Former Australia wicketkeeper Rodney Marsh says it would do his country no harm if they surrendered the Ashes to England [Images] later this year.

"In the big picture, England need to be strong," said Marsh, who is due to step down as director of England's national academy in September. "So, it won't do Australia or the game any harm if they lose the Ashes.

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"If people back home [in Australia] cannot understand that, that's tough," he told the Daily Telegraph newspaper as his England 'A' team flew out on Wednesday to Dubai for their tour of the United Arab Emirates and Sri Lanka [Images].

"By the time I leave the ECB [England and Wales Cricket Board], I would like to think I had played a small part in making England more competitive, though the players are the ones who have done the work," said Marsh.

Marsh will return to Australia in September having spent four years as the ECB's first director of the academy which helped mould half of the England senior squad who won the recent Test series in South Africa 2-1.

Australia, who have won the past eight Ashes encounters and are the world's top-ranked team, take on England in the first Test of a five-match series at Lord's in July.