Hayden impressed by fresh England

Matthew Hayden believes England are better equipped for the Ashes because they don't carry the "losing mentally" that they lugged under Nasser Hussain. Refreshed by a two-month break after a disappointing season in which he was dropped from the one-day side, Hayden said Australia's opponents also looked fresh.

Hayden said England were a "very good" side and had benefited from playing a lot together and developing a winning culture. "They've got an interesting blend of senior players which they've always tended to have," Hayden said in The Australian. "But you look at the last generation of cricketers under Nasser Hussain, they had a lot of senior players but they had very much a losing mentality against Australia. These guys, to a certain extent, are a little fresher in that way."

However, Hayden said in the Sydney Morning Herald that if Australia's top order fired they would have nothing to worry about. "I believe no opposition side can beat us, England included," he said. "If we are put under pressure by the new ball and we're losing wickets, everything changes, but if we do have a good series I think we can really expose them. It's all still to do."

After the frustration of his home summer, Hayden wants to show England how good he is after a low-key series in 2001 and failing to play a Test on his first tour in 1993. "I had a great expectation that my Test cricket had arrived and I was just going to brain 'em, and that was it," Hayden, who became a father for the second time in April, said of his previous visit.

He said he felt flat coming off the India tour, where he scored 549 runs in three Tests, and was upset at his overall performance of 234 runs at 33.42 in 2001 with one half-century. "I just don't think I was really on top of my game when I first arrived," he said. "That sort of gathered momentum throughout the series."

Hayden will return to Hampshire, one of his two former counties, for the Twenty20 international against England at the Rose Bowl on Monday. Australia will attempt to shake off the jet-lag in a festival-style warm-up against the Professional Cricketers' Association, who will be captained by Stephen Fleming, at Arundel tomorrow.

Hayden has not played a Twenty20 match and is not sure what to expect. "I'll have a crack and I'm looking forward to it," he told AAP of the PCA game. "It will be fun and fast. Good for the corporates and good for the cricketers."