Former Australia bowler Jason Gillespie believes that England should look to target some of the older Australian players during the forthcoming Ashes series.

Gillespie was recently overlooked for the role of England coach in favour of fellow Aussie Trevor Bayliss.

However, the Yorkshire coach has stated that if he was in charge of England, he would look to make life difficult for some of the elder statesmen in the Australian side.

"If I was England coach, I'd keep those guys out there for a long time," Gillespie told The Guardian.

"If Chris Rogers is out there for two days then has 10 minutes to strap on his pads and get his feet moving, could that work to England's advantage? Brad Haddin is 38 this year, so test his fitness. The same with Michael Clarke, he's had back problems; test him out and keep him in the field.

"Ryan Harris, it's well documented he has a dodgy knee, so why wouldn't you try to keep that guy on the ground bowling lots of spells? It's just common sense."

The first Ashes Test begins in Cardiff on July 8.