Robert Craddock: Australian batsmen, it’s time to fire up and set the tone for an epic Ashes series

To shake a leg. Surprise us. To muster their mojos and set the tone of this potentially magnificent Ashes series.

Maybe even shock us with a century opening partnership (there have been none in 15 Tests since David Warner retired).

For much of the past decade Australia has been blessed to have the Fab Four of Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon as the bedrock of their march to the top of the world.

Even when the batsmen snare man of the match awards, as Travis Head often does, significant credit goes to the smart work of the attack who minimise the amount of time the batsmen spend in the field and give them low totals to chase.

But the absence of Cummins and Hazlewood for the first Test has put the pressure squarely on the batsmen to do extra heavy lifting.

To shape the game and allow Brendon Doggett and Scott Boland to undo their top buttons and not be stifled by the pressure of weenyburger totals.

Doggett could be Australia’s surprise packet.

Since learning last Saturday that the Test debut he has craved for a decade should be coming his way he has been cool, calm, chatty and radiating the vibe of a man well prepared to claim his heart’s desire.

But he is on debut and that’s never easy.

Cameron Green looked good in his last Sheffield Shield match and don’t be surprised if this is the series in which he turns from a boy into a man.

Australia has made the right call in allowing Jake Weatherald to become the seventh – repeat seventh – man to open the batting with Usman Khawaja since Warner’s retirement but the fact that the excellent Beau Webster has been squeezed out puts pressure on the entire order to shape up.

It’s been seven years since Australia fielded an attack without both Hazlewood and Cummins.

England have the chance to cause selection room chaos because history tells us Australian sides with rotating pace attacks can be vulnerable.

The last time Australia had a severely rotating pace attack was in the shambolic series against South Africa in 2016-17 when the likes of Joe Mennie and Jackson Bird were in and out of the team and almost a dozen batsmen were used in three Tests.

An unsettled pace attack rocks the entire team.

If, as expected, England field a five-prong pace attack there will be a lot of ducking and diving to do.

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Mark Wood, Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes would be unleashed in short, sharp aggressive spells.

But great recognition awaits the Australian batsman who stares them down and points his team to an early Test win.

Bring it on!