Edgbaston holds no fear for Ashes rivals

Rival Ashes captains Tim Paine and Joe Root are unlikely see eye to eye on many topics this series but one thing they can agree is how intimidating Edgbaston is as a Test venue.

Or in this case, how not intimidating.

While England boast an imperious record in Birmingham having won their last 11 matches in all formats and gone undefeated in Tests since the 2008 loss to South Africa, those numbers do not worry Paine in the slightest on the eve of the Ashes opener.

In fact, Paine does not rate Edgbaston anywhere near the top of his list of the most threatening venues around the world.

"I could name you 15," Paine told reporters on Wednesday when asked if there is a more ground intimidating in world cricket.

"England haven't lost here in how long? I don’t even know, I haven't looked at it, it doesn't concern us at all.

"I know a lot of the times when teams come to Australia and they have to go to the Gabba or the WACA it plays on their mind.

"I've seen it work in reverse. It doesn't affect us.

"We've got our plans individually, plans as a team and it's about us going out on Thursday and executing that skill.

"We believe if we do that it doesn't matter if we play at Edgbaston or the Gabba or on the moon.

"We think our best cricket is good enough and the Edgbaston pitch or crowd or the grandstand certainly won't play a part in deciding this Test match."

Even Root, who averages 66 in four Tests at Edgbaston and scored a match-winning 136 against Australia in the 2015 Ashes, does not see the venue known for its raucous crowd as particularly imposing.

"I don't see this ground as intimidating, I think it's a great place to play cricket," Root said.

"I might see it from a slightly different point of view, but one thing that's for sure is that the crowd here, you're very aware they're in full support of England.

"That's great for us.

"We love coming here, we love the atmosphere that this ground in particular brings.

"We're very well followed everywhere we go around the world, and in England in particular for an Ashes series.

"So it doesn't really concern me how they are viewing it, and whether that's true or not.

"We'll have to wait and see as the game unfolds but we're in a really good position where we know we've got full support.

"Some of the noise throughout that (World Cup) semi-final (against Australia), it was great to play in a game like that with that sort of atmosphere and I can see that being very similar here."

While the venue itself may not unsettle Paine and his charges, the parochial England fans in the stands will be doing their best to get under the skin of the tourists.

The Barmy Army – England's loyal troop of supporters that follow the national team to all corners of the globe – were on deck on Wednesday to rehearse their catalogue of songs, with new versions of old classics set to be aimed at Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft, the trio involved in the Cape Town incident, should they all earn selection.

Smith and Warner have had a taste of what to expect from English crowds during the World Cup and the visitors are anticipating the level of animosity to escalate during the Ashes.

"We feel if you speak about what might happen when it does you've got a plan in place to handle it and that's what we've done," Paine said.

"(Smith, Warner and Bancroft) are human beings, they’ve got feelings, they’re no different to anyone else.

"What we’ve spoken about is that we believe it’s going to go up a notch.

"We thought the guys handled themselves superbly throughout the World Cup ... (Bancroft) hasn’t witnessed it yet but certainly Steve and Dave handled themselves superbly."

2019 Qantas Ashes Tour of England

Australia squad: Tim Paine (c), Cameron Bancroft, Pat Cummins, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Michael Neser, James Pattinson, Peter Siddle, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner.

England squad: Joe Root (c), Moeen Ali, Jimmy Anderson, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Joe Denly, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes (vc), Olly Stone, Chris Woakes.

First Test: August 1-5,Edgbaston

Tour match: Australians v Worcestershire, August 7-9

Second Test: August 14-18,Lord's

Third Test: August 22-26, Headingley

Tour match: Australians v Derbyshire, August 29-31

Fourth Test: September 4-8, Old Trafford

Fifth Test: September 12-16, The Oval