Ashes rivals set for first battle

Twenty20 international, Rose Bowl: England v Australia
Match begins 1730 BST

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England and Australia are both keen to set the tone for the Ashes summer in the first ever Twenty20 international on UK soil, at the Rose Bowl on Monday.

And fans have already started arriving to soak up the atmosphere and enjoy a pre-match Twenty20 game, PCA Masters against Hampshire.

A Hampshire spokeswoman told BBC Sport: "This is going to be the biggest day in the venue's history."

England captain Michael Vaughan said: "There'll be a fantastic atmosphere."

He added: "There are some great players in both teams so I'm sure it will be a great spectacle."

Vaughan knows there will be more important clashes ahead between the top highest-ranked sides in Test cricket.

"The main agenda over the next few weeks is to win the NatWest Series and NatWest Challenge," he said.

"The victory we had in the ICC Champions Trophy last year gave the guys a lot of confidence and we will try to take that into this summer.

"It is important that individuals get runs and take some wickets against the Australians and gain some confidence."

I don't think the 20-over game is much of an indication about the strength of either side Australia coach John Buchanan Coach wary of Twenty20 growth

England confirmed that pace pair Steve Harmison, who has had an ankle worry and Simon Jones, who had a sore right knee, are both fit to play.

The hosts are likely to experiment with their batting order but Geraint Jones will continue as an opening batsman.

He is one of a handful of players with Twenty20 experience in county cricket.

"We've talked to the guys who have played a lot of Twenty20 cricket and they have tried to pass on their knowledge," said Michael Vaughan.

"The basics are the same as the 50-over game - you try and get wickets, try and get in with a bit of patience and then try and clear the ropes."

Australia played the first Twenty20 international against New Zealand in February and beat an invitational side in Arundel on Thursday.

Vaughan is the England player least suited to Tenty20 - I can't believe he's starting From Rahuld Have your say on Five Live

But coach John Buchanan warned against reading too much into Monday's result.

"I don't think the 20-over game is much of an indication about the strength of either side in one-day cricket and further into the Ashes tour," he said.

"But obviously both sides would like to win it with what's ahead of us so we'll go out and give it our best shot."

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England (from): M Vaughan (capt), M Trescothick, G Jones (wkt), A Strauss, V Solanki, K Pietersen, A Flintoff, P Collingwood, A Giles, G Batty, Kabir Ali, D Gough, S Harmison, S Jones, J Lewis.

Australia (from): R Ponting (capt), A Gilchrist (wkt), M Clarke, J Gillespie, B Haddin (wkt), M Hayden, B Hogg, M Hussey, M Kasprowicz, S Katich, B Lee, D Martyn, G McGrath, A Symonds, S Watson.