London: World Cup winners England are switching their focus to regaining the Ashes, with Australia desperate to beat their oldest enemy away from home for the first time since 2001.
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Here’s a look at the three key battles in the five-Test series that starts at Edgbaston on Thursday:
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Warner vs Roy
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Both England and Australia have batsmen at the top of the order with the ability to dictate the pace of an innings and with something to prove.
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Australia’s David Warner, who had an impressive World Cup campaign, is resuming his Test career after serving a ban for his part in last year’s ball-tampering scandal in South Africa.
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Warner, 32, who has scored 21 Test centuries, has the knack of quickly taking the game away from the opposition and England will be desperate to get him early.
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Jason Roy, 29, has played a single Test, against Ireland last week, after 84 one-day internationals for England and will be keen to show he can bring his swashbuckling style into the Test arena.
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But Australia paceman Josh Hazlewood has warned him that Test cricket is a different ball game from the frenetic limited-overs format.
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“We’ll see how Roy goes in Test cricket,” said Hazlewood. “He has only played one Test match and it’s a lot different opening the batting in a Test than a one-day game, that’s for sure.”
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Smith vs Root
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When Australia and England last met, in Australia in 2017-18, Steve Smith and Joe Root were the opposing skippers.
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Since then, Smith has been stripped of the captaincy and he is preparing for his first Test outing since being banned over last year’s ball-tampering incident.
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Smith, like Warner subjected to some rough treatment from the English crowds during the World Cup, will feel he has something to prove.
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Averaging an eye-catching 61.37 in 64 Tests, with 23 centuries, Smith is still the main man for Australia and he scored a total of 687 runs when the teams last met, hitting three centuries in five Tests.
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Root’s Test average has dipped below 50 but he remains one of most feared players in the game and England’s finest batsmen, with 16 Test centuries under his belt.
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The Yorkshireman is moving back up to number three to boost England’s struggling top order.
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Since Root dropped a place during the India series last year, several options have been tried, including Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow and Joe Denly.
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But none has settled the debate and now Root is ready to return to a position from which he scored his Test-best 254 against Pakistan in 2016.
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English guile vs Australian pace
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England have a new weapon in paceman Jofra Archer but the key to their Ashes bowling attack will be veteran opening bowlers James Anderson and Stuart Broad.
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Anderson and Broad, with more than 1,000 Test wickets between them, lack the sheer pace to frighten batsmen but are masters of exploiting English conditions with swing.
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Australia, on the other hand, have a battery of fast bowlers who could inflict real damage on England’s fragile top-order.
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“Australia have bowlers who can blast you away – Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, James Pattinson and Josh Hazlewood,” said former England paceman Steve Harmison.
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“But if they don’t get it quite right they can go at six an over. Broad and Anderson will very rarely go at six an over.
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“They’ll be down on pace compared to the opposition, but they’ll have total control of what they’re doing.”
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