A very Beefy piggyback

Michael Clarke won't be the only captain hoping desperately that Australia avoid a 5-0 thrashing at the hands of England on this year's Ashes tour. After Ian Botham predicted such a clean sweep, Allan Border, the man in charge of Australia's 1989 Ashes triumph made a promise.

"I'll piggyback Beefy round Piccadilly Circus if England beat Australia 5-0," Border told the London Evening Standard. "England deserve to be favourites. But Botham's 5-0 just won't happen, it's going to be a lot tighter."

The 1989 success came as a surprise to many in England and Clarke's 2013 squad has been compared to Border's group in terms of the lack of experience and expectations. Border said any disparagement of the Australian outfit in the media could actually be used to their advantage.

"The best way to motivate an Australian side is to grab a few of those headlines and stick them up around the dressing room," he said. "It's amazing how it puts a bit of fire in the belly.

That was the case in 1989. England had a very good side and the headlines then were very similar. Before the First Test, I grabbed a few of those headlines and it riled our blokes enough. It's just amazing how you get motivation. And we all know what happened in '89."