Aussie pace England's key issue: Vaughan

How England's batsmen fare against Australia's pace attack could go a long way to determining the outcome of this summer's Ashes, according to Michael Vaughan.

The 2005 Ashes-winning captain admitted he thought England would have "no chance" of retaining the urn a few months ago although he has been encouraged by their progress under Joe Root.

The trip is likely to be the toughest test of Root's fledgling reign and Vaughan believes England's hopes rest with their batsmen and whether they can combat Australia's enviable battery of pace bowlers.

"I think they've got a chance," he said. "I would have said four or five months ago 'no chance'. But I just think they've found a bit of consistency.

"I think the arrival of Joe Root as a captain has certainly given them an edge, I think you need that. This England side have got pretty much everything covered. It's just whether the batting can cope with the pace of Australia.

"Can they bat against the pace and the bouncing ball, swinging Kookaburra ball for 20 overs? Can they cope with that?

"(Mitchell) Starc, (Josh) Hazlewood, (Jackson) Bird, (James) Pattinson - and you're looking at (Pat) Cummins coming back in to the Test team as well - will bowl quicker than England, no question about that.

"They'll bowl five or six miles an hour quicker and if the batsmen can cope with that and score 400-plus in the first innings on a regular basis then they'll have a chance. If they can't cope with the pace they'll have no chance."

While England's twin batting pillars Alastair Cook and Root continue to churn out runs, the rest of the top order is far from solidified.

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Mark Stoneman, Tom Westley and Dawid Malan have only two Tests against a weakened West Indies to nail down their spot for the first Ashes match in Brisbane on November 23.

Vaughan feels England have little choice.

"You'd want to know two games to go before an Ashes series pretty much 90 per cent of your squad," he said. "Numbers two, three and five are still a little bit vulnerable.

"The problem with playing against the West Indies is they might only get one knock in each game, there might only be two knocks before the Ashes series is picked. I wouldn't think that they can go and look elsewhere.

"I would think that the majority of the squad is now and should be pretty much gearing towards what they're going to do in Australia."