Ashes 2017: Jonny Bairstow admits England are braced for onslaught of pace from Australia's bowlers

England have arrived in Brisbane with wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow admitting the tourists are braced for a pace onslaught from Australia’s fast bowlers at the Gabba.

Joe Root’s team have played three warm-up games against mediocre opposition in Perth, Adelaide and Townsville.

Slow pitches and medium-pace bowling attacks mean England have had to resort to extreme measures in the nets, using the lighter, quicker yellow Kookaburra balls to replicate what they will face against Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazelwood.

But the time for waiting is almost over and Bairstow insists England are ready for whatever is thrown at them.

“It’s exciting, isn’t it?” he said. “We’ve been over for three weeks, and it ramps up now. The exciting part is landing in Brisbane for that first Test. After finishing the Test season over in England, all eyes were on November 23 – the preparation undertaken to get us here now, and the guys are looking forward to the challenge.

“We accept and are aware of the Gabba pitch and the attack we are going to face, it’s going to be different to what’s been put in front of us in the warm-up games. But the guys have been working hard in the nets against the yellow balls putting themselves under different amounts of pressure.

“I think we’re in a good place. The camaraderie between each other and the way we’ve going about it. We want to keep moving on and working towards what is going to be a huge, huge challenge but it’s something we’re excited by.”

Bairstow played with Starc at Yorkshire in 2012 after the Australian was finally let into the country after originally being deported on his arrival in England because of visa issues.

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“Yes, I’ve played with him during his time at Yorkshire,” said Bairstow. “He’s someone who is improving, has worked on his game a heck of a lot since 2012. He’s a really nice bloke and at the same time we know he’s a competitor. He wouldn’t have been successful as a fast bowler otherwise. All the successful fast bowlers around the world have a competitive edge otherwise they wouldn’t make it.

As for the challenge of the Gabba, Bairstow, who was England’s reserve wicketkeeper behind Matt Prior when they last played there in 2013, said: “I was a young lad and it was a learning curve for me. That first Test match is something I’ll never forget, the atmosphere that was there and the buzz around it’s a really exciting week to be getting up for.

“You can see the smiles on the guys’ faces, the excitement and the buzz around them. It’s not just in England and Australia, it’s a worldwide event – it’s almost like a World Cup.”

Bairstow overcame an injury scare on the opening day of the final warm-up match in Townsville when he bruised the little finger on his left hand, leaving the field for an hour, but he has no worries over that issue ahead of the opening Test.

“I don’t think you’ve seen me go off too many times,” said Bairstow. “It hit me and I went off the ball after. I wanted to see how it was but it just kept throbbing. I went off iced it and I didn’t want you guys making a deal of it to be honest with you.

“I know if I’d stayed off it causes a problem where there isn’t necessarily one. It was case of get back out there and crack. It wasn’t the first time I’d had a crack on the fingers and it won’t be the last.”