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That's your lot for today, folks.

We are exactly 41 hours away from the first ball of this highly anticipated Ashes series being bowled.

England have whittled their numbers down to 12. Will it be five seamers or will Shoaib Bashir be included in the XI?

We shall find out before too long. Australia will be without Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood.

What a chance for England to make a strong start. Join us in the small hours of Friday morning when the talking will stop and the action will finally begin!

Before we go, a reminder of the 12-man England for the first Test in Perth that begins at 02:20 GMT on Friday.

I'd expect the XI itself won't be announced until the toss but, under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum, England have tended to go early so maybe they'll just drop it tomorrow.

We'll just have to wait and see.

• Ben Stokes (c)
• Jofra Archer
• Gus Atkinson
• Shoaib Bashir
• Harry Brook
• Brydon Carse
• Zak Crawley
• Ben Duckett
• Ollie Pope
• Joe Root
• Jamie Smith (wk)
• Mark Wood

Michael Vaughan
Former England captain on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

If Ben Stokes stays fit I think it will be 2-2. I look at England, can they win three Tests out of five? They can but they will have to play incredibly well. I can’t imagine Australia will not win at least one, if not two. They win games of cricket.

If England win here and win well and Usman Khawaja’s position becomes vulnerable, who knows what may happen.

The dream for England is by Melbourne and Sydney, Australia are playing two or three players we haven’t got a clue about. If that happens England have won.

Oh, Ramps. I wish I had your confidence.

A comfortable England win. Just imagine it... what a Christmas we'd have.

Mark Ramprakash
Former England batter on BBC Radio 5 Live

He knows how difficult it is to be an international cricketer.

He gives them his full backing and has great empathy to understand the ups and downs.

If he is not in the middle to make those decisions, to know when to back his bowlers, when to attack, that is a massive vacuum.

If Ben Stokes plays these five Tests then I think England win and win quite comfortably.

Michael Vaughan
Former England captain on BBC Radio 5 Live

There is no captain Pat Cummins, who doesn’t know how to lose. He has that incredible mentality. When they have needed a wicket it is generally him who gets the wicket.

Josh Hazelwood in white-ball cricket has been Australia’s stand-out bowler. It is a big opportunity for England.

Scott Boland has a record here - up there with the greats. Mitchell Starc is one of these modern greats. Brendan Doggett is at the start in domestic cricket.

Australia have enough to cause a bit of damage but England have a great chance. They have got to play great disciplined cricket and win the moments.

Ben Jones
CricViz analyst

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Stuart Broad was right to hold his hands up and suggest he struggles to know how to get out Steve Smith.

In Australia, England's legendary seamer averaged 103 bowling to Steve Smith, getting him out just twice in almost 100 overs. It's fair to say that with the Kookaburra ball, he never worked the Aussie legend out.

To be fair to him, he's not alone. Since the 2013-14 Ashes which marked his arrival as a top tier batter, Smith has faced 94 bowlers in home Tests.

Only nine of them have managed to get him out more than twice, and only four of those have managed to do it at an average less than 30: Trent Boult, Neil Wagner, Jasprit Bumrah, and Mohammed Siraj. Across a generation, nobody has 'worked him out'.

It's understandable. In Australia, Smith has dominated away swing (averaging 70) and inswing (averaging 92). Against balls on his stumps he averages 21, which may seem low but is still considerably better than most players. Against spinners, he's averaged 83. There aren't any obvious silver bullets.

High pace hasn't been a huge weakness. Against deliveries up above 87mph, his average still sits the right side of 50. However, it is showing signs of falling as he grows older - in the last five summers, he averages just 30 against high pace. An optimistic English fan could say Mark Wood and Jofra Archer have a sniff of unsettling him.

Ultimately, though Smith may not seem it, he is human. His weakness against pace, statistically, is the same as everyone else - good length balls in the channel.

In the last five Australian summers, if you hit a good length (defined as 6-8m from the stumps) as a seamer bowling to Smith - regardless of swing, seam, speed - you average 23. That zone where the batter cannot confidently come forward or back is still the key.

Get the line right as well, the classic couple of feet outside off, and you gain control as well, his strike-rate falling to just 13.

One man that Gus Atkinson will have to contend with Steve Smith.

He has been on screen far too often for England fans' liking in recent Ashes series and, ominously, seems to have found form in Test cricket this year after a brief slump.

Four centuries since December 2024 with a couple of fifties added into the mix. Not what England want to hear...

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England seamer Gus Atkinson, speaking to BBC Sport, on the Ashes rivalry: "It means a lot. Growing up the 2005 Ashes was the main thing for me.

"Ever since it’s been a dream to play in an Ashes series. To get the opportunity is very exciting."

On potentially bowling the first ball of the series: "That would be incredible. To set the tone of the whole series would be really cool.

"I know there has been a few special moments of first balls in the Ashes. The chance to add to that would be cool."

On five-seamer attack: "Very exciting. We hear about these pitches in Australia with pace and bounce, so to come out here is really nice knowing as a fast bowler you can make major contributions.

"We’re all very excited."

On his role: "There is a lot a of pace in our attack. I’m probably a bit slower than a few of the others.

"It’s to hold that control, look to take wickets and keep the batters under pressure."

