Coach Brendon McCullum believes his England team are ready for an Ashes series that could “define them”.
McCullum and captain Ben Stokes have revitalized the England Test team since taking charge in 2022.
The New Zealander said they have been “building towards this moment” as the first Test against Australia in Perth begins on Friday (02:20 GMT).
In his only interview since arriving in Australia, McCullum told BBC Sport: “There is nothing bigger than what we are about to face.”
Speaking to Test Match Special commentator and former England player Phil Tufnell, McCullum added: “This team has been together for a good couple of years and we have been building towards this moment.
“It’s the biggest stage and the brightest lights. It’s a series that could define the teams, the people and the players in it. That’s good.
“You know you’re ready, you know you have the game to compete at this level. Stay together, play the style you’ve grown accustomed to and we’ll see in a couple of months where we land.”
England are due to confirm their XI for the first Test on Thursday, with spinner Shoaib Bashir likely to be left out of the 12-man squad named on Wednesday.
That would mean the tourists will deploy a five-man pace attack, probably the fastest group of players they have ever assembled for a Test match.
“I’m very excited and probably a bit more relaxed now than I was a few weeks ago,” said former New Zealand captain McCullum.
“We have our team at the starting line. I feel like our horse is going to run well. If we find another horse in the race that is better than us, who knows.”
England had won just one of their previous 17 Tests, including a 4-0 defeat on their last Ashes tour, when McCullum and Stokes joined in the summer of 2022.
They revolutionized England’s style of play, built a new team with several young players and scored impressive series wins at home against New Zealand and South Africa, and then again against the Kiwis and Pakistan.
But England have not recorded a win in a five-Test series against Australia or India, including a 2-2 draw in the last Ashes at home in 2023.
England have not won a single Test in Australia since their last series win in this country 14 years ago. Only five England teams have won the Ashes series in Australia since the Second World War.
