Ashes a chance to put travel troubles to bed

After an underwhelming year on the road, Australia's cricketers will return to the comforts of home this weekend with the game's ultimate prize – this summer's Magellan Ashes – firmly in their sights.

Despite almost stealing an unlikely Test series win in India earlier this year, Australia's performances away from home in 2017 fell well short of expectations and their world rankings have dropped to near historic lows.

All told, the Australians managed just four victories from 14 completed games abroad across all formats this year; a Test win in Pune in February, another in Chittagong last month and a pair of triumphs on this Qantas Tour of India, in an ODI in Bengaluru and a T20 in Guwahati.

When factoring in the tours of Sri Lanka and South Africa in the second half of last year, the Aussies have managed just 11 wins from their past 30 games overseas.

But an inability to conquer their demons on the road will be temporarily pushed aside this summer when they host an England side grappling with a myriad of their own problems, not least the ongoing saga surrounding key allrounder Ben Stokes.

And despite Australia's shock 1-2 defeat at home to South Africa last summer, which vice-captain David Warner says is "a minor hiccup" in an otherwise dominant recent home record, the hosts will be deserved favourites when the Ashes begin on November 23 in Brisbane.

The ninth Ashes series in the past 15 years, with just one of the previous eight having been won by the away team.

"You've always got to be confident going in to your home summer," Warner said.

"We've had a lot of success over the past few years. We had a minor hiccup last year.

"We know England beat us a couple years back (in 2015) in the Ashes but we live in the now and we're going to be ready better than ever.

"I think the three (JLT Sheffield) Shield games leading into that is going to help us immensely."

Beyond this summer, which will include five Tests, five one-dayers and a T20 tri-series either side of the Tasman Sea, focus will again shift to Australia's worrying away form, which has seen them drop to rankings of fifth, fourth and sixth respectively in Test, ODI and T20 cricket.

Tests in South Africa, where they've never lost a series, will be followed by a five-match ODI campaign in England in June, which will serve as a trial run for their World Cup title defence in the UK 12 months later.

Australia's attempt to regenerate their one-day side following the en masse retirements of the stars who helped them to the World Cup title in 2015 took another hit in India, a 1-4 series loss extending their recent away record to just a single victory from 12 completed matches.

There are little or no problems with their bowling attack, which performed admirably in India in the absence of spearheads Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, but the performance of the top and middle remains a major concern.

But Warner is confident the batting wobbles abroad can be conquered in all formats.

"We'll prepare for the Ashes and then when it comes to the one-day stuff we can talk about a few things and our plans moving forward," Warner said.

"Obviously with a World Cup coming up the following year, I think we've got to try and work out and reshuffle a few thoughts of how we get that middle order working.

"I think a few guys got some good individual results and a few of us have to look back and reflect on what we can do better next time we come to these conditions.

"In a nutshell I think it was a disappointing tour and there's a lot to learn, especially in the one-day format."