Australia could today unleash the pace of Brett Lee and Shaun Tait against the free-scoring England batsmen in the opening match of a seven-game international series.
Lee and Tait, both returning from injuries, were yesterday named in Australia's 14-man squad to face the Ashes victors in a Twenty20 match in Adelaide, raising their hopes of a World Cup berth.
The 15-man World Cup squad will be announced on January 19 with Andrew Hilditch, the chairman of selectors, saying both quick bowlers were in the frame for the tournament in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, starting on February 19.
Hilditch said the balance of the World Cup squad "will probably be very much reflected in the team we have just announced" for the first one-day fixture against England.
"But we are still looking at two or three people ahead of that final 15 selection," Hilditch said. "I don't want to be specific, obviously we know the areas we need to be looking at ahead of the final selection."
Hilditch said Tait and Lee were "both looking extremely fit at the moment". "Obviously Taity has only had limited bowling coming back but it's all going really well.
"He's probably fitter than he has been in his life," he said of the bowler, who has just returned from a three-month lay-off following elbow surgery.
"But obviously the elbow is an issue. It seems to be going really well so obviously we're looking at that over the next couple of Twenty20s and the one-day game to make sure he's at his best, but all the signs are positive.
"Brett has had a longer lead in from injury and we're looking at him to make sure that he's back to his best."
Tim Paine, the newly-appointed Australia Twenty20 vice-captain who led the losing Prime Minister's XI side, concedes that England are the form team in Twenty20 cricket, but warned the hosts will look to bounce back under the new leadership of Cameron White.
"They certainly have been the best team recently. They've been playing fantastic cricket," Paine said. "It's also a new era for our Twenty20 side as well and we've certainly got a good side ourselves.
"Then we want to start something similar ourselves. We'll be confident going into the T20 game, but England are the current world champions and it will be a huge game."
But Paul Collingwood, the England one-day captain, is today aiming for another record in an already memorable tour.
The Twenty20 world champions can claim a record eighth consecutive victory in the format.
England's run began during their successful World Twenty20 campaign in the Caribbean last May, when they beat Australia in the final by seven wickets.
Collingwood said: "We've won seven on the trot and will set a new record if we make it eight. The guys are very focused and ambitious. It's not easy to win that many games on the trot in Twenty20."
Hilditch, whose contract runs out after the World Cup, said he wanted to keep his job. "I've still got the same passion for everything I can give to Australian cricket."
