Paceman Josh Hazlewood has brushed off worries about Australia's ageing attack for the Ashes, saying he personally feels as good as he has in a long time and that the unit's experience of bowling together is a major advantage for the team.

Australia's stalwart spinner Nathan Lyon will turn 38 during the series, while left-arm quick Mitchell Starc is 35. Skipper Pat Cummins, the youngest of the bowlers at 32, has been ruled out of the first Ashes test but is likely to be replaced by 36-year-old Scott Boland in Perth.

Hazlewood, 34, said the bowling unit that has helped Australia retain the Ashes since the 2017-18 series would break up eventually but there was plenty of life in it yet.

"I feel in the best shape I've been in a long time," Hazlewood told reporters at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday.

"I think the experience, not just through red ball cricket, through all the formats, you put all the pieces together.

"You've been in so many situations now out in the middle that you've learned a lot over the years, not just as an individual but as a group, and we just bounce off each other out there and know each other's game so well, so we can help each other out.

"There'll come a time (when we move on), no doubt, but I don't think it's yet."

Hazlewood's thoughts echoed those of Lyon, who is set to overtake Glenn McGrath as Australia's second most prolific test wicket-taker after Shane Warne during the series.

"The game has totally changed," Lyon said this week. "It is a lot more professional than what it was probably 10 years ago with the science behind it all and the recovery.

"I feel like age is just a number. I still feel like I am yet to play my best cricket."

The Ashes first test starts on November 21.

Former test paceman Ryan Harris has dismissed Stuart Broad's scathing assessment of Australia's quality ahead of the Ashes and tipped England to leave the country without the coveted urn once again.

Broad rated Pat Cummins's side as "probably the worst Australian team" since that which lost 3-1 in 2010/11, while judging Ben Stokes's outfit the best since that triumphant England campaign.

The squad is in for the first #Ashes test, but who would you have in the XI?

Read more: https://t.co/rZFeWdALi2 pic.twitter.com/jIsLsEoQ4U

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) November 5, 2025

Harris, who played in three tests of that series, said the former England quick was well wide of the mark on both counts.

"No way. He has got to be joking if he thinks this is the worst Australian side since those Ashes," the 46-year-old told Reuters.

"Obviously, he's in the media, so he's drumming up the hype.

"We had some pretty good players but they were just better. England were unreal, relentless with the bat and the ball."

While praising the quality of the current England squad's bowling, Harris questioned how anyone could compare them with the formidable England outfit captained by Andrew Strauss.

"Their batting is unproven. Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett on our wickets. Joe Root's been a number of times and hasn't scored a hundred, has he?" said Harris, who took 57 Ashes wickets at an average of 20.63 across three series.

"So there's a lot of unproven stuff there. Broad is obviously drumming up interest but you can't just sit there and say they're the best team since whenever, because they haven't been out here and played – and the ones that have, haven't (won)."

Australia have won the last two home series 4-0 and whitewashed England 5-0 in 2013/14.

Now a Sheffield Shield-winning coach of South Australia, Harris expected the hosts to retain the urn, though he rated England a good chance to end their 15-year wait for a test match win in the country.

England's hopes of doing better than that will rest largely on the all-round performance of talismanic captain Stokes, who took 17 wickets against India in the recent home series.

Cameron Green is the only player under the age of 30 to be included in Australia's first Ashes test squad 🇦🇺💬 pic.twitter.com/i6qOQgQwnV

— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) November 5, 2025

Harris tipped Stokes for a big Ashes despite his relatively modest batting and bowling record in Australia next to his lofty career standards.

Harris said Australia must target Stokes, just as the 2013/14 side did to opposing skipper Alastair Cook, England's batting hero from the 2010/11 triumph.

"We've got to make sure we put Stokes under pressure," said Harris.

"One thing that we've done successfully in the past is put the England captain under pressure.

"We did that with Alastair Cook, not allowing him to dictate how he wants to play and get them off to a good start.

"It will be similar with Stokes if we can contain him with the ball."

The opening match of the five-test series begins on November 21 in Perth.

Australia are confident that captain Pat Cummins will play a significant part in the Ashes series, head selector George Bailey said, as questions remain over the paceman's fitness for the opening test in Perth.

Cummins is recovering from a back stress injury and has yet to resume bowling, leaving him racing against time to be fit for the opener, which begins on 21 November. The 32-year-old admitted on Monday that he is unlikely to feature in the opener and remains uncertain for the second test in Brisbane.

Australia coach Andrew McDonald had previously said Cummins would need to start bowling at least four weeks before the Perth test to avoid risking further injury.

"It's progressing. He's building up. He's optimistic about it," Bailey told reporters on Saturday. "I think actually the more he's done over the last few days, the more optimistic he's become but I categorically don't know if he's bowled a ball.

"We know time is getting short and there's permutations around that, not just around the back, but other factors as well. It's positive. (We are) really confident that he's going to play a major part.

"Hopefully it's the first test. If not, then we'll pick it up."

