By Jon Barbuti

From a squad packed full of potential match winners, we've picked three Australians who will be licking their lips at the prospect of playing England.

Matthew Hayden:

Most Australians, no matter how great their talent, never get a second chance to establish themselves at Test level. Indeed such is the squad's quality that the likes of Andrew Symonds and Stuart Law can be cast aside with barely a second glance.

However one notable exception is Matthew Hayden. The bullish batsman first got his chance at Test level in 1993, but having failed to establish himself alongside Michael Slater he was quickly shown the door.

That could have been that for Hayden, but by sheer weight of runs in domestic cricket he forced his way back into the side and hasn't looked back since, scoring century upon century and taking his average up to 50 - an incredible feat for an opener in a team who score runs so quickly.

He is at his best on fast bouncy pitches and has awesome strength to punish any loose bowling. For England to frustrate him, a tight line and length will be essential.

Adam Gilchrist:

Facing Australia is almost cruel. For any team that has done well enough to get rid of the top order, a rare treat awaits at number seven in the form of Adam Gilchrist - officially the best batsman in the world.

Nominally a wicketkeeper (and a talented one at that), Gilchrist's main role for the Australians is as a late order destroyer.

A simple glance at the stats makes for incredible reading. He averages 58.5, has hit six Test centuries, including the fastest ever Test double century and scores 80 runs for every 100 balls faced, a run rate more in keeping with the final overs of a One Day match.

The quality of the batsmen above him means that he rarely comes to the wicket with his side in trouble, though even then his natural inclination is to try to play aggressively.

If he possesses a weakness it could be that he is too aggressive and too dismissive of the opposition's bowling. If England can dismiss the top order cheaply they might welcome Gilchrist playing his shots in the hope that he will edge a chance. Sadly though it's more likely that he'll only lengthen the torture just when England thought they had got a foothold.

Shane Warne:

Having been selected by Wisden as one of the five cricketers of the last century, Shane Warne has kept taking wickets and kept spinning the ball in the new century.

A year or two back, non-Australian pundits were licking their lips at the thought that Warne was a spent force. His response has been stunning, losing a couple of stone to lengthen his career and then bamboozling batsmen with balls every bit as vicious as the 'ball of the century' that did for Mike Gatting back in 1994.

Now rapidly closing in on 500 Test wickets - 23 in the Ashes series will see him home - the 32-year-old enjoys nothing more than an Ashes battle. This time he will even have an extra incentive as he wants to impress the English fans before taking up a two-year contract as Hampshire captain.

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