Australia's key Ashes pair to get back to their roots

Two key pillars of Australia's Ashes plans could play second XI or even club cricket in the coming weeks as they look to get back to full fitness to take on England.

Test skipper Tim Paine is eyeing off a game for his Hobart club side University as he takes the first steps back following off-season neck surgery, which has prevented him from training for the past seven weeks.

Paine is also targeting a second XI game for Tasmania against South Australia on November 22-25 and possibly a return to the senior state side before he heads to Queensland to link up with the rest of Australia's squad ahead of the first Vodafone Test, which starts on December 8.

Victoria have indicated opener Will Pucovski, currently sidelined due to concussion, may also return to action in a second XI game at the MCG, starting on November 29.

Paine, who hasn’t played any cricket for seven months, admitted he had "pulled up a little bit sore" following a training session on Thursday, his first full wicketkeeping hit-out since he had surgery in September.

But the 36-year-old said he's edging closer to full fitness and hopeful of playing up to four games of cricket before the first Test, including a planned intra-squad match in Brisbane.

"I had a decent catch yesterday – pretty good," he told SEN.

"I had a bit of a dive around so I'm a little bit stiff today. I was going to have a catch (today) … but I've had to pull the pin on that just to give myself a bit of time to rest up. I don't want to be doing too much (on) back-to-back days.

"It's nothing to worry about, just a bit of stiffness having had a few months off. I've pulled up a little bit sore.

"But yesterday was as I would train normally, so that was a really good sign that I got through that and I'm looking forward to playing a game of cricket in the coming weeks.

"I'd love to get a club game in followed by either a second XI or a Shield game, depending on the dates of those games and how I pull up from playing in the club game. But ideally, I'd like to play a club game, a second XI game, a Shield game and a one-dayer for Tassie in late November, and then go up to Queensland.

"There's talk of us having an intra-squad game like we did in the last Ashes over in England so potentially, I'll be getting two, three or four games of cricket in before that first Test, which would be a really good result."

Tasmania will play a Marsh Sheffield Shield game against South Australia next week and then host Western Australia for a Shield and Marsh Cup match between November 21 and 26.

Paine's University club will play a two-day match of the weekend of November 13-14 and then another on two consecutive Saturdays (on November 20 and 27) before a one-day game on the 28th.

Victoria coach Chris Rogers said this week Pucovski is "unlikely" to be available for the first Test, but they are hopeful the right-hander will play some cricket later this month.

The Vics will play a Shield and Marsh Cup game against NSW in Sydney between November 19 and 24 before a second XI game against ACT/NSW Country at the MCG between November 29 and December 2.

"Ideally, he'd be able to play those two four-day matches and allow Australian selectors to make a judgment from there," Shaun Graf, Cricket Victoria's head of high performance, said this week.

Pucovski's club side, Melbourne Cricket Club, will begin their season with six one-day games on consecutive Saturdays between November 13 and December 18.

National selectors are expected to name an extended squad that will go into camp in Brisbane ahead of the first Test, which will include a multi-day intra-squad match that will help finalise their plans for the first Test.

The high-stakes showdown would follow the template used by Cricket Australia in 2019, during a brief window between England hosting the one-day World Cup and an Ashes series.

Marnus Labuschagne and Cameron Bancroft batted themselves into Australia's Test squad with gritty performances in that corresponding game.

Vodafone Men's Ashes v England

First Test: December 8-12, The Gabba

Second Test: December 16-20, Adelaide Oval

Third Test: December 26-30, MCG

Fourth Test: January 5-9, SCG

Fifth Test: January 14-18, Perth Stadium