Play on day one at Edgbaston will begin at 11am BST The toss will be at 10.30am - that's 7.30pm in Sydney TV/live stream: Sky Sports Cricket

UNDER three weeks since winning the Cricket World Cup, England are now battling once again as they begin the 71st edition of the Ashes against Australia

The fight for the urn kicks off at Edgbaston with five Tests set to be played over the next month and a half.

But it is England who will be under pressure on home soil, hoping the rain stays away long enough for them to pick up the three Test wins required to wrestle the famous trophy from the Aussies.

Joe Root will lead out his team that has a surprise exclusion in World Cup hero Jofra Archer.

Sam Curran and Olly Stone also miss out for England as Rory Burns gets the nod to open the batting alongside Jason Roy - with Joe Denly set to start down at number four in his Ashes debut.

Meanwhile, the current holders Australia will wait until the toss to unveil their starting eleven - with number one bowler Pat Cummins and former captain Steve Smith almost guaranteed to start.

Yet, the two old rivals will not only be battling it out for bragging rights and the famous urn in this first Test, but also to get a head start in the inaugural ICC World Test Championship.

Played over the next two years, it will see the best nine teams in the world pitted against each other with the final taking place at Lord's in June 2021.