England's cricketers have been urged to make a good start to their tour of Australia and ensure that the Ashes series stays alive until the fourth and fifth Tests at Christmas.
The England squad headed off to Australia on Thursday hoping to win the Ashes for the first time in 15 years against the team ranked number one in the world.
And chairman of selectors David Graveney has told his players that they must be on top form from the first Test, which starts in Brisbane on 7 November.
Graveney said: "We do have a habit of starting slowly in Test series. It's as if we're not quite sure of our own ability and we're a bit cautious about sorting out the opposition.
Ian Healy has dismissed England's chances of winning this summer's Ashes series.
He former Australian vice-captain acknowledges the strides England have made under captain Nasser Hussain, but believes the tourists won't be a genuine threat until the next series on home soil in 2005.
England have noticeably improved in recent years under the joint guidance of Hussain and coach Duncan Fletcher, winning four consecutive series for the first time since 1979 and introducing a host of exciting youngsters onto the scene.
But Healy still rates Steve Waugh's side a shoo-in for the forthcoming Ashes series, because he believes England are not yet capable of competing in Australian conditions.
"I can't see it being any better for England than the last series," he said. "England may get a Test match, but I don't see the tale of the Ashes changing.
Former West Indies captain Garfield Sobers believes England will give Australia a sterner test than most people expect in the Ashes series starting next month.
But the world record-breaking all rounder stopped short of predicting that Nasser Hussain's team will beat the world champions, saying the best they can hope for is to give the Australians a real contest.
"Don't be too surprised if they really give the Australians a bit of a fight," Sobers told the National Press Club on Thursday.
"England this year will give Australia problems, (but) I'm not saying they will win."
Sobers, 66, said he had been impressed by England's batsmen during the recent northern hemisphere summer, saying they were playing more confidently and aggressively.
"I have watched them in England and I think they are a different team," he said. "To me, they seem now to put bat to ball, instead of putting pad to ball. I think that is a great improvement."
Sobers, in Australia to promote his latest book, also forecast a rapid improvement in the fortunes of Caribbean cricket.
Glenn Mcgrath believes outspoken English opener Michael Vaughan could be on a "hiding to nothing" after declaring he wanted to be the Australian spearhead's No.1 target this summer.
Speaking ahead of England's arrival in Perth today, Vaughan said he wasn't intimidated by McGrath's reputation and would be "disappointed" if he wasn't the speedster's primary focus in the five-Test series.
"I am happy for him to say that," was McGrath's reply.
"When I do that I find it actually puts more pressure on me to actually go out there and perform.
"That's the way I'd rather play. I like that pressure - it'll be interesting to see how he handles that pressure.