England's abundance of big characters within their Ashes squad will help them win the Ashes in Australia this year, so says former bowler Steve Finn. 

England come into the five-match series, which begins on November 21 in Perth, having suffered a whitewash against New Zealand in the ODI format. 

Those preparations were far from ideal for Ben Stokes' team, with England having failed to win the Ashes in Australia in 14 years, a team Finn was a part of in 2010-11. 

Overall, England have failed to win the Ashes since 2015, another series Finn was involved in, with Joe Root leading his country to a 3-2 win on home soil.

Brendon McCullum and Stokes have assembled their squad for the 2025-26 edition, with the likes of Jofra Archer, Harry Brook and Ben Duckett all included in the travelling party. 

And Finn, who played seven matches in the Ashes between 2010 and 2015, taking 28 wickets in the process, believes England are well-placed to reclaim the urn. 

"I think the attitude with which they play is the reason why," Finn exclusively told Stats Perform.

"There's a degree of turbulence in the Australia camp in terms of not exactly knowing their line-up going into the first Test. Their captain, Pat Cummins, is missing.

"So you have those caveats that come along with it, but I would say that England's attitude and their desire to be in a battle and in a fight throughout the whole series, I think, is something that will stand them in good stead.

"Because you need to be able to push back against Australia when you're playing them in their own backyard. And I think that in Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum, you have two leaders who will be encouraging and imploring their team to do that.

"So I think at moments in series gone, where it's got to a tipping point and then Australia have just completely piled through the door, and they've been victories to nil for Australia throughout those series. I don't ever see this team doing that or allowing that to happen.

"So that's why I'm optimistic going into this series."

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Stokes has previously made big impacts in the Ashes, with his astonishing 135 not out in August 2019 securing a memorable win at Headingley.

However, he has not played since the final Test against India in July due to a shoulder injury, while he had also stepped back his bowling duties over the past year.

And while Finn backs Stokes to make his mark in Australia, he believes the other experienced players will also be key to England's success.

"There are certainly big characters in the England dressing room now, and none more so than Ben Stokes, the captain," Finn added.

"His leadership is going to be crucial to England being able to win. His ability to do everything — bat, bowl, and field as well — is going to be critical to England doing well.

"But you don't want to heap too much pressure on that one person. So he needs to be supported by his more senior players.

"Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Duckett, and Zak Crawley have played a lot of Test matches now. So he's going to have to lean on the experience of those players and be supported at certain times.

"But with Ben Stokes as the talisman of this England team, I think he's a really good captain to be leading England in Australia."