AUSTRALIA
DAVID WARNER 7 Played some good knocks at the World Cup but has had precious little first-class cricket to gauge him on. But he will be up for the fight against the new ball.
CAMERON BANCROFT 7 Sussex played Durham twice recently and even when he did not get a heap of runs he found a way to hang around against us. Australia want him to be the guy to blunt the England bowling by making them bowl second and third spells.
USMAN KHAWAJA 5.5 Another player with precious little cricket in the build-up due to injury but he knows what it is all about at three in a Test match and will give a good account of himself.
STEVE SMITH 6 Like Warner and Bancroft, he will have to cope with abuse from the stands. His batting is world class and he’ll prepare his plans for these conditions diligently. No one will have hit more balls this past week to get himself ready.
TRAVIS HEAD 6.5 A big hundred against England Lions will give him confidence and he has a good record after eight Tests, averaging 50. His big challenge is to convert his starts into big scores.
MATTHEW WADE 6.5 Has scored heavy runs at quite a clip and is very much a selection for now despite not playing Test cricket for a while.
TIM PAINE (capt/wkt) 6 Not done much wrong either in his leadership or with the bat since being recalled last year. His keeping has also been high class.
PAT CUMMINS 7 One of Australia’s best bowlers for a while now. Hits a regular spot on the wicket at good pace and will get enough movement off the surfaces here to cause the top-order problems.
JAMES PATTINSON 7 In good nick with the ball, running in and bowling rockets. Ready to go after three injury-plagued years in the international wilderness.
PETER SIDDLE 7.5 If you are going for horses for courses, then he would be the likely starter ahead of Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc. Like Bancroft, I feel he will have benefitted from strong form here with Essex.
NATHAN LYON 7 The Goat. The greatest of all time when it comes to Australian off-spin. A wonderful competitor, and most importantly leads the team song, so can’t be left out!