Joe Root believes England have a greater opportunity to win an Ashes series in Australia this year than they have at any previous point in his career.
Root captained his country Down Under in 2017-18 and 2021-22, but on both occasions, Australia won four Tests and were only denied a whitewash by a draw.
England have not won an Ashes series since 2015, when Root plundered 460 runs in a 3-2 home win under the leadership of Alistair Cook.
But Root feels Ben Stokes' current crop have an excellent chance of ending that decade-long wait, particularly with Jofra Archer, Mark Wood, Josh Tongue, Brydon Carse and Gus Atkinson forming a fearsome five-pronged pace attack.
"It definitely does, if I am being brutally honest," he said when asked if the class of 2025-26 had the best chance of an away win in his career.
"The thing that I'm most excited about is going there with a completely different approach as a playing group.
"We're going to be able to hit them with something quite different in terms of our bowling attack, and the opportunity to potentially play three or four bowlers that bowl 90mph-plus for a sustained period of time.
"It's not like we are going there with the same formula and expecting different results. We are going to go there and try and do it a slightly different way, which is really exciting."
Root has never previously hit a century in Australia, averaging 35.68 in 14 Tests there but never getting past 89.
Neither Root nor captain Stokes have ever won a red-ball match on Australian soil, but the 34-year-old is focused entirely on the team.
"At the end of the day, this tour is not about me," Root said. "If I am scoring runs and scoring heavily it gives us a great opportunity to win a series out in Australia."
Asked about the impact of visiting Australia without the captaincy, Root said: "I go there in a completely different capacity to last time, in different circumstances.
"I have a lot more experience now and I feel like I have a really good understanding of my game and how I want to manage it in the conditions," Root said.
"Clearly you have got to put that into practice and be good enough when it really counts, but I am really comfortable with where everything is at and looking forward to the opportunity and challenge that lies ahead.
"More than anything as a senior player it is about not just performing in terms of the runs but everything else that comes with it."
The first Test begins in Perth on November 21, with matches in Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney to follow.
