Australia v England 3rd Ashes Test preview (Thursday 02:30 GMT start)

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by Crunch Sports Staff

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Will England go 2-0 up or can Australia level the series in Perth? (credit: Rae Allen)

Australia v England
3rd Ashes Test, Perth
Decenber 16th-20th, 02:30 GMT start

It's advantage England in the Ashes series ahead of the Third Test which starts Thursday morning local time in Perth

England captain Andrew Strauss is preparing his team for a backlash from the hosts as England look to wrap the series up before Christmas with victory in Perth.

But the WACA hasn't been a happy hunting ground for England in recent years and if history is anything to go by, then England are unlikely to take a 2-0 series lead this weekend.

"This is going to be five days of hard, tough Test cricket – with Australia coming at us very hard," said Strauss.

"They are a proud cricketing nation, and they wouldn’t have liked the way they were beaten in Adelaide.

"We’re expecting a bit of a backlash from them – and we’ve got to be strong enough to withstand that and come out the other side."

He added: "We’re a confident side, and I’m pleased with what we’ve achieved so far. But everyone has made a conscious effort to keep their feet on the ground."

England warmed up for this week's Test with a draw against Victoria, which although provided little in the way of entertainment, was the reality check the tourists needed, according to Strauss.

"The game in Melbourne was a bit of a comeback, down to earth," he said. "It was tough cricket on an unresponsive wicket, and we had to dig a bit on that last day to make sure we got something out of the game."

Reports on Wednesday suggest Chris Tremlett will replace Stuart Broad in England's line-up.

Australia captain Ricky Ponting has said he and coach Tim Nielsen will make a late pitch inspection shortly before play got underway before making a final decision on their XI.

Michael Beer looked set to make his Ashes debut when he was named as a surprise call-up to the Aussie squad and looked set to replace Xavier Doherty, with Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle, Ryan Harris and Ben Hilfenhaus fighting it out for the remaining three places in the line-up.

But Ponting says taking all four pace bowlers into the game could still happen.

"We haven’t got a team yet," said Ponting. "We’ve had a good look at the wicket.

"It’s changed a little bit since we’ve been here so we want to just want to have a look at it again before we finalise what our XI will be."

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