Confident Paine backs Australia to end 18-year wait

Paine, who took over as captain after Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft were handed suspensions for ball-tampering last year, had a difficult time at the helm initially: Australia lost three Test series on the trot, winning just one out of seven games.

However, they found their footing earlier this year, claiming a 2-0 victory over Sri Lanka at home. With Smith, Warner and Bancroft returning to the fray now, the Australian unit looks stronger and more experienced ahead of the Ashes.

Paine believes his side can script history in away conditions over the next seven weeks. "We've got a huge opportunity to come to England and do something that even some of our great teams haven't managed to do in the last 20 years, and we've got some self-belief that we can do it," he said on Wednesday, 31 July, on the eve of the first Ashes Test in Birmingham.

"It means a lot. Every time you play a Test against England, it's a real honour to be out there and representing your country and there's no doubt the history of the Ashes takes that to another level."

While Paine's ambition remains high as ever, he is keen to be the front of a new-age Australian side. "I've spoken a lot about this in the last 12 months," he explained. "We're going to play competitive Test match cricket, like every other nation does.

"Our guys understand what's expected of them, we're role models not just for Australian people but for people all around the world.

"There's been a quote going around our changerooms this week, from Winston Churchill, and that's 'behaviour doesn't lie'. Brad Haddin actually brought it up with me the other day, it was in one of our chats that we had. I quite like it, and we've raised that with our own team."