Former England batsman Graham Thorpe has shared the secrets to batting success in Australia.
With Jonathan Trott ruled out of the rest of the series, England will go into the second Test at Adelaide this week with a batsman making his Ashes debut Down Under.
Whether it be one of Yorkshire duo Jonny Bairstow or Gary Ballance, or Durham all-rounder Ben Stokes, it will their first Test in Australia.
Bairstow, who is the only one of that trio with Test experience having 12 format caps, hit an unbeaten 31 during the tour game with a Cricket Australia Chairman's XI, in which Gary Ballance struck a maiden England half-century.
Stokes added a fluent 28 before falling to a well-taken catch, leaving England with a welcome selection dilemma.
Whoever gets the nod will do well to heed the advice of Thorpe, who now coaches England’s batsmen.
The 44-year-old veteran of 100 Tests believes the conditions in Australia are possible to acclimatise to, which will come as a boost to the trio ahead of the second Test.
Speaking to ecb.co.uk, Thorpe said: “For any time a player first goes to Australia, you've got the extra bounce and a little bit of extra pace in some of the pitches.
“But generally I used to think that, batting in Australia, you didn't have to make as many changes technically over there once you got used to the pace and bounce of the pitches.”
With England trailing in the five-match series, Alastair Cook’s men will be looking to impose themselves on the Australia attack from the off.
Posting a challenging total will be important and Thorpe stresses that being carefully selective over strokes is imperative to batting well in Australia.
“The horizontal attacking shots come more into play in Australia; being able to cut and being able to pull the ball is an important part of trying to dominate an attack in Australia.
“But you also have to leave the ball well in Test matches, especially in those first 20 minutes, half-an-hour if you're batting against the quicker bowlers.”
Once those cagey early stages are negotiated, there are runs to be scored if the batsman remains focussed. If whoever replaces Trott in the line-up - whether batting at three or lower down - comes in after the tricky opening period has passed, Thorpe believes they will enjoy performing in the conditions.
He said: “In England I always felt there was a little bit more movement; using the Kookaburra ball in Australia you maybe had swing for the first 10-15 overs and then generally after that the ball doesn't polish up as well as the Duke ball and that's a good time to be batting once you get in.”