Cricket:Ricky Ponting has challenged his new-look side to produce in the Ashes. The Australia captain leads the defence of the famous urn this morning when play begins in the first npower Test in Cardiff with an inexperienced bowling attack and a couple of batsmen with only five caps between them.
Whatever combination of bowlers Australia field today, none of them will have bowled in a Test here before while top-six members Phillip Hughes and Marcus North only made their debuts this year.
But Ponting said: "I know what all these guys are capable of.
"Right now there is not one guy in our dressing room that has done anything that has really surprised me on a cricket field.
"So what I want to see over the next couple of months is some things that everyone is going to be in amazement at."
Ponting's men avenged their 2005 defeat in the most emphatic manner in 2006-07 but this series is expected to be a lot closer than that whitewashing.
However, Ponting said: "We won't know how close the sides are until the end of the series.
"You can look at stats and bits of paper with names on it but you just never really know in this game how teams are going to perform in different situations and under pressure.
"We are in really good shape and we are looking forward to the challenge and contest that is ahead of us over the next couple of months.
"There has been great hype, there is a lot of excitement around our group and I am as excited for this series as any series I have ever played.
"That says a lot about where I am at and where this current team is at."
The atmosphere around the grounds during England's 2-1 win four years ago enhanced the drama but this year's series begins away from traditional heartlands.
Much has been made of the switch to Sophia Gardens and Ponting joked: "I am actually expecting a lot of support down here seen as we are in Wales.
"We might have more Australian supporters here than anything else."
He added: "But the crowds are one of the things over here that make this series so special to be a part of.
"The fans in England really appreciate good cricket, yeah we will cop a bit through the next couple of months, which is to be expected but it is generally light-hearted stuff and if anything can help you get through a day in the field.
"Our players know the intensity in this series is going to lift from anything they have played in the past."