With the memories of his nightmare 2013 tour of Australia still burning bright, England skipper Joe Root has vowed to return home with the Ashes in his grasp.
With his side's preparations dominated by the likely absence of Ben Stokes following his arrest for a brawl outside a Bristol nightclub, Root's side face a huge task against a Steve Smith team on home soil
England have won just one series in Australia in 30 years and were whitewashed 5-0 on their last visit four years ago.
Root was dumped from the side for the fifth Test in Sydney as Alastair Cook's team were demolished by the Mitchell Johnson-inspired hosts.
The Yorkshireman has since bounced back to become one of the best batsmen in the world and was integral in the 3-2 series win over Australia in 2015.
But he admits that his axing at the SCG following a low run of scores cut him deeply.
"It was hard. It was a tough tour all round," Root said at Lord's on Friday.
"That's a great motivation for this one. You want to make sure you have completely different memories.
"I'm obviously a very different player now to what I was last time we were there and that excites me.
"I didn't know if I'd get another opportunity. You don't, as a 22-year-old lad being left out for the first time."
Root and Cook are the two linchpins of England's top order with rookie batsmen Mark Stoneman, Dawid Malan, James Vince all having played less than 10 Tests between them.
Gary Ballance has also struggled against the Australian quicks in the past but Root has urged his players to relish the opportunity to make themselves heroes.
"When you do get your chance to play, stand up and really grasp it with both hands," he said.
"It's a great place to go and play cricket. The pitches are fantastic and it can be a good place to go and bat, and score big runs.
"I don't think we should be daunted by the chat and the noise that can be around an Ashes tour.
"We should be excited about the opportunity and everything that it presents, and try and prove a lot of people wrong over there."
Root admits the Stokes situation has been difficult for him given his close relationship with the fiery allrounder, whose wedding he attended earlier this month.
However, he refused to say what kind of conversation the pair had after news emerged of his vice-captain's likely exile from the biggest tour of his brief reign as captain.
"That's between me and Ben, being brutally honest," he said.
"That should stay between us. It is disappointing that he's not going to be on the trip but you have to move on and move forward as a team."
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