Arch-rivals Australia and England resume Ashes hostilities on Friday in Perth with the hosts weakened by injuries but favourites to inflict more pain on a side with a dire record Down Under.
The highly anticipated five-Test series gets under way on a fast, bouncy track at a sold-out Perth Stadium and with Ben Stokes’s visitors insisting they are not scarred by past failures. It has been 15 years since England last clinched an away Ashes series and since then they have failed to win a Test on Australian soil, losing 13 and drawing two.
This time they touched down on the back of a thumping 3-0 one-day defeat in New Zealand and criticism over scheduling — just a single three-day red-ball warm-up on a docile pitch.
Skipper Stokes said they were starting with a clean slate, despite their miserable record in Australia.
“They’re a phenomenal team, especially in their home, so we know the next two-and-a-half months is going to be tough for us,” he said. “All the series that have gone past, whether that be in Australia or England, I don’t think count for much.”