CRICKET: Back to basics is Hussain's strategy, England are up against it in this series. It would be foolish to pretend otherwise but it is no disgrace to admit it either. For a decade Australia have dominated international cricket as did West Indies in the 80s which does not mean, as tame sections of the Australian media would have it, that by definition every one else is second rate.

Nasser Hussain spoke eloquently yesterday of doing the basics well, of mental fortitude and the genuine desire of players, many of whom have yet to experience the intensity of an Ashes series, to pit their skills against the best there is.

And in a firm voice he spoke of how disciplined cricket can be used to put Australia under pressure when the series begins in Brisbane in the early hours of tomorrow morning. Hang in there, he was saying, and if you bring the possibility of losing into the equation, then it brings with it a whole new dimension even to a side so used to winning as Australia.

It is worth remembering that in the past couple of years, Australia have lost a series to India and but for some inept umpiring would have done so to a brilliantly organised and disciplined New Zealand side.

They were not invulnerable, and with cracks now starting to appear in the superstructure - the dropping of Mark Waugh and his replacement with a fringe player, Darren Lehmann, shows uncharacteristic indecision, the flashy Brett Lee is under a shadow, and there have been injury worries too - they must be more so now.

The 10-1 odds offered against England might be a fair reflection of how previous series have gone but are not, says Hussain, representative of how England can play.

To beat Australia, however, they must have a strategy that England are prepared to see through. Hussain has spent time watching videos of New Zealand's series last year, and while recognising that there were elements of luck involved - not least with the weather which kept things alive until the final match - will have drawn much from the inventive field placings employed by Stephen Fleming, the extreme discipline demonstrated by the bowlers, the impact made at the end by an untried genuinely fast bowler in Shane Bond and the capacity of the batsmen to counter the threat of Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne with unstinting concentration and adhesion to a game plan.

The fact that the fast bowler Jason Gillespie, who had a calf-muscle injury, and the wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist, who spent Monday night in hospital on an antibiotic drip to treat an elbow infection, were both cleared to play yesterday has given England further things to worry about.

Broadly, England will use the same tactics, which involve frustrating the batsmen so that they cannot move the game on at the heady pace to which they are accustomed, holding catches and spending as much time over accumulating a total as necessary. What they cannot afford to do is to get sucked - taunted even - into trying to take the opposition on at their own game as happened in England last year.

Injuries have interrupted much of England's preparations and of those with fitness concerns who would be a first-choice, only Michael Vaughan, who made a century against Queensland on Monday, has proved himself subsequently. The loss of Darren Gough was a blow but not unexpected.

Most debate, when Hussain and Duncan Fletcher chose their side today, will centre on Andy Flintoff who generally struggled his way through the match against Queensland.

Hussain makes no bones about the fact that he wants Flintoff there if possible. "In our side he has nothing to prove," he says. "He has been there for us for a year or two and has performed. The only thing at the moment is whether he is fit enough to do it two or three days running. On the first day against Queensland he was fine but the next he was stiff. I doubt you can stand five days intense Test cricket if not 100 per cent fit."

There are three solutions to an absent Flintoff. The most likely is that Craig White would replace him at number seven to provide an extra bowling option. A more pragmatic decision would see another batsman, Robert Key, come in leaving three seamers - Andy Caddick, on whom much rests, Matthew Hoggard and Simon Jones - and Ashley Giles to do the bowling. One final alternative is for Giles to be omitted and the pace attack augmented by Alex Tudor who is here pro tem as cover for the injured Steve Harmison.

Whichever side is selected, Hussain knows that how his side shapes up for the first day, first session, first over even, can set the tone for the series.

"For too long now Australia have dictated terms by putting pressure on the opposition. But if you stay in cricket matches going into third or fourth day and the opposition can lose the game they play differently. And that is what we have to do to Australia in every Test match this series."

ENGLAND (from): N Hussain (capt), ME Trescothick, MP Vaughan, MA Butcher, JP Crawley, AJ Stewart (wkt), A Flintoff, AF Giles, SP Jones, AR Caddick, MJ Hoggard, RWT Key, C White.

AUSTRALIA (from): SR Waugh (capt), JL Langer, ML Hayden, RT Ponting, DR Martyn, DS Lehmann, AC Gilchrist (wkt), SK Warne, B Lee, JN Gillespie, GD McGrath, AJ Bichel.

Umpires: SA Bucknor & RE Koertzen (SA).