JEFF Thomson has been copping plenty of pre-Ashes flak – but believes things might have taken a turn for the better for Australia.

The legendary paceman – one of the fastest bowlers to play the game – is on a speaking tour of Britain and will be in Newbridge on Friday.

The 62-year-old was used to tormenting England when he used to don the whites, but the tables have turned. Australia have been a shambles of late with off-field drama and on-field hammerings.

They made an early exit from the ICC Champions Trophy and are without David Warner for their warm-up games.

The batsman, who had previously been in trouble for a Twitter rant against a pair of journalists, was banned by Cricket Australia after admitting punching England batsman Joe Root in a Birmingham bar.

And then head coach Mickey Arthur was sacked just weeks before the series with Darren Lehmann put in the hotseat.

Thomson believes that is a move to give him every chance of dishing out the abuse rather than copping it over the summer. “People have been giving me some stick, but I think there are some nerves out there among the public now, especially after Australia got rid of their deadweight coach,” he said in typically forthright fashion.

“I think that things will go much better with Lehmann in charge – the players can just go out there and play cricket. There will be a lot less stress and drama.”

Thomson’s old sparring partner Ian Botham is among the many former England players predicting a home romp over the coming weeks, with ‘Beefy’ expecting a whitewash.

“I hope Australia wake up because if they don’t then I will be on the receiving end,” said Thomson. “But I think it will be a lot closer than people think. I don’t really know what to expect with our batting but the attack is pretty good with James Pattison, Mitchell Starc and Peter Siddle, while the kid (James) Faulkner is a really good cricketer.”

Thomson speaks at a dinner at the Bonds Suite, Newbridge Hotel on Friday.

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