"Saturday's game is absolutely vital" - Darren Gough urges England to gain an edge over Australia before the Ashes

Former English seamer Darren Gough feels England have the opportunity to unsettle Australia in their T20 World Cup encounter before the Ashes. Gough also declared that England are favorites ahead of Saturday's blockbuster in Dubai after notching up two wins from two games.

England, led by Eoin Morgan, have been ruthless in their performances against the West Indies and Bangladesh. The 2010 champions demolished the Caribbeans for 55 and followed it up by beating Bangladesh by eight wickets.

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Darren Gough thinks England could hurt Australia as a victory before competing for the urn is a massive boost. He told the Daily Mail:

"It's the start of a long winter of England versus Australia so this Saturday's game is absolutely vital. It's a huge game as far as the World Cup goes and as far as the winter goes. Playing against your biggest rival is always the ultimate for a professional sportsman and that game is vital in so many ways."

The 51-year-old highlighted that, unlike Australia, England are a settled unit and have all their bases covered. Gough said:

"Australia are a very competitive team, Justin Langer is a competitive coach who I've played against many, many times. They have some very good players that haven't quite gelled over the past two or three years and that's been a bit weird really. England have gelled no matter who they've brought in. England can make change after change after change and it doesn't affect the way they play."

Gough added:

"With Australia, it's been a bit strange watching them because they have so many talented players but finding the right balance has proved very difficult."

Australia, whose form had been awful before the T20 World Cup, won their first game against South Africa. However, they struggled to cross the line in their chase of 119 as the middle-order came under pressure following a poor showing by the openers.

Darren Gough hails England's brand of cricket

Gough also lauded the fearless brand of cricket England have been playing under Morgan, saying it has been imbibed by the youngsters. However, the former cricketer noted that Australia's current generation haven't quite done it. He said:

"The way England play under Eoin Morgan, they have looked at the best teams in the world and the way they play, that brand of cricket. Even going back to 1996, the way Sri Lanka were playing, England's brand is no different to that. You look at all England players now and all those coming through, they all play that brand. Australia could play this brand too, they did it 10 years ago but for some reason, they've gone off the boil with it."

England and Australia also met in the 2010 T20 World Cup final. Led by Michael Clarke, Australia lost by seven wickets as England sealed their first ICC title.