England

Ali is under pressure to keep his spot in England's side ahead of rookie Mason Crane, after taking just three wickets at 135 for the series and failing to spin England to victory in Melbourne.

A notable all-rounder, Ali has managed to average just 19.42 batting in the top seven for England after a side strain struck him down in warm-up matches and he later battled a cut finger.

Television images showed James Anderson pressing his thumb into the ball and with England getting the ball to reverse swing early, there were suggestions that the tourists had illegally altered its condition.

However, Bayliss told reporters there was nothing in the claims and that the match officials had confirmed that no action would be taken.

"Well, it's a beat-up," he said. "As soon as I saw the headlines, I raced into the umpires and those were their words actually, 'nothing to worry about, it's a beat-up, you're absolutely fine'. That's as much as I know.

Smith struggled to contain his glee when the coin fell his way for the first time this series, guaranteeing the hosts first use of a flat pitch as they seek to further embarrass England after reclaiming the urn in Perth.

Warner pummelled England's beleaguered attack in the morning session, scoring 83 from 94 balls as Australia raced to 102-0 at lunch.

The hosts managed just 43 runs in the middle session, when Warner benefited from a no-ball reprieve on 99.

The culture warriors are circling their wagons around January 26 as Australia Day and draping themselves in the flag, even though it was almost ignored until the bicentennial year of 1988.

The public holiday associated with our national day was generally allocated to the Monday nearest the actual date, and my youthful memories were of it being observed with vastly less solemnity than Anzac Day.

Seamer Josh Hazlewood finished with a five-wicket haul as England were bowled out for 218 before tea at the WACA, four years after Alastair Cook's side meekly handed back the urn at the same venue, and with the same humiliating 3-0 scoreline.

Play was delayed by three hours by damp patches on the pitch and rain squalls throughout the morning, but it was not enough to save England as they lost their last six wickets for 85 runs.

"So many different emotions are coming out right now, I'm that excited," Australia skipper Steve Smith said.

England will open their campaign against Tunisia on Monday, 18 June in Volgograd at 7pm UK time. The two sides met in the 1998 World Cup group stage in France, with goals from Alan Shearer and Paul Scholes giving England a 2-0 win in Marseille.

Gareth Southgate's side then travel to Nizhny where they will face Panama on Sunday, 24 June at 1pm UK time.

Their final group game will be against Belgium in Kaliningrad on Thursday, 28 June at 7pm kick-off UK time.

Anderson has also accused the hosts of concocting, "a deliberate ploy to say things close to the stump mics so it would be picked up by the media".

Jonny Bairstow headbutted Cameron Bancroft when the pair crossed paths during England's first night on tour but the story did not break until day four of the first Test, when Australia sledged the keeper about the bizarre clash.

The visitors were disappointed with the hosts' conduct during the Ashes opener at the Gabba, where Australia were challenged early but eventually cruised to a 10-wicket win.

The inspirational loose forward suffered a quadriceps strain against Tonga but hasn't recovered in time. Sam Burgess will skipper the side, a role he performed during the 2016 Four Nations, with Ben Currie starting and Jonny Lomax moving to the bench.

This, as the malaprop-prone American baseball coach Yogi Berra once said, is like déjà vu all over again.

Here we are but a single Test into the Ashes series and to the dismay of visiting supporters, and the contrasting merriment of Australians, England's tour appears to be unravelling before their eyes like a cricket jumper inadvertently snagged on a dressing room nail, just as it did four years ago.

The suspended 26-year-old was purportedly photographed at a London airport, sparking speculation England was rushing him to Australia in the wake of the visitors' 10-wicket loss at the Gabba.

A photo widely shared on social media apparently shows Stokes walking through Heathrow Airport with large equipment bags.