England aim for early advantage

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Opening batsman Andrew Strauss says it is important England strike some early blows in the Ashes series by starting well in Brisbane on Thursday.

Australia have not lost a home Ashes opener since Mike Gatting's tourists triumphed in the 1986/7 series.

"Both sides are very keen to grab the initiative," Strauss told BBC Sport.

"It's not the be-all and end-all - we lost at Lord's last year and came back and won the series - but it's better to be ahead in the game than behind it."

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Strauss added: "We're all going to be very keyed up for that first session there's no doubt about that.

"From an opening batsman's point of view we want to prove a few points, get over that new ball and give England a solid start.

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"And if we're in the field we want to take early wickets. The Australians will be feeling exactly the same."

Former England captain Nasser Hussain famously opted to field in the opening Test of the last Ashes series down under in good batting conditions after worrying about a lack of confidence among his players.

There's a real buzz about the guys and everyone just can't wait to get out there Andrew Strauss

But Strauss believes there will be no repeat with Andrew Flintoff's men after their 2-1 series triumph in 2005.

"There won't be any startled rabbits. Just about all of the guys performed in the last Ashes and have a lot of latent confidence," the left-hander explained.

"The new guys have shown they are world-class performers as well and are relishing the challenge.

"If the wicket looks all right and Freddie [Flintoff] wants us to bat there will be a lot of hands stuck up saying, 'Let's get on with this'.

"There's a real buzz about the guys and everyone just can't wait to get out there now.

"We know it's going to be an amazing atmosphere and everything's set up for a great series.

"Now it's over to us to play the cricket we need to play. It's a question of backing ourselves and playing the positive cricket we did in the last Ashes."