ENGLAND are facing their toughest test so far on their Ashes tour with at least two members of Australia's likely squad for the opening Test queuing up to take on the tourists in the warm-up match at the WACA.
Having been urged by captain Nasser Hussain to improve quickly if they are to remain competitive in the Test series, England today learned that prolific opener Justin Langer is poised to captain the Western Australian side for the three-day match starting on Monday.
He will be joined by fast bowler Brad Williams, who is favourite to replace Jason Gillespie if he fails to recover from a calf strain in the Australian squad, while experienced seamer Jo Angel and explosive batsman-wicketkeeper Ryan Campbell are also likely to be included in a far stronger WA line-up.
At least the tourists, who struggled against a WA XI missing eight regular first team players during the two-day match at the WACA, can console themselves with the expected absence of Adam Gilchrist and Damien Martyn who are both preferring to take a break before the opening Test at Brisbane on November 7.
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