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James Pattinson celebrates the wicket of Alastair Cook during the first session at Trent Bridge. Source: AAP
Welcome to our live coverage of the first Ashes Test from Trent Bridge.
For all the best late mail, scroll further down this story for an excellent analysis from the Herald Sun's Jamie Tate.
Otherwise, stay tuned for all the latest scores, analysis, videos and reaction from social media.
Join us for live coverage of every moment of the Ashes series from the first ball tonight, including a live match centre with scores, stats, Hawkeye display of every delivery and video highlights throughout each session.
[View the story "Live: First Ashes Test, Day One" on Storify]
The first of 10 Ashes Tests to take place over the next six months kicks off tonight at Trent Bridge, Nottingham.
If the series lives up to half the hype, we're in for a gripping contest.
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So what can we expect this evening?
TEAMS
BREAKING SELECTION: Australia all-rounder Steve Smith will make his Ashes debut, beating Dave Warner for Australia's No.6 spot.
Warner was heavily tipped to play in the opening Test at Trent Bridge despite not having played for a month after being stood down for behavioural reasons.
Smith adds an extra spin option for Darren Lehmann's side, with the pitch expected dry-out towards the back-end of the Test.
Fast bowlers Peter Siddle, Mitchell Starc and James Pattinson all rested from Australia's optional net session last night at which fellow quicks Ryan Harris, Jackson Bird and James Faulkner all took part.
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It was a sure sign Siddle will join Starc and Pattinson alongside Nathan Lyon tonight.
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England has one decision to make - Steven Finn or Tim Bresnan. Bresnan might win out for his ability to deliver reverse swing, especially considering talk of a very dry pitch.
Bresnan has taken four or more wickets in a Test five times - three of those have been at Trent Bridge.
PITCH
MICHAEL Clarke noted with surprise when he first saw the pitch last Sunday that it was ready to play on then.
Maybe it's a CEO's pitch. Maybe the Wednesday start has conspired to produce a batsman-friendly strip that's sure to last five days. When every day at the 16,000 capacity is a sellout, there's a lot of coin on the line for England cricket authorities.
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Notably, the pitch has been under cover the past two days despite plenty of sunshine and no threat of rain. Is the curator worried about the pitch deteriorating too quickly?
Expect the captain who wins the toss tonight to bat without hesitation and a first-innings score of 400 will be the pass mark.
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The past nine Tests have all been results, expect this to provide a winner, too. The team batting first has won six of those matches.
BIG THREAT
GRAEME Swann looms ever large.
He has a modest Test record at his home county ground, three wickets at 65 runs apiece, but with hot weather and an Australian batting line-up loaded with left-handers, he could be the decisive player come days three, four and five.
This bloke should really be playing for us. You have to love the attitude of a man who had this to say at a lead-up press conference: "Hopefully we can provide a lot of people with a lot of reasons to get very drunk ... If I wasn't playing in this series I would be standing in a pub come Thursday afternoon for six weeks solid cheering on England.''
THE PUNT
UNLESS nerves take hold of batsmen, this match could be a slow burn to start with before catching fire at the end.
Don't be surprised to see plenty of runs on the first three days, which would open up betting opportunities.
If you like either England ($1.95 at the TAB) or Australia ($3.50), don't take the odds offered pre-match, wait for something around $3 for England and/or $7 Australia inside the first two days.
When the pitch wears late in the game, those odds could bring gold. The draw is currently $3.75 and should stay tight in the first two or three days.
Shane Watson could hardly be in better touch and looks a strong option to be Australia's highest scorer in the first innings ($4.50 at the TAB).
Kevin Pietersen's Test average at Trent Bridge (465 runs @ 38.8) is better than any of his teammates at the venue. He's also $4.50 to score most first innings runs for England.
But the England group is a much more open market. Watson is by far the better value.
Australia's XI: Shane Watson, Chris Rogers, Ed Cowan, Michael Clarke (C), Phil Hughes, Steve Smith, Brad Haddin, Peter Siddle, James Pattinson, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon.
Join us for live coverage of every moment of the Ashes series from the first ball tonight, including a live match centre with scores, stats, Hawkeye display of every delivery and video highlights throughout each session
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Ashton Agar of Australia receives his Baggy Green cap on his Test debut from Glenn McGrath. Source:Getty Images
IF shock selection Ashton Agar was hoping for a Shane Warne moment with his first ball in an Ashes Test it failed to materialise on day one at Trent Bridge.
