Cricket Australia has taken the unusual step of scheduling an Ashes warm-up match in England between Australia’s best 22 players, desperate to bolster Justin Langer’s bid to retain the urn.

Australia will face Australia A next year, with the four-day game expected to serve as the tourists’ final tune-up before the first Test begins at Edgbaston on 1 August.

It is understood the match will take place at the Rose Bowl in Hampshire, starting on 23 July. The World Cup final is on 14 July at Lord’s, leaving little time between the one-day tournament and showpiece Test series.

The Australia A game is likely to be particularly important for suspended players Steve Smith and David Warner, who both met with Langer recently and are expected to be part of Australia’s World Cup defence.

One of the main arguments cited during the recent push for Smith and Warner to play the second half of the Sheffield Shield season was that denying them first-class cricket in 2019 could have a knock-on effect regarding their hopes of Ashes selection.

Nothing can replicate the intensity of a Test but Australia A, likely to feature some players on the cusp of Test selection, should prove a challenging opposition for Tim Paine’s side.

Such contests have been rare but generally willing. Australia paceman Glenn McGrath pushed Australia A batsman Matthew Hayden during a heated mid-pitch confrontation at the SCG in 1995, when the sides contested the finals of a one-day series also involving England and Zimbabwe.

CA has arranged an Australia A tour of England that will run concurrently with the World Cup, ensuring Test-only players like captain Paine have a chance to adjust to local conditions.

Don Bradman’s 1948 Invincibles played 12 tour games in England prior to their first Ashes Test but times have undeniably changed.

Tour games, especially the quality of opposition and venues, have become a big concern around the world. The International Cricket Council issued a plea this year, asking host boards to provide better treatment of visiting teams.

India’s only tune-up for the first Test is against a CA XI squad that features five players without any first-class experience. Day one at the SCG was ruined by Sydney’s storms.

Staging the World Cup forced the England Cricket Board to rejig its domestic schedule and it is understood it also affected the availability of county teams for tour games.

Worcestershire will host Australia in a three-day fixture beginning on 7 August, which falls between the first and second Ashes Tests. Derbyshire will meet Australia in a three-day game that is slated to start after the third Test, on 29 August.