Battle that could decide the Ashes: Hussey

Former Ashes winner Mike Hussey believes the way England's rookie batsmen handle Australia's attack will be the defining battle of this summer's five-match series Down Under.

England have experimented with the three places in their top six throughout their home summer, with incumbent opener Mark Stoneman (two Tests), No.3 Tom Westley (four) and No.5 Dawid Malan (four) combining for just 10 Tests' worth of experience between them.

All three batsmen are averaging sub-30 with the bat at this formative stage of their respective Test careers, and Hussey says they will have a pivotal role to play in Australia – if indeed they are the batsmen ultimately selected to fill those roles.

"What I'm most intrigued about with the Ashes is which top-order batsmen they (England) go for, and how they're going to fare in Australian conditions, and how they deal with the enormity of an Ashes series and the hype that goes with it – it's going to be huge.," Hussey told cricket.com.au's The Unplayable Podcast.

"That could be one of the defining parts of the series; how that England top order goes. If they perform well, then I think it's going to be an extremely tight series. You talk about their allrounders, and their class in the middle to lower order, and they've got a very good attack.

"But if Australia get on top and take early wickets, then they'll then have the momentum and it'll feel like England is on the back foot a little bit. So I feel like that could be a critical part of the whole series."

Hussey, who played all five Tests in Australia's five-nil whitewash of England in 2006-07, says the time has come for England to 'pick-and-stick' with their incumbents as they prepare for their final Test before the Ashes, against West Indies at Lord's from Thursday.

"You'd hope you would have pretty much identified the squad you want for the Ashes (at this point)," he added.

"If they haven't identified their best team now, it's not the greatest start for them really.

"If they have identified these guys as who they're going to bring to Australia, then you've got to give them as much opportunity as they can.

"Get them used to the environment, to the team, get them building trust and relationships with their teammates, but also giving them that faith and belief in the job that 'you're the man for the job, go out there and play your way, and feel confident in the role'.

"That's a huge part of the battle of having success in international cricket – feeling like you belong there, and feeling like you've got the backing of those people in exalted positions."

2017-18 International Fixtures:

Magellan Ashes Series

First Test Gabba, November 23-27. Buy tickets

Second Test Adelaide Oval, December 2-6 (Day-Night). Buy tickets

Third Test WACA Ground, December 14-18. Buy tickets

Fourth Test MCG, December 26-30. Buy tickets

Fifth Test SCG, January 4-8 (Pink Test). Buy tickets

ODI Series v England

First ODI MCG, January 14. Buy tickets

Second ODI Gabba, January 19. Buy tickets

Third ODI SCG, January 21. Buy tickets

Fourth ODI Adelaide Oval, January 26. Buy tickets

Fifth ODI Perth TBC, January 28. Join the ACF

Prime Minister's XI

PM's XI v England Manuka Oval, February 2. Buy tickets

T20 trans-Tasman Tri-Series

First T20I Australia v NZ, SCG, February 3. Buy tickets

Second T20I – Australia v England, Blundstone Arena, February 7. Buy tickets

Third T20I – Australia v England, MCG, February 10. Buy tickets

Fourth T20I – NZ v England, Wellington, February 13

Fifth T20I – NZ v Australia, Eden Park, February 16

Sixth T20I – NZ v England, Seddon Park, February 18

Final – TBC, Eden Park, February 21