Strauss form key - Gough

Darren Gough believes England having an in-form captain in Andrew Strauss will be crucial to their hopes of achieving Ashes glory.

Strauss has warmed up for the first Test in Brisbane by already scoring two centuries in England's warm-up games. Former England paceman Gough knows an out of touch skipper has been seized on in previous encounters Down Under but that will not apply to the Middlesex batsman.

"I think Strauss is going to have a terrific series and that is a vital thing," he said. "When your captain is confident and in good form, that is a big advantage when you go to Australia."

He added: "If you look at some previous tours there, Nasser Hussain went as captain (in 2002) when he wasn't in great form.

"You had Michael Atherton the series before that and he wasn't in great form. Andrew Flintoff wasn't in great form when they lost 5-0 the last time we played out there (in 2006).

"It is good to see Strauss in such good nick and that is a big, big positive for England."

Gough is backing England to win the series 3-1 and feels their preparations have been right ahead of the opening Test. But the former Yorkshire captain has stressed the importance of England not losing the opening contest.

"This will be the most confident England have been going into an away Ashes series for many years," he added.

"Since they have got out there, the most positive thing for me is that they've not gone there to practice, they've gone there to win in these warm-up games.

"The mentality of England is to win and I think that's a big bonus and it just shows how confident the lads are."