Marc Higginson
BBC Sport

Australia legend Glenn McGrath has suggested England's attacking batters may struggle down under for one very simple reason: the grounds are much bigger out there.

McGrath, writing in his BBC Sport column, said: "How will England play Bazball on the big Australian grounds? English grounds are smaller.

"If you're going to try to hit sixes in Australia, make sure you hit them a long way, otherwise you'll be caught."

Does he have a point? BBC Sport, working with CricViz, has crunched the numbers to find out...

First of all, the grounds in Australia are much bigger. For example, the smallest in Australia (Sydney Cricket Ground) is still almost 2000m² larger than the biggest in England (Old Trafford).

It won't surprise anyone to know the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground) is the biggest of all Australia's huge grounds, with a surface area of 18736m², ahead of the Gabba (18405m²).

In layman's terms, a batter must hit it further to get a six while the vast open spaces often mean more opportunities for runs.

So, while the average number of runs scored by six hits is 5% in Australia and 5.2% in England (since 2020), at Melbourne that figures drops to 3.3%.

But does that translate to more twos and threes as fielders chase leather? Yes, it does: 16.1% of scoring shots are twos here, with only Sydney (16.2%) and, interestingly, Old Trafford (16.9%) having a higher percentage of the usual Test grounds here and down under.

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Mitchell Johnson says "alarm bells" are ringing for Australia's ageing team after Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood were ruled out of the first Ashes Test.

Captain Cummins, 32, has a back injury and fellow pace bowler Hazlewood, 34, has a hamstring problem.

From Australia's likely XI for Friday's first Test in Perth, only all-rounder Cameron Green is under the age of 30.

"When your leaders are all in their mid-to-late 30s and have heavy workloads banked, the odds eventually turn on you," former Australia pace bowler Johnson wrote in the West Australian newspaper.

"While losing Pat Cummins to injury was already a blow, one injury to a frontline quick is manageable. Losing two out of the big three starts to rewrite the whole script for the Ashes.

"It narrows Australia's margin for error and it forces selectors into decisions they'd hoped they wouldn't have to make this early. It's the sort of scenario that exposes the age profile of the squad.

"The alarm bells are now ringing loud and clear regarding the future. That attack of Lyon, Boland, Starc and Hazlewood are all older than I was when I retired from international cricket."

Things aren't looking completely rosy for Australia ahead of this first Test.

Which is a shame...

Steven Finn
Former England fast bowler

From the moment you step off the plane, you realise it is not just you versus the Australia cricket team, but you against a vast majority of the country.

Customs officials don't smile and insist on seeing your cricket spikes to make sure you are not bringing in any unwanted soil. You have to unpack your cricket bag on your hands and knees in the arrivals hall, digging around for your comfy bowling spikes you used in the English summer. If there's any dirt on them at all, you have to clean them. Welcome to Australia.

I once got questioned why I had a Terry's Chocolate Orange, and whether it contained real fruit. I didn't realise they hadn't made their way down to Australia yet.

Once the boots are clean and customs is cleared, you enter the arrivals hall to be greeted by news crews, asking if you're going to enjoy getting hammered by Australia for three months.

Being able to smile and offer a degree of humour can soften the perception of you.

There were times where we would put on our headphones and ignore the cameras, a surefire way to be called 'arrogant Poms'.

In reality, who wants to speak to anyone when you've just stepped off a 24-hour flight?

More than anything, the aim is to earn the respect of the Australian public and that is done through performances on the field.

Don't rule it out this time, Steve.

Although I fancy if Shoaib Bashir misses out, we're more likely to see Jacob Bethell and Will Jacks racing around in the outfield than Bashir or Josh Tongue.

Matthew Hoggard
Former England bowler

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I think we have that chance. Ben Stokes, when he is fit and firing, is a massive player for us.

Not only is he three players in one with his batting, bowling and fielding but his captaincy and positivity. He gets the best out of all his players with his leadership.

It’s pivotal for England for Ben Stokes to stay fit for five games.

Michael Vaughan
Former England captain on BBC Radio 5 Live

I have watched them train over the past couple of days and they look a focused team. They look fit. Jofra Archer was just doing lengths running across the ground. You can see a focus from both teams.

How both teams start is going to be very important, particularly England.

Australia went 1-0 down to India here last year and came back.

England have to win in Perth. You look at 86-87 when they won here, they got off to a good start. 2010-11 they got off to a decent start in Brisbane.

I think it will be very difficult to come back from going 1-0 down here.

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After scores of 100 and 90 in England's one warm-up match heading into the series, Ollie Pope was expected to keep his place at three.

That has now been confirmed with Jacob Bethell, his main contender for that place at first drop, not included in the 12 for Perth.

Having lost the vice-captaincy, Pope will be hoping for a strong series to cement his place.

England are huge fans of Bethell, though, and the 22-year-old left-hander, will come into the side at some point - whether in this series or otherwise - so Pope will have to be on it.

The 27-year-old averages 35.36 in Test cricket with nine centuries. His averages rises to a very respectable 41.60 batting at three, where he has registered eight of those tons.

Consistency has been the issue with big scores early in a series before fading away.

Not that any England fans will be complaining if that pattern begins to repeat with a big hundred at Perth Stadium this week...