Greg Blewett feels Australia should be wary of arch-rivals England's ascendancy to the number-one spot as Andrew Strauss' men have the ability to create a cricketing dynasty.
Video: Pietersen believes England can dominate
"Not only are the once-unbeatable Aussies at their lowest point in decades, the old enemy, England, have the Ashes urn and the world No.1 Test ranking in their possession," said Blewett, who scored three centuries in eight Ashes Tests.
"It's a sad state of affairs if you're an Australian cricket fan as I don't see any reason why Andrew Strauss' men cannot create a cricketing dynasty," he added.
Although Blewett admitted that it is distressing to see old time foe doing well, he said England deserved to be the No. 1 team in the world.
"It's always painful to see the old enemy doing so well.
"But to be honest, I think it's good, because they have been pretty ordinary for a long time after we smashed them series after series. And they deserve it. They're well coached, they've got a good captain and they've got a good side," the former Aussie cricketer told Fox Sports.
The 39-year-old Blewett, however, maintained that there was no need for Australia to panic.
"England have been to rock bottom and back. I'm not saying we are at rock bottom - I don't think we'll ever get to that stage - but in terms of Test rankings, we're No. 5 at the moment, which isn't great.
"I think we can look at how they've structured their coaching. I think they learnt a lot from us initially and it's sort of gone full circle. There a few things we can learn from them but I don't think there are any glaring things," he said.
Blewett also praised England's Test skipper Strauss.
"Strauss is 34, so he's probably got another few years left in him. He's obviously a very good leader and he's very well liked amongst his team."
But Blewett warned that the captain's recent poor form with the bat could have an adverse effect on the team. Strauss has scored just one hundred and averaged 32.31 since the 2009 Ashes series.
"Leading into this last game (the third Test against India when Strauss made 87), Strauss has been pretty short on runs and he's become a little inconsistent.
"I don't think he had a great tour out in Australia, even though they won the Ashes. And he hasn't been quite so prolific for a while so if he continues to struggle for runs, there might be a bit of a push for him to move on. But that's about the only weakness I can see at the moment," he said.
Insisting that England's pace attack has been the key to their rise in the world rankings, Blewett stressed that Stuart Broad, James Anderson and Tim Bresnan have made India's high-profile batsmen look ordinary so far in the Test series, where the pace trio has shared 51 wickets in three games among themselves.
"Their team is built around their quicks at the moment and a pretty good spinner as well. Their quicks are going great guns and they're all pretty young so I see them having a pretty similar attack for a while. Their bowlers are all strong and fit and bowling well.
"They've got four or five quicks that they can probably rotate through series after series so while they've got that attack, they will be pretty strong for the next three or four years at least," Blewett said.
He also pointed out that the players - Matt Prior, Kevin Pietersen, Alastair Cook and Eoin Morgan - are doing great for England.
"Matt Prior is playing brilliantly, Eoin Morgan has come in and is doing a good job, Kevin Pietersen looks to be back to his best and obviously, Alastair Cook is in unbelievable form at the moment," he noted.
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Video: Pietersen believes England can dominate
"Not only are the once-unbeatable Aussies at their lowest point in decades, the old enemy, England, have the Ashes urn and the world No.1 Test ranking in their possession," said Blewett, who scored three centuries in eight Ashes Tests.
"It's a sad state of affairs if you're an Australian cricket fan as I don't see any reason why Andrew Strauss' men cannot create a cricketing dynasty," he added.
Although Blewett admitted that it is distressing to see old time foe doing well, he said England deserved to be the No. 1 team in the world.
"It's always painful to see the old enemy doing so well.
"But to be honest, I think it's good, because they have been pretty ordinary for a long time after we smashed them series after series. And they deserve it. They're well coached, they've got a good captain and they've got a good side," the former Aussie cricketer told Fox Sports.
The 39-year-old Blewett, however, maintained that there was no need for Australia to panic.
"England have been to rock bottom and back. I'm not saying we are at rock bottom - I don't think we'll ever get to that stage - but in terms of Test rankings, we're No. 5 at the moment, which isn't great.
"I think we can look at how they've structured their coaching. I think they learnt a lot from us initially and it's sort of gone full circle. There a few things we can learn from them but I don't think there are any glaring things," he said.
Blewett also praised England's Test skipper Strauss.
"Strauss is 34, so he's probably got another few years left in him. He's obviously a very good leader and he's very well liked amongst his team."
But Blewett warned that the captain's recent poor form with the bat could have an adverse effect on the team. Strauss has scored just one hundred and averaged 32.31 since the 2009 Ashes series.
"Leading into this last game (the third Test against India when Strauss made 87), Strauss has been pretty short on runs and he's become a little inconsistent.
"I don't think he had a great tour out in Australia, even though they won the Ashes. And he hasn't been quite so prolific for a while so if he continues to struggle for runs, there might be a bit of a push for him to move on. But that's about the only weakness I can see at the moment," he said.
Insisting that England's pace attack has been the key to their rise in the world rankings, Blewett stressed that Stuart Broad, James Anderson and Tim Bresnan have made India's high-profile batsmen look ordinary so far in the Test series, where the pace trio has shared 51 wickets in three games among themselves.
"Their team is built around their quicks at the moment and a pretty good spinner as well. Their quicks are going great guns and they're all pretty young so I see them having a pretty similar attack for a while. Their bowlers are all strong and fit and bowling well.
"They've got four or five quicks that they can probably rotate through series after series so while they've got that attack, they will be pretty strong for the next three or four years at least," Blewett said.
He also pointed out that the players - Matt Prior, Kevin Pietersen, Alastair Cook and Eoin Morgan - are doing great for England.
"Matt Prior is playing brilliantly, Eoin Morgan has come in and is doing a good job, Kevin Pietersen looks to be back to his best and obviously, Alastair Cook is in unbelievable form at the moment," he noted.
Read more...