Former Australian captain Allan Border says Michael Clarke can create spirit from poor build-up Allan Border says the Aussies' 1989 team were given no chance heading into the Ashes. FORMER Australian cricket captain Allan Border says the national side's underdog status and bad press during their tour of England should be exploited to build team spirit. Border said yesterday comparisons between the plight of today's team and the disunited team he took to England in 1989 were justified. "We suffered the same thing in '89 and it was a great motivational tool for me and the senior guys to cut out these headlines that we were the worst team ever and post them around the dressing room," Border, in Canberra to promote skin cancer awareness, told News Limited yesterday. It was a good spur for a team that was an underdog and written off, it was not hard to motivate people under those circumstances. Border said while Australia had dominated world cricket and was the best team for years, it now lacked standout players. He said teams could get by if they possessed great players but when they lacked individuals with matchwinning ability they needed team spirit. "The challenge for Michael Clarke now is, firstly, to get himself fit and then, (to) get the team collectively hunting as a pack ... they could do well," he said. The Australian team's poor performance continued this week when they missed out on a place in the semi-finals of the Champions Trophy. Border says the Test team that will contest the Ashes will be subtly different to the one-day team. The trick for leader of the Australian team is to use the underdog status as a motivational spur.