In another setback for Australia, allrounder Cameron Green was ruled out of the one-day international series against India due to "low-grade side soreness" sustained in training.

Australia added Green would likely return to play in Shield cricket, while Bailey eased concerns about a serious injury to the 26-year-old.

"It is minor and it's conservative, and I think this decision probably ensures that we do have enough time to make sure," Bailey said.

"We put so much time and energy into building out the plan for him to be available for the first test as an allrounder. So for the sake of, he was only going to play the first two ODIs anyway."

Joe Root has failed to score a century in 27 test innings in Australia but the Englishman believes he is ready to end that streak when the Ashes begin in Perth next month.

The former England captain has chalked up nine test half-centuries in Australia, with a highest score of 89 in a nine-wicket loss in Brisbane in December 2021.

Root, who was replaced as captain by Ben Stokes following that series, has since scored over 4 000 runs and 16 centuries in the longest format.

"I feel I am in a different place to when I last went out there. I haven't got the responsibility of captaincy and I am a lot more experienced," the 34-year-old told Sky Sports in an interview published on Monday.

"I have had a good couple of years coming in and I have learned good lessons from my previous tours there as a batter and senior player.

"I am sure there is going to be a lot of talk around (me not scoring a hundred as of yet) but I feel ready for it. Big series are the ones you want to play in and contribute in."

England last won the Ashes in 2015 and have not won a series in Australia since 2011 but Root was optimistic about their chances this time around.

"I feel that is the opportunity in front of us that we have to chase and grab," he added.

"If I am doing my role in the team then personal accolades will come but it's not the main focus. It's about winning that urn back as it has been a long time since we held it.

"I feel we have some serious resources to take out there and hit Australia with. Hopefully we can get that right so if I am scoring heavily it gives us a chance."

The first test starts on 21 November in Perth.

Allrounder Cameron Green says he will be ready to return to bowling during the domestic Sheffield Shield in a boost for Australia before hosting England in the Ashes.

Green has been restricted to batting since returning from a long layoff following back surgery but has been gradually building up his bowling load in training.

Australia play India in a white-ball series in October and November but Green may opt for a block of red-ball cricket for Western Australia to ramp up his bowling before the Ashes.

"In the past, it's worked really well when I've focused on Shield cricket," Green told reporters in Mackay on Thursday.

"That potentially might be the way to go, especially with working my way back to bowling, to potentially get a few more overs over a few more days."

Australia will be wary of over-bowling Green, who missed the entire home test series against India after opting for surgery on a fracture in his lumbar spine.

But if fit and firing he would be a huge asset in Australia's bid to retain the urn against England.

Green has 18 wickets in eight matches against England at an average of 24.44, compared to a career average of 35.31.

More recently, it has been his contributions with the bat that have proved valuable for Australia.

His 184 runs on difficult pitches during the West Indies test tour helped Pat Cummins's team whitewash the hosts 3-0.

Green said he was not reading too much into his batting form in the Caribbean.

"I don't think we'll be playing on many wickets quite like that (this summer), so I don't think there's too many takeaways," he said.

"It was such a tough wicket, especially for the batters – to .... get out of the series unscathed was a good effort."

The first Ashes test is in Perth from 21 November.

Teenager Sam Konstas is looking to bury the memory of his West Indies disappointment and batter down the door to the Australia team for the upcoming Ashes series with a torrent of runs in all formats over the next couple of months.

The 19-year-old opener scored 50 runs at an average of 8.33 as Australia swept their hosts 3-0 in the Caribbean in June and July, but Konstas said it was a great learning experience and still thinks he could fill the void left in the test side by the retirement of David Warner.

"I feel like every cricketer is going to go through that. You’re going to have your ups and downs," he told Sydney's Daily Telegraph.

“One of the Aussie boys was saying even the best players in the world fail 70 per cent and perform 30 per cent of the time. I feel like it’s just a great learning to have and I feel like I’ll become a better cricketer experiencing that.”

After Konstas scored a spectacular 60 against India on debut at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Boxing Day last year, his test outings have largely been on the down side of the ledger.

He has dumped social media in a bid to remain as focused as possible on resurrecting his fortunes initially in two four-day matches in India with Australia A in September, and then in the Sheffield Shield with New South Wales.

"I think the first few games will be big, but for me, it’s just trying to nail my process and don’t get too fixated about that," Konstas added.

“I’m just trying to be in the present moment and score runs in whatever format I play. If I tick that off, then let the selectors make their choice.”

Konstas said he had received plenty of good advice from Australia skipper Pat Cummins on dealing with pressures of playing test cricket and from veteran Steve Smith on the batting side of the game.

“I feel like as long as I prepare as well as possible, I tick all the boxes … and then just let my reactions do the talking. Just try and keep it simple, see ball hit ball,” he said.

“If it’s in my zone, be attacking. Hopefully, understanding game situations better. Little things like that. But for me, it's just the way I prepare and the way I want to go about things and just having that clarity and freedom to do what I do.”

Australia begin their defence of the Ashes in the first of five tests against England in Perth from November 21 to 25.