Passion pit: Can England fire up?

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IT IS not the Perth heat or WACA pitch bounce which shape as England's greatest hurdles but a lack of fire in the belly to comeback from 2-0 down.

With Australia raging hot favourites to continue its clear sweep in Perth during the third Test, beginning today (Friday), Ashes winning captains Mark Taylor and Mike Gatting are the latest big names to question England's passion.

Taylor singled out England's batting trump Kevin Pietersen after some soft dismissals in this series, which Australia lead 2-0 after thumping wins in Brisbane and Perth.

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"They're playing with more passion," Taylor said of Australia. "They've had enough of losing.

"They've lost the last three series and four of the last five and want to turn it around and they have.

"England can turn it around but they've got to find the passion.

"It's difficult. Kevin Pietersen has played more than 100 Tests. I sense watching him play that passion may have gone but during the second innings in Adelaide he played much better.

"Hopefully if he can turn it around so can the rest of the England side. "

Gatting dismissed the notion that England should be comfortable with its success in recent years.

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"I didn't see the great Australian team of the `90s get tired of winning and didn't see the brilliant West Indies teams of the `80s and `90s get tired of winning," he said.

"When you're winning you've got to keep momentum because it's a very precious commodity. Winning is a habit."

Not surprisingly England captain Alastair Cook denied that passion was a problem with his team.

"I don't think it's about lifting the players," Cook said before training. "The hunger and desire which everyone has talked about has always been there with this side. We have got another chance to try and show it this week.

"It is about making sure we are clear with our plans with bat and ball and how we are going to operate."

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One of just two England captains to win a series in Australia over more than 30 years, Gatting believes passion is central to the success and failure of the current sides.

"At the moment Australia are certainly playing with a huge amount of passion. It's there for all to see," he said.

Gatting congratulated Cricket Australia for making the "brave" decision to replace Mickey Arthur with Darren Lehmann as coach.

"It wasn't a leap of faith, we all know what Boof (Lehmann) is like, he a tremendous character, good with people and he's been able to instil something different in the Australian team.

"We knew it would be quite difficult.

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"Mitchell Johnson's come in, his radar's been good, and we haven't played with the passion the Australians have.

"Everyone worries when we come down here and start dropping catches and things don't go right for you. It's a long way back.

"It's going to be like Custer's last stand in Perth. Let's hope history doesn't repeat itself and our lads can come back.

"They've got to dig deep and find that bit of passion. They've all got pride and dedication but they have to find the passion that is going to hopefully get them out of a tight spot."