Australians put through gruelling workout

Australia's six Test specialists completed the 24-hour journey from Australia to England on Tuesday, but they were not the most exhausted members of the squad. The ten survivors of Australia's dispiriting World Twenty20 campaign have been subjected to a gruelling week of training in Leicester, all of which Brad Haddin believes will serve them well ahead of the Ashes.

"We've done a lot of loading while we were up there," Haddin said. "We've had some pretty intense days. It's been good. We've given our quicks and everyone else a chance to get outside in some outstanding conditions. We got a lot of volume now."

With Australia's Test squad fully assembled for the first time on tour, focus has well and truly shifted to the Ashes. Haddin, who served as understudy to Adam Gilchrist on the 2005 tour of England, said he was looking forward to his first Ashes series as Australia's senior glovesman.

"It's hard not to speak about the Ashes," he said. "We've all been talking about the Ashes for the last 12 months. There's obviously been other series that have been enjoyable, and we've had a great tussle with South Africa over the last six months. But it's always been in the back of your mind that you're coming to England. I've definitely spoken about it."