SYDNEY — The Australians are getting the civil formalities out of the way early ahead of the Ashes, starting with Wednesday's very cordial morning tea in a jet aircraft hangar to formally farewell the team — several days before they leave for England. Because the minute Michael Clarke and his lineup board the plane on the weekend, it'll be all business. The Australians go into the series as rank underdogs after a 4-0 series defeat in India and back-to-back Ashes series losses to England. They haven't won the Ashes in England since 2001, and face the prospect of 10 Tests in away-and-home series against their oldest foes between July and January. “We have probably the most exciting 12 months of our careers ahead of us,” Clarke said Wednesday. England “are certainly the favorites, but we look forward to that challenge. “There is not one cricket game where I've walked out onto the field with the Australian team and not expected to win, and this series will be no different.” The Australians have been training in Brisbane to prepare for a tour which starts with them trying to defend the Champions Trophy title, starting June 6, and then four tour matches against County teams before the first test at Trent Bridge on July 10. There's been a lot of criticism of the Australian squad since the woeful tour to India in March, when three players were suspended for the third Test for minor off-field issues, and Clarke missed the last test through injury. Shane Watson has quit as vice captain, prompting selectors to recall veteran wicketkeeper Brad Haddin as his replacement, and opening batsman David Warner got into a social media stoush with two senior cricket journalists. He has pleaded guilty and been fined $5,750 for breaching Cricket Australia's code of conduct after his expletive-laden outbursts against two journalists on Twitter. Cricket Australia issued a statement saying its code of conduct commissioner, Gordon Lewis, imposed the maximum financial penalty for a first offense under Rule 6 of the code relating to “unbecoming behavior.” “In hindsight, clearly I let my frustrations get the better of me and posted some inappropriate tweets,” Warner said in a statement after the ruling. With an inexperienced batting group struggling to score runs consistently, Australia's best hope of being competitive in England revolves around its strong seam bowling attack. “There's a lot of talk about our fast bowlers and we have plenty of talent,” Clarke said. “But it will come down to the batters making runs, the spin department doing their role and our fast bowlers maximizing conditions. Without doubt the Ashes tour is the most special, but it does take a whole squad of 16 players to have success.” Haddin's recall adds some experience following the retirement of former skipper Ricky Ponting and reliable middle-order batsman Michael Hussey. Haddin hasn't been Australia's first-choice keeper since Matthew Wade took the gloves on the tour to the West Indies last year. — AP