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With England consolidating before going to lunch at 2-98, Agar was brought on little more than an hour into this Ashes series.
Sadly for the nervous 19-year-old his first delivery was a low full toss which the experienced Jonathan Trott drove through the covers to the boundary.
Trott was in outstanding touch, stroking eight boundaries on the way to 37 not out at lunch as a nervous and inexperienced Australian attack struggled for consistency.
To be fair Agar bowled just one other ball which was scored from in his initial three-over spell, a short delivery that was cut for four, as his drift and drop troubled Trott at times.
Warne had already played 11 Tests and taken 31 wickets when he delivered "that ball" which bowled Mike Gatting during the 1993 tour. Agar has taken 31 wickets in his 10 first class games.
Before Agar's arrival at the bowling crease England captain Alastair Cook added to his dreadful record at Trent Bridge, caught behind for 13 playing a loose drive at a delivery from James Pattinson.
In his six previous Tests at the ground Cook had averaged just 19.5 and has never made a half-century there.
Bowling first change behind Pattinson and Mitchell Starc, Peter Siddle's troubles on this tour were again obvious as he strayed into the pads, conceding almost six runs an over.
However Siddle's first delivery at the Radcliffe Road end replacing Agar brought instance success.
A wonderful yorker to Joe Root (30) swung away late from the right hander, flying past the outside edge of his bat and crashing into the base of off stump.
Kevin Pietersen could have been dismissed for just one when he tickled a ball from Pattinson down the leg side.
Wicket-keeper Brad Haddin dived desperately but the ball flew under his left glove on the way to the boundary.
It was no surprise when Cook won the toss and batted on a surprisingly dry pitch.
There was grey cloud cover aiding swing and forcing the lights to be turned on just half an hour into the day's play.
Australia's struggle for consistency was highlighted by the fact that 18 boundaries were scored in the morning session.
While some were think edges that easily avoided the slips and gully, many were poor deliveries that were picked off through the leg or off side.
Australia's lack of experience showed, with Pattinson having played just 10 Tests going into this series and Starc nine.
Siddle was the man expected to bring that steadying hand to the squad after 41 Tests and with a previous Ashes tour behind him but struggled at times.
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Quade Cooper ... is back in the Wallabies' frame. Source: Dave Hunt / AAP
QUADE Cooper says he's unsure if he will ever speak with Robbie Deans again but is just happy the dedication of his coach Ewen McKenzie has finally been rewarded.
Speaking News Limited last night, the star flyhalf said he harboured no ill-will towards axed Wallabies coach Deans but there were no regrets over his infamous "toxic environment" comments.
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Those Twitter outbursts ultimately formed part of the reason the New Zealand native was dumped on Tuesday, a move several months in the planning and on the back of a series loss to the Lions.
Cooper said talk of him being the Wallabies' automatic No.10 was premature and the appointment of Reds coach McKenzie to the Australian post was not a "green card to the Test team".
Cooper and Deans will not be catching up for coffee but, despite being culled from the Test team because of their falling out, Cooper did not want to celebrate his fall.
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Cooper said he was just thankful his mentor had the opportunity and backed McKenzie to get the best out of each Wallabies' player.
"I don't know if I will talk to Robbie again but we haven't talked much in the past year anyway," he said.
"I have no negative feelings at all. I don't regret anything. I'm not negative about anyone - now is just about congratulating Ewen.
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"I'm just really proud he got the job. I know how hard he has worked, he's a great coach and a great person.
"I know he will do all he can to set up the Australian camp for success. He will do great things for Australia."
The anti-Deans comments Cooper delivered nine months ago divided Australia's rugby community but, on reflection, they clearly had merit considering Deans' ultimate winning record of 58 per cent and no Bledisloe Cup.
While Deans insisted his dropping of Cooper was not personal, key Wallabies staff criticised the playmaker to travelling British journalists.
With McKenzie's first task as Wallabies coach back-to-back Tests against the All Blacks it seems inevitable Cooper will be reunited with halfback Will Genia.
His chance to make McKenzie's Test choice obvious begins against the NSW Waratahs in Sydney this Saturday night. Cooper was adamant McKenzie would make him earn a recall: "I have to earn my spot.
"We have four games left to win a Super Rugby Championship and that starts against the NSW Waratahs this weekend.
"People would kill for the opportunity to be where I am so I'm just fortunate."
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Outgoing coach Damien Hill at a Rebels training session this season. Source: Getty Images
OUTGOING Rebels coach Damien Hill believes the alcohol-fuelled bust up in South Africa between two of his biggest stars was a ''major'' reason for his axing.
Yet the club maintains playmaker Kurtley Beale - the man who was at the centre of the drama - is a wanted player for next season.
Although Beale won't be selected on Friday night, with the club last night announcing he would continue his 'off-field program' in Sydney.
Yesterday, a reflective Hill - who will be replaced by Wallabies coaching co-ordinator Ton McGahan - admitted the infamous clash between Beale and Cooper Vuna contributed to his downfall.
''It probably was a major factor,'' Hill conceded.
Hill begrudgingly accepted that coaches are responsible for the actions of their players.
''At the end of the day, the behaviours of the playing group on and off the field - someone has to be held accountable,'' he said.
''In sport, that is the head coach.''
While a low point for the Rebels' season, Hill said his proudest moment during his tenure at the club was the way his players responded following the sending home of the two players.
''The performances we put on the paddock over that six-week or seven-week period would have us sitting fifth on the ladder now.
''I regret that South African incident occurring but it really did tighten the group up and through that sort of adversity you get a better group of people and that's what happened.''
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McGahan will take over a Rebels team that will be without Wallaby James O'Connor, who the club has decided to cut ties with at the end of the season.
The decision yesterday received the support of Rebels and Wallaby forward Scott Higginbotham, who is believed to be close to O'Connor.
''He (O'Connor) has been an outstanding player for the club and he is a Wallaby.
No one questions his playing ability,'' Higginbotham said.
''It was more a selection issue and how the club felt he fitted into the team dynamic.
''With a lot of young guys coming through and new guys shining, it was a time start fresh.
''It was a good opportunity and I think it's just what had to happen.''
Hill, who will coach his final game against the Highlanders at AAMI Park on Friday night, insists the club is heading in the right direction.
''It's disappointing - the club is really going places,'' he said.
''We had an excellent back half of the season and I can really see promising things happening for next year as well.
''So for not to be part of it is disappointing, but the decision has been made and I need to move on.''
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It's no secret that Benji Marshall (L) is disenchanted at Wests Tigers. Source:Getty Images
THE Waratahs admit they've spoken with Benji Marshall but his Kiwi pride and Israel Folau appear to have scuttled any possible switch.
NSW captain Dave Dennis confirmed rumours the Tahs and Marshall's management had held recent discussions, with an eye to the disgruntled Tiger playing fullback in rugby.
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"I think there's been a bit of truth to that. You've seen how good Izzy's gone, if he was to come, you never know, it could be an absolute flop but if he is a skillful player and if he was to come I might see him as a No.15 or something, out the back," Dennis said.
But short of Marshall playing for loose change, chances of the 28-year-old playing rugby are, effectively, next-to-none.
The Waratahs are banking on both Israel Folau and Kurtley Beale to re-sign with them next season, exhausting their salary cap.
Even if both fell through, Marshall's proud New Zealand heritage is understood to be a major hurdle.
Unless Marshall declared himself available for the Wallabies – which he doesn't want to do - the ARU would not offer him any top-up money, and the Waratahs couldn't afford his $750,000 a season price tag on their own for a foreign marquee player.
"I think it depends on what other blokes do. If Israel stays and Kurtley is keen to come, I don't think we'll have much room for him," Dennis said. "But if those fall through it's an option that he's willing to take up, Benji.
"We'll see what happens. But at the moment it's pretty far off, but there is a bit of truth to it I think, I think he's interested in having a crack at rugby."
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Ewen McKenzie and ARU CEO Bill Pulver chat after the former was named Wallabies coach. Source: Patrick Hamilton / Getty Images
ROBBIE Deans was a dead man walking because the decision to dump him for a more risk-tasking Wallabies coach was made even before the blockbuster series against the Lions.
Re-energising the Wallabies style dictated coach Ewen McKenzie would be swept into power on Tuesday, even if Deans had produced a series triumph last Saturday in Sydney rather than a 41-16 calamity.
Quade Cooper's return from Test exile and a strict new Wallabies disciplinary code that will boot James O'Connor and Kurtley Beale off Test teams for incidents like their recent misbehaviour, is rugby's new future.
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It was on Tuesday uncovered the time bomb ticking under the Deans reign which was kept secret from the 74-Test coach.
"Robbie achieved a great deal in his five years but it was probably a month ago that I cleared up in my mind that the Wallabies were ready for a change," Australian Rugby Union boss Bill Pulver said
"No, I didn't tell him (until Monday)...we did not want to mess with his head leading into the series.
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Pulver made it plain that McKenzie's track record for innovative attack was a major factor in his selection while also saying a new coach meant a tough new line in the sand on team discipline.
"It's more than just the coach (Deans) accountable for the 58 per cent success rate of the Wallabies. He coached through a period where the All Blacks were outstanding and inherited some (disciplinary) procedures," Pulver added.
"Arguably the most important variable of all is that Ewen has the capability of coaching the way the Australian public want to see the game played...smart, creative running rugby."
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The "Dingo cull" on Tuesday put an Aussie drawl to the Wallabies bark for the first time since 2007.
"We have the players. Get the head space and the tactics right and we can put a lot of pressure on the All Blacks, not once but twice (next month) because we want the Bledisloe Cup back," McKenzie said.
It all points to Cooper playing five-eighth against the All Blacks on August 17 in Sydney although McKenzie was more diplomatic with his words than the Reds tie he wore to Tuesday's announcement.
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"Quade is ready to play Test rugby again. I know it will have hurt him watching the Lions series when he would have backed himself to make a difference," McKenzie said.
"When you miss out, absence focuses the mind. Quade is in a good space but it's not a matter of one player. I haven't made any calls yet and I don't have a closed mind."
Jumping on the self-centred ill-discipline of O'Connor, who slept in and missed a team bus to training last Thursday in Sydney a week after his blaise apology for a 4am Hungry Jacks visit, must be a priority.
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McKenzie will have a face-to-face with the wayward Wallabies back, a limited five-eighth experiment against the British and Irish Lions.
"I've only spoken to James O'Connor twice. I'm not going to pre-judge," McKenzie said.
"We should be talking wow factor in rugby not discipline. If you can't change behaviours, you change the people."
McKenzie banned Digby Ioane for a game at the Reds this season for tarnishing the team image even before police had fully investigated a minor assault charge. His disciplinary stance is hardline.
"I want players to step up and be very proud. To me, it's a week to week contract as a Wallaby. You make the most of it because if you're not doing the right thing that contract might not be there," McKenzie said.
"If you are crystal clear (on a disciplinary code) you don't have to be too tolerant."
McKenzie was Beale's first senior coach at NSW in 2007 so he has a history there to try to get another enigmatic talent back on the rails consistently.
Reds tighthead prop James Slipper is one player whose Test stocks will rise because he fits McKenzie's high workrate ideas for his pack. McKenzie's adaptable game plans and giving senior playmakers like Cooper and Will Genia more buy-in to tactics will be differences to the Deans method.
Kevin Pietersen is an unpredictable cricketer that is devastating on his day. Source: Eranga Jayawardena / AP
Clearly Andrew Strauss has never played with a more selfish cricketer than Kevin Pietersen.
England's most recent former captain spent a page in London's Sunday Times attempting to balance the brilliance of Pietersen as a player with the difficulty of dealing with him as a person
"Genius or narcissist? Or both?" Strauss began, answering his own question by confirming as much as he carefully picked his way through the minefield that is Pietersen.
"He could easily be called England's greatest ever player as well as the most disruptive," Strauss continued. "In short, he is a man full of complexities that even those who know him best would struggle to unravel."
It is fitting that Pietersen is spelt with an "I". His teammates tolerate him because they know that winning the Ashes without him would be far more difficult.
With Pietersen struggling to move beyond the mirror, his perception of the wider world is so limited that his motives shone through as totally self-centred.
His extended dummy spit over not being allowed to pick and choose which games he would play for England so he could make an even larger fortune in the IPL led to the extraordinary suspension of England's best cricketer.
After a brilliant 149 against South Africa at Headingley almost a year ago, Pietersen brought the saga to a head by claiming "it's not easy being me playing for England" and said the next Test at Lord's could be his last.
Those confused by the Englishman's strong South Africa accent would have been forgiven for thinking that Pietersen had declared himself a Muppet, which seems entirely appropriate. After all, it was Kermit the Frog who told us it's not easy being green.
It turned out that Pietersen wasn't envious, just annoyed, but not nearly as annoyed as his teammates and the hierarchy, led by coach Andy Flower.
The last straw was the revelation that Pietersen had sent derogatory texts to his South Africa opponents about Strauss, a lack of loyalty which hurt the England captain deeply.
Pietersen was given some enforced thinking time.
England's "reintegration" process was almost as embarrassing as Pietersen's disintegration, with public apologies as unconvincing as the bizarre YouTube video he put out just before his suspension in which he recanted his claims and professed a love for England.
It was the verbal equivalent of Canadian tennis-player-turned-Brit Greg Rusedski waving the Union Jack.
While Pietersen's public utterances were stereotypically farcical off the field, he was typically brilliant on it.
In his second Test back from suspension after being a late inclusion in the touring party for India, Pietersen was a tour de force, defying India on a spinning pitch to score 186, an innings described by those who saw it as his finest.
It turned the series on its head after England had lost the first Test and they went on to win the series 2-1.
Pietersen has always had a problem with dressing rooms in England.
Jason Gallian, the captain at his first county, Nottinghamshire, the venue for the first Test, became so annoyed with Pietersen he threw the recently arrived South African's gear off the dressing room balcony.
Apparently Pietersen had told the former Australian under-19 captain the pitch wasn't up to his standard and he wanted to leave. Pietersen had a similarly difficult relationship with Notts coach Mick Newell, who believes it is a matter of when, not if, Pietersen will have another dressing room meltdown.
Strauss finished by issuing Australia a warning but, as always with Pietersen, there are provisos. "If he intends to prove his commitment to English cricket over the next six months, then Australia had better look out," Strauss said.
Australia's Ashes hopes could rest with Pietersen's mindset.
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Well prepared ... Ewen McKenzie is the new Wallabies coach? Source: Dan Peled / AAP
NEW Wallabies coach Ewen McKenzie faces an immediate challenge to restore harmony, with revelations senior members of the team have had enough of stars James O'Connor and Kurtley Beale.
In their latest late-night adventure, the two were spotted at Kings Cross at 5.30am on Sunday after the Wallabies were hammered by the British & Irish Lions, a result which led to yesterday's sacking of coach Robbie Deans.
McKenzie is expected to be announced as Deans' replacement today - as revealed in yesterday's The Daily Telegraph - and will need to stamp his authority by making it clear that the pair's behaviour will no longer be tolerated.
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Some players had grown tired of Deans giving Beale and O'Connor chance after chance, including last week when the pair missed the team bus to training and had to catch a taxi.
It followed their infamous 4am photo at Hungry Jack's with a Lions fan before the second Test the week before.
Senior members of the Wallabies team believe team culture and standards have dropped in the past two years and hope that the new coach makes a clear stand.
With McKenzie in charge, controversial Wallabies omission Quade Cooper will have his Test career revived.
The pair are close and have shared much success at the Queensland Reds. It is likely Cooper will return to the Wallabies' No.10 jersey immediately, leaving incumbent O'Connor's position unclear.
McKenzie beat Brumbies coach Jake White for the Wallabies head coaching job.
A hastily set-up ARU panel yesterday decided to give the Australian a two-year contract that will take in the 2015 World Cup. After receiving the unwanted news yesterday, Deans unloaded on the squash courts, playing a game at Moore Park in the afternoon.
Deans, who had been contracted until the end of the year, had his term cut short by six months and McKenzie will take charge for next month's Rugby Championship. His first game as Wallabies coach will be against the All Blacks on August 17 in Sydney.
The entire Wallabies coaching staff will be up for review once McKenzie takes over, with assistant coach Tony McGahan already moving on after agreeing to become head coach of the Melbourne Rebels for 2014.
