Melbourne, May 12 : England skipper Michael Vaughan has warned Australia that England now had the depth to win back the Ashes next year.

Vaughan's side is about to embark on a three-Test series against New Zealand, but the England captain is already looking ahead towards the 2009 visit to Australia.

He believes that the injuries to Andrew Flintoff and Simon Jones, who have barely played since their key roles in England's 2005 Ashes win, have been a blessing in disguise, as they have allowed England to test younger bowlers.

Stuart Board, James Anderson and Ryan Sidebottom played well enough that even Flintoff's latest injury should not be a major blow to Vaughan and company, theage.com.au reported.

"As I sit here now, I honestly think England have got a very, very good chance next year. I think we are in a better position now than we were a year before 2005. There are a lot of good players around and a lot of good things happening with the England set-up," Vaughan said.

"We have bowlers that swing the ball and I think one of the key areas to beating Australia is swinging it. We also have Monty Panesar spinning the ball, in our conditions," he added.