahead of the game and England will see that his record as a batsman when he is captain is fantastic – he has a batting average of 68,” he said.Stay updated with the latest sports news across Cricket, Football, Chess, and more. Catch all the action with real-time live cricket score updates and in-depth coverage of ongoing matches.© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd