Australia Will be Fresh and Ready to Fight Back at Lord's

After a week in which the challenges have continued to stack up for Australia, Lord's provides the perfect setting for them to up their performance from Cardiff and remind people who currently holds the Ashes. There will have been some home truths delivered during the time in between Tests and a reaction is now expected. (Test preview)

The news that Brad Haddin will not take the field for Thursday's second Test is a blow for the captain, Michael Clarke. Brad is a fierce competitor and his most trusted lieutenant, both on the field and in the dressing room. There is no bullshit with Hadds and his value isn't just in the numbers. He drives the team forward through his own hard work and gives brutally honest feedback on the performance of the side, both individually and as a collective. (Also read: Brad Haddin may miss 2nd Test)

But family always comes first and the personal reasons behind his withdrawal must be respected. Cricket is a passion for millions but for the players it is a job too and if something needs addressing in your home life, you do not think twice over pulling out. We all wish him well. Brad does not need me to tell him what a respected cricketer he is and I am sure we will see him wearing the Baggy Green again soon.

His replacement, Peter Nevill, now comes into a Test debut at Lord's after pushing hard in the Sheffield Shield back home for some time. His numbers with the bat are impressive - he averaged 76 in first-class cricket last season - and his reputation behind the stumps has been glowing for some time. All the indications are that he will be joined by Mitchell Marsh, the all-rounder, who comes in for Shane Watson.

The selectors were in a bit of a lose-lose situation here. Had no changes been made, they would have been labelled stubborn. Make the changes, as it appears they have, then they're panicking. But let's strip all that out of the way and look at it solely in cricketing terms. Watto is a talented player but his job has been to bat No6 and contribute with the ball and in Cardiff this did not happen. Plus I am sure they looked at his body language and challenged him on that.

Senior players have to step up in high-pressure cricket such as the Ashes but he laboured in the field in the first Test and when batting, England's plan to him became too obvious. The decision the selectors therefore had to make was a call on whether he could adapt to this and it appears we now have our answer.

Marsh is a talented young cricketer, who is both a bustling seamer - remember his five-fer against England in the World Cup? - and an attacking batsman. The time has clearly come to back the younger man, which is becoming a theme in world cricket, and while you will expect inconsistency he has the capacity to put on match-winning performances too.

There has been quite a bit of noise surrounding Australia's decision to decline a beer after the Cardiff Test. My reading of this is pretty simple, in that Alastair Cook has made a legitimate offer to the opposition and they have given a legitimate "thanks-but-no-thanks" in reply. There has been some suggestion that this was all a bit of skulduggery on England's part, knowing full well they would decline.

But Cookie is not that kind of guy, he is as genuine as you get. Where the real scepticism from Australia comes is when Jimmy Anderson decides to go public with this information. Now I have mentioned in the past that Jimmy is a player who gets under the skin of Australians; he has previous for being a wind-up merchant, so it's no surprise to see his motives questioned here.

It's a storm in a teacup, sure, but more telling than the relationship between the two sides - which I believe remains one of respect - is the depth of distrust when it comes to Anderson. Australia have had a policy for some time about not sharing a beer until the hostilities are done. England, after a good-natured series with New Zealand, can't be blamed for looking to continue that but they have their answer now and the matter should end there.

The 11 Australians that take the field at Lord's join a privileged group of players to experience Test cricket at the home of cricket. It is a unique experience, walking through the Long Room and out on to the field. I had to wait until my second tour of England, in 2001, to play there in a Test and was lucky enough to get my name on the honours board with five for 53.

That was around the time we as bowlers had started to raise the ball to the crowd to acknowledge the feat but that was as much Mark Waugh's moment as mine, as he held one at slip off Darren Gough to break the world record for catches with his 158th. There is something about the ground that touring Australian teams feed off and while we have lost our last two Tests there, there is the small matter of a 75-year unbeaten stretch prior to that.

So with the side freshened up through the additions of Nevill and Marsh, I would expect to see Australia fight back from that lacklustre showing in Cardiff and put the pressure back on England. Clarke and the head coach, Darren Lehmann, will expect nothing less.