The Ashes is just hours away, and England have a rare chance to do the glorious double – win the World Cup and an Ashes series in the same year.

If anyone thinks their World Cup campaign has worn them out, think again. The voices from the camp suggest anything but. It was Moeen Ali who put it most articulately. “It would be great to send Australia home from nearly six months in the country with nothing to show for it,” he wrote in The Guardian.

And for Moeen, it’s personal. He’s spoken about it before, even going so far as to say Australia are the only team he’s disliked, after alleging in his autobiography that an Australian player, during the 2015 Ashes in Cardiff, had made a derogatory remark against him.

That’s only fuelled his desire to win this time around. “Thinking back to the end of the last Ashes series, when Australia celebrated on the outfield of the Sydney Cricket Ground with those oversized hands on the podium rubbing in the 4-0 scoreline, it was obviously a very difficult time. Quite upsetting, really.”

England name their 11 for tomorrow’s Ashes opener!

1. Rory Burns
2. Jason Roy
3. Joe Root
4. Joe Denly
5. Jos Buttler
6. Ben Stokes
7. Jonny Bairstow +
8. Moeen Ali
9. Chris Woakes
10. Stuart Broad
11. James Anderson

Thoughts England fans? pic.twitter.com/6sT2xjP8v3

— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) July 31, 2019

Australia have turned a corner since those days of say first, think later. The ball-tampering saga of 2018 and the inquest that followed, regarding their dressing room culture and behaviour on and off the field, have all prompted a change for the better, something Moeen made a point of mentioning.

Stokes was having none of it though. He wants his teammates to make an immediate impact, hard and early. “We don’t want to give anything away to any of their batsmen,” he said. “We want to let them to know we are here to be serious and everyone in the changing room is desperately trying to get that urn back because it’s not good them having it.”

England have named a strong XI for the first Test. The big name missing was Jofra Archer, who’s been held back in the hope he can return to full fitness in time for Lord’s. Olly Stone missed out too, with Jimmy Anderson making a return after missing the Ireland Test. Chris Woakes and Stuart Broad form the pace attack, and Moeen will be the sole spinner. There were no real surprises up top, given Joe Root’s move up to No.3 was confirmed two days before the match.

The bowlers will be a threat in their home conditions, so England’s concerns will surround their top order. Rory Burns, Jason Roy and Joe Denly are rookies in this arena, with a combined 11 Test caps together. Root needs to hold them together at first drop.

Who will they be up against early in the innings? It’s likely Mitchell Starc will miss out, with James Pattinson – if reports are to be believed – a guaranteed starter on Thursday. The veteran Peter Siddle is also believed to be in contention, but such is Australia’s wealth in the pace department, the England top order will have some tough times, one way or the other.

It also means Australia’s big three – Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood – will be separated, but the management believe their workloads must to be managed throughout the series. “We’ve spoken about it to the bowlers,” captain Tim Paine said on the eve of the match. “As JL [coach Justin Langer] said, we’re going to pick the team we think is going to win each Test match given the conditions we get when we arrive at those venues and the bowlers are across that.”

And so, after all the waiting, here we are. Australia’s World Cup was ended by their arch-rivals, and so heated are things between the two sides, it’s likely they would have preferred Afghanistan – who went through the whole tournament winless – to have been the ones to knock them out.

Australia have a chance to hit back now. They won’t have a better chance for bragging rights – and brag they will for years if they can puncture a hole in England’s World Cup euphoria. As for England, they will be motivated by the possibility of a historic double. This should be an absolute cracker.

England (confirmed XI): Rory Burns, Jason Roy, Joe Root (c), Joe Denly, Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Stuart Broad, James Anderson

Australia (likely XI): David Warner, Cameron Bancroft, Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Matthew Wade, Tim Paine (c/wk), Pat Cummins, James Pattinson, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood

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