Watson faces the axe as Australia desperate to level Ashes

“I don’t know what the eleven is so I don’t know how anyone else does at this stage unless the selectors have spoken to the media before they’ve spoken to the captain or the team”.

“It’s always nice to be underdogs isn’t it?” he said in his press conference.

“You’ve got to try to balance attack and defence, and figure out where you’re going to get the wickets”.

Victory in new head coach Trevor Bayliss’s first match in charge gave them the early advantage in the Ashes series.

Brad Haddin’s decision to skip the Lord’s Test due to family reasons has cleared the deck for Nevill and this is not the first time the 29-year-old had to fill in for his mentor. “We can’t do that, certainly not against Australia”.

“There wasn’t any massive expectation put on our shoulders but, with the last 10 weeks going well (against West Indies and New Zealand), we knew we were capable of beating Australia”. It is about our attitude and approach. Mitchell Starc has recovered from an injury and although it might be tempting to get in Pat Cummins, Australia might not yet go that far.

Australia: Chris Rogers, David Warner, Steven Smith, Michael Clarke (capt), Adam Voges, Shane Watson/Mitchell Marsh, Peter Nevill (wk), Mitchell Johnson, Mitchell Starc/Peter Siddle, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood.

Marsh, the son of former Australia opener Geoff Marsh, has played in four Tests and impressed in the team’s opening two tour matches by scoring hundreds against both Kent and Essex. “He is a fighter and has had a great year back in Australia”.

“He’s doing as well as he can do”, said Clarke. “But all our bowlers need to be more consistent”.

The highly scrutinised Watson, 34, went out lbw twice in the first Ashes Test for 30 and 19.

The 34-year-old added: “We were outplayed in all facets in the first Test. We have taken the positives and we come here to Lord’s and start afresh”.

“I felt quite good at the crease so I was disappointed with the way I played”.

Aggression is good as long as it is timed and controlled, not idiotic.

Smith said: “That was very important after Cardiff”.

“It’s the love-hate thing that we have with England”, he said.

“He also has a great energy and attitude towards the game, so I think his form will continue for a while”. For starters, their batsmen simply need to bat with a little more discipline and make sure that starts are not wasted.

James Anderson and Stuart Broad, with 75 and 61 wickets at Lord’s respectively, kept things on a good length just like they did at Cardiff and let the famous slope at Lord’s do its work. The forecast is for warmer weather as the game progresses, with the second and third days possibly the best for batting.

Arjun Tendulkar, 15, who is hoping to forge a career in the game, helped put the England batsmen through their paces during practice on Wednesday.