England Take on Australia in Opener

Nottingham: The final chapter of the Ashes build-up ended in predictable fashion on Tuesday when opposing captains Alastair Cook and Michael Clarke played the straightest of bats ahead of the first test at Trent Bridge.

Australia skipper Clarke was more than happy to accept his team were underdogs going into the start of the five-match series on Wednesday while England leader Cook was confident his side would handle the pressure of being favourites.

Australia's preparations have been far from ideal, with Darren Lehmann brought in as coach to replace the sacked Mickey Arthur just over two weeks ago.

Clarke expressed surprise England had opted to promote youngster Joe Root to open the batting with Cook in preference to the more experienced Nick Compton.

Michael Clarke was coy about his final XI, but continued to suggest that Australia would be comfortable selecting David Warner despite his lack of recent cricket. His place will have to come in the middle order with Shane Watson and Chris Rogers, whose previous Test came in 2008, confirmed as the opening pair.

The fast-bowling attack could comprise various trios, but Ryan Harris and Jackson Bird appear likely to miss out.

Both captains said they knew their starting XIs but did not give any clues.

But Cook, leading England for the first time in an Ashes series, played down the significance of winning the toss.

"The toss is important but how you play is more important," he said. "Our group of bowlers have the skills and experience to hold us in good stead in any conditions."

Cook said the England players had been inspired by a weekend spent watching the British and Irish Lions win their rugby test series in Australia and Andy Murray's momentous victory at Wimbledon.

After the cut-throat decision to drop Nick Compton, the one space still to be decided is that of the third quick behind James Anderson and Stuart Broad. Steven Finn is the man in possession, but with reverse swing likely to be a key weapon Tim Bresnan, who has 15 wickets in two Tests on the ground, is firmly in the picture.

Teams from

England: Alastair Cook (captain), Joe Root, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Matt Prior (wk), Jonathan Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, Tim Bresnan, Steven Finn, James Anderson and Graham Onions.

Australia: Michael Clarke (captain), Shane Watson, Chris Rogers, Ed Cowan, Phillip Hughes, Usman Khawaja, Brad Haddin (wk), Ashton Agar, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Jackson Bird, James Faulkner, Steven Smith, Ryan Harris, Nathan Lyon, James Pattinson and Peter Siddle

Pitch & conditions
The pitch is expected to be dry and the weather conditions warm which might give the batsmen an advantage at a ground where swing bowlers usually perform well.

Stats and trivia

• Tim Bresnan has taken four or more wickets in a Test on five occasions - and three of them have been at Trent Bridge.
• England have not won the opening Test of an Ashes series since 1997 at Edgbaston.

Match facts
July 10-14, 2013
Start time 1100 local (1000 GMT)