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Former England captain Michael Vaughan believes England have made a major mistake in their preparations for the first Ashes Test against Australia at the Optus Stadium in Perth.
Members of the touring party arrived in Western Australia earlier this week and have been getting acclimatised to the warm conditions.
Australia skipper Steve Smith, who is set to stand in for the injured Pat Cummins during the opening Test, had previously issued a warning to the Bazballers to expect tougher, bouncier pitches than perhaps what they have been used to playing on back home.
That couldn't be more true for the wicket at the Optus Stadium, notorious among batsmen as a very quick track - with Smith claiming that it will be a challenge for England's top order. .
Ben Stokes' side, meanwhile, took part in a three-day training match against the England Lions at Lilac Hill on Wednesday.
But Vaughan, questioned the decision to train at the ground, claiming the pitch, which is home to Western Australia side Midland-Guildford, is not going to replicate the conditions that the tourists can expect from the wicket at the Optus Stadium.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan believes England have made a major mistake in their preparations for the first Ashes Test against Australia at the Optus Stadium in Perth
Members of the touring party, including Jofra Archer (right) arrived in Western Australia earlier this week and have been getting acclimatised to the warm conditions.
Meanwhile, stand-in Aussie skipper Steve Smith (pictured) has issued a warning to the England squad to expect tough conditions in Australia
'I am not an old-school dinosaur who says: 'Oh they should have played three or four games', I am not in that school of thought,' Vaughan said on TalkSPORT's Following On podcast this week.
'But the game at Lilac Hill that they're playing is on a pitch that will bounce really low, then they'll play a week later at the Perth Stadium which will bounce really high.'
England had notably played against a Cricket Australia Chairman's XI at Lilac Hill back in 2006. They were beaten by seven wickets.
'It's adjusting the lengths the bowlers need to and the batters are going to have to get used to that extra bounce.
'That's going to be a real challenge for this England side.'
Smith had issued a similar sentiment to the tourists a week ago.
'The conditions are going to be different here in Australia, aren't they?' the stand-in Australia captain said ahead of New South Wales' clash against Queensland.
'I think the last three or four years have probably been as challenging for batters as we have seen for a long time, particularly the top order.
'So in those conditions the bowlers are very experienced and very good and it's going to make it hard work for the batters.'
England played a warm-up match against a Cricket Australia Chairman's XI back in 2006
Mark Wood (right) was seen arriving at Perth International Airport earlier this week. He was also seen with strapping around his knee during this week's warm-up match
Australia named their squad for the Perth Test on Wednesday, with Cummins not included in the side. The captain, who hasn't played since their Test series against the West Indies in July due to a hotspot in his back, began bowling last week and admitted today that he is 'on track' to make a return for the second Test at the Gabba on December 4.
Sam Konstas has also been excluded, while batsman Jake Weatherald has been drafted into the side and is in line to make his Test debut.
Vaughan, meanwhile, has urged the tourists not to come out swinging straight away. There may be a temptation by the tourists to capitalise on an Aussie side without star man Cummins and take an early lead in the series, however, the ex-England captain has said Ben Stokes' side need to 'earn the right' to unleash Bazball Down Under.
It comes after he raised eyebrows among some Aussies for his comments suggesting that Cummins' side weren't very popular back at home.
'You can't just play the aggressive way in Australia all the time, you have to go up and down in the gears,' he said to the podcast.
'Yes, you have that mindset of wanting to be aggressive, but if you're facing (Josh) Hazlewood and (Mitchell) Starc … the bigger boundaries, you've got to be very wary.
'I haven't seen a team play that way and win in Australia. I've seen many teams earn the right to play that way around the 30th over mark to the 80th over mark when the ball is a bit softer.
'It might be that England have to play a bit traditionally for the first 20 overs to earn the right to be there when the ball is softer, the pitch is playing with a more pure sense.
'If they can do that, and earn the right, they'll score quick enough anyway.
'My concern is with the ball moving around, they go too hard, too soon and you lose five or six wickets very quickly which has happened before with this England team and it's just happened recently in New Zealand.'
