Joe Root’s instructions were curt but commanding as England gave their clearest indication yet of their Ashes XI and their captain urged Australia to “bring it on” with the first Test looming.

Root learned plenty from his first tour of Australia, when he was a blue-eyed freshman aged 22, averaged 27 and was removed from the line of fire by the time of the final Test in Sydney. He believes England were underprepared for the antagonistic atmosphere that awaited them and that he “wasn’t ready”. The result was England being “caught out”, then whitewashed. Between times, “everything seemed to happen quite quickly” and he soon discovered that Ashes tours do a remarkable line in unravelling.

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The captain wants his team to be wiser, brighter, and more in control. They have not complained about the quality of opposition they have warmed up against (largely promising young players) or the pitches they have warmed up on (very sluggish), neither of which resemble what awaits at the Gabba next week. Root again shrugged off questions about the three spots – opening bat, No6, and wicketkeeper – Australia have as yet failed to fill in their own side. England’s buildup has been inward-looking and low-key by necessity.

Now Steven Finn is back home and Ben Stokes remains absent, only six of England’s squad were here in 2013-14, so Root is seeking to explain to his squad how playing in Australia feels. “It’s almost against all the odds, isn’t it? You’re in their backyard – everyone in the ground seems to think that they’re playing for Australia, and they’ll do everything they can to help their side,” he says in neat summation. “You’ve got the opportunity to upset that, go and do something really special. That’s the way I want to approach it.

“I think conversations about last time can be healthy, if they’re done in the right way,” he adds, aware that his captaincy, demeanour and batting will set the tone, but that he will also be targeted.

“One thing for me [this time] will be making sure the game is played at my pace,” he says. “Trying to be nice and calm and collected out in the middle – and feel really ready for that aspect of Test cricket, which you do experience here in Australia.

“I’ve heard a lot of chat about targeting me in particular. From our point of view, we’ll be targeting every one of them – we won’t be singling anyone out.

“I think it’s [targeting the captain] something they use as a tool sometimes, to try to get the crowd and the public behind it, to try to get on my back verbally. If they’re wasting energy trying harder at me, then I hope that works well for the rest of the guys.”

Australia’s Pat Cummins spoke on Tuesday about wishing to emulate Mitchell Johnson, England’s destroyer last time. “It would be a role I would love to play,” said the New South Wales quick, who is yet to play a Test at home. “As a fast bowler it’s [about] getting in their face and being relentless in everything we do.”

But Root believes England have smartened up enough to counter this, and just wants to get going. “There’s been a lot of talk,” he says. “Some of it exciting and some of it a load of rubbish. Especially from some of the Aussie players.

“Last time that [aggression] caught us out, and I think we are a bit wiser this time. It’s making sure we are absolutely prepared for any scenario out there, and absolutely ready for that first game, whatever they throw at us. We expect it to be hostile, we expect it to be a very loud and rowdy atmosphere at the Gabba.”

England appear to have settled on their side. Craig Overton’s selection for the third successive tour match should see him play the first Test, for England have given themselves little choice and will dearly hope their fast-bowling injury epidemic is easing.

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Jake Ball is due to begin running again on Wednesday, but he will surely not have seen enough bowling to appear in Brisbane. England could have tried Tom Curran (or even the recent arrival, George Garton) here, but have opted not to because Overton and Chris Woakes want more miles in their legs before the first Test.

“Craig’s been brilliant,” Root adds. “He’s come in on this tour, thrown himself into every game and every opportunity whenever he has got the ball. He’s stood up and put his hand up to be selected, and that’s what you want. All the guys who haven’t played before have shown a lot of promise, and gone about things the right way in practice and in the games too.”

Jimmy Anderson is missing the final warm-up game with a bug, but Stuart Broad is back and, anticipating another slow surface, England decided to ease Moeen Ali and his recovered side into action by pairing him with Mason Crane. Moeen comes in beneath a settling top-six that is being given every chance to succeed. It is time they repaid England’s faith with centuries, and by parking their worrisome tendency to collapse