Australia's cricketers have praised old enemy England's eighth consecutive Test victory, but have warned talk of breaking the Aussies' Ashes supremacy is premature.

England trumped South Africa by seven wickets in Port Elizabeth on Tuesday to break the previous record for English consecutive Test wins which had stood for 75 years.

Both Australian wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist and champion leg-spinner Shane Warne said the victory was outstanding.

But they suggested it was too early to say whether England was capable of knocking Australia off as the world's No.1 Test nation when the teams clash in the Ashes series in England next July.

"It's a fantastic win for them. They've played great cricket, they've won eight Test matches in a row now and it's a good team that does that against any opposition," Gilchrist said.

"I think they're shaping up as a very formidable opponent for anyone.

"But there's a lot of time between now and the Ashes - there's a lot of cricket to be played between now and then."

Australia won back the Ashes from England in 1989 and hasn't lost in seven series since.

"Excellent victory for England. With guys like (Steve) Harmison and (Andrew) Flintoff they're obviously a very good cricket side," Warne said.

"But we'll have to wait and see.

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