Feature: Cricket's age old rivalry set to keep Australians up all night as the Ashes resumes

Australians are preparing for string of late nights over the next two months, as cricket's greatest rivalry, the Ashes - featuring Australia and England - resumes in Cardiff from Wednesday night.

Retained by the Australians following the 5-0 series whitewash in Australia in 2013/14, the five-Test Ashes series returns to the British Isles in what is expected to be - again - a hotly contested affair.

Playing the Ashes on their home turf should help the English as they have won the last three series at home. But they have struggled for form in recent months. Since the 2015 ICC World Cup, they have played two Test series, and were unable to win either of those, despite playing weaker opponents in the West Indies and New Zealand.

Meanwhile Australia was able to win both Test matches against the West Indies, capping off a rich vein of form which included victory in the World Cup. In fact, Australia hasn't lost a match in any form of the game since February.

The off-field Ashes build up has been typically cantankerous. Australian captain Michael Clarke has told the English to expect plenty of "banter" on the field, following accusations the Australians play "ugly" on the field.

Last series, Clarke picked up stump microphones telling England tailender James Anderson that he should "get ready for a broken f****** arm".

From the other side of the fence, former Australian pace bowler and first class English cricket coach Jason Gillespie last month labeled the Australians as "Dad's Army", stating they were too "old" to win the series.

While veteran wicketkeeper Brad Haddin, 37, and opening batsmen Chris Rogers, also 37, highlighting the age in Australian team, the squad's average age has dropped on the back of recent news that stalwart fast bowler Ryan Harris announced his retirement due to ongoing knee problems.

Led by batsmen Steve Smith, recently ranked the best batsmen in the world, Michael Clarke and big-hitters David Warner and Shane Watson, Australia should have no problem in posting competitive totals with their strong batting depth.

Smith, since notching his maiden Test century the last time Australia played in England in 2013, has been destructive with the bat, averaging an intimidating 78.7 runs per innings.

The Australians' bowling stocks are also well-settled, with Mitchell Starc and Mitchell Johnson hitting peak form, while young gun Josh Hazlewood was extremely impressive during the team's tour of the Caribbean. Nathan Lyon is expected to play as the number one spinner.

England will be hoping the controversies that have plagued the team in recent years can be forgotten for the series, and with a young crop of up-and-coming talent keen to impress on home soil, they might yet confound the doomsayers.

All-rounder Ben Stokes leads an impressive list of young talent holding strong form heading into the series, with Jos Buttler, batsman Joe Root and spinner Adil Rashid all expected to play a major role in this and future Test series.

England veterans Ian Bell and James Anderson shape as key players. The last four times Bell has scored a century in a Test against the Australians (three of those in England), the English team has gone on to with the match, while Anderson will be dangerous with the new ball in hand.

England will be looking to replicate the form from the last time the two teams clashed in Britain. The English won the series 3-0, while the most recent Ashes series was held in Australia, who emphatically romped to a 5-0 victory.

The second Test will be played at the home of cricket, Lord's, in London, from July 16. Endi