Andrew Strauss' England are as ready as they will ever be for their date with destiny in the 2010/11 Ashes. Strauss has one more team talk to deliver before England take the field at the Gabba in defence of the urn, and in the hope of overturning almost a quarter of a century of Ashes failure down under.
By universal agreement, their preparation - since arriving in Australia almost a month ago - could hardly have gone any better. With two wins and much the better of a rain-affected draw from their three first-class matches, a settled first-choice team and no injuries, there appears to be barely a cloud on the horizon for the tourists.
The same cannot be said for the Brisbane skyline, persuading many that whoever wins the toss tomorrow might even consider bowling first as a viable option. Strauss will confirm that decision only if and when he has to. In the meantime, his job is all about harnessing expectation and tensions for a group of players portrayed by many as the logical conquerors of Ricky Ponting's hosts.
"We're all just very keen to get amongst it now," said the England captain. "It's been a big build-up and obviously very exciting, the prospect of representing your country in an Ashes series - and we're standing here on the edge of it." Alongside him, barring injury, will be the same players who beat Western Australia in Perth and had to settle for a stalemate in Adelaide.
Australia, by contrast, have had some awkward selection issues to overcome - and in the end, after vice-captain Michael Clarke's recovery from a back injury, have dispensed with his stand-by Usman Khawaja and left-arm fast bowler Doug Bollinger. Strauss appears unconcerned with the fine-tuning of Australia's personnel.
"You never know what's going on in the opposition camps, and spending too much time speculating on what might or might not be happening is not too helpful," he said. "We know that any XI Australia put on the park is going to be a strong one - and each of their bowlers have their particular strengths and weaknesses. "We've got to be good enough to counteract them."
Strauss is well aware England's chances are being talked up, and believes there is substance to the hype this time round. "I think we have got a good opportunity, there's no doubt about it," he said. "We've started the tour well; we're in a good place as a side. "But at the same time we recognise this is a tough assignment - not many sides come out here and win. "We understand the size of the challenge ahead of us. But we couldn't be in a better place mentally to take it on."
Ability and durability are the qualities Strauss is prizing most. "It's going to take a lot of good cricket, some guys pulling out some good performances when it really matters, and guys digging pretty deep," he predicts.
"But I'm fully confident we have the players able to do that."
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