England has faith in its ability: Atherton

Nottingham, England, Aug 1: Skipper Michael Atherton said England still had faith in its ability and believed the side could overcome its bad start against Australia in the Ashes cricket series.

England faces a must win situation at Trent Bridge tomorrow in the third Test to stop Australia's relentless pursuit to win a record seventh Ashes series in a row.

Australia has taken control of the five Test series with lopsided wins at Edgbaston and Lord's to take a 2-0 lead.

Stand-in captain Atherton is looking for a revival of spirit and urged his players to draw inspiration from England's four straight series victories before the Ashes began.

England rediscovered the winning habit against Zimbabwe, West Indies, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. It also drew a two two-Test series against Pakistan.

Then Australia arrived. England lost every match of the one-day series, which also included Pakistan, and the first two Ashes Tests.

"I think we've shown a lot of character, shown a lot of spirit in difficult circumstances, we've come back from behind on a couple of occasions," Atherton said.

"They've (Australia) had the upper hand," Atherton said. "Psychologically, I don't think so. The players retain a faith in our team. We've showed character and resilience, and we have faith in the team and each other to do that."