The Ashes is only a week away and the excitement is building among fans and players alike - even England quick Stuart Broad was bristling with anticipation when Sky Sports caught up with him.
BROAD ON AUSTRALIA'S BATSMEN
"You look through their batting line-up and they've got a strong line-up, there's no doubting that. Michael Clarke is arguably the best Test batsman in the world at the moment; his record last year was outstanding. We also know the power Shane Watson's got and I've played with Ed Cowan at Trent Bridge and he's a fine opening batsman. They bat long, too - Mitchell Starc got 90-odd in a Test match in the Australian summer. So there are dangers there but the England team are aware of that."
BROAD ON THE BOWLERS
"We've got a strong attack; we've got the best spinner in the world in Graeme Swann, especially with the amount of left-handers the Aussies have, and our seam bowlers, if you look at the New Zealand series, all took a good amount of wickets, at a low average, which is what we want. We've got good depth as well. You can't just look at the three [seamers] in possession at the moment because in 10 Ashes Test matches it's very likely you're going to have some changes.
"There's Tim Bresnan, Graham Onions, Chris Tremlett - guys with proven Test records - who can come in and do a job, which is important. But Australia have got a couple of left-armers and we haven't so there are different balances to the attacks and it's going to be a huge battle. It will be exciting to see two attacks with pace coming against each other; that will create nicks and boundaries - and that's the sort of cricket people want to watch."
BROAD ON HIS FORM
"2013 has been a big up curve for me. I've really enjoyed this year. I bowled nicely in the one-day stuff, my Test record is as good as it's been and I've found a fuller length which is challenging the batsman's stumps. The highlight of that would be the win at Lord's when we bowled New Zealand out for 70 or 80 to win the Test match. Picking up a seven-for at Lord's to help England win a Test match was a lovely feeling and I can hold those good memories going into the first Test. I feel I have a lot more to come, as well. People say your peak as a bowler is from 28-32 and that would be nice."
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