London, Aug 26 - The historic Ashes win for England at home has raised hopes of a triumph on Australian soil, a feat England have achieved only four times since the controversial Bodyline series of 1932-33.

The true test for England lies in their ability to defend the Ashes Down Under. Only four England captains since Douglas Jardine have won the Ashes in Australia, including Mike Brearley's 5-1 win over what was essentially Australia's second XI in the Kerry Packer disrupted winter of 1978-79.

Former England players who were part of those successful tours - 1954-55, 1970-71 and 1986-87 - gave their advice to skipper Andrew Strauss on what it will take to convert this summer's success into victory Down Under in 15 months time.

'To win in Australia you need a good captain and a balanced attack,' Trevor Bailey, now 85, was quoted as saying in The Guardian Wednesday.

'In 1954-55 we had a very good captain in Len Hutton. And then, for the first Test, we picked four pace bowlers - Brian Statham, Frank Tyson, Alec Bedser and myself. Spinners Bob Appleyard and Johnny Wardle played in the other four Tests and it made such a difference. We won three of them. Tyson was absolutely outstanding but we won the series because we had a first-class captain and a varied attack.'

In Strauss England certainly have a good captain and they will need James Anderson to make an impression if he flies out to Australia as attack leader.

'England can win there,' said Bailey. 'But we need to develop a class slow bowler and I don't see too many in county cricket.