An Irishman who has never played a Test could enter the Ashes cauldron if England's Ian Bell misses the series opener because of a wrist injury.

Ed Joyce, a languid left-hander who joined the England squad just over a week ago to replace the departed Marcus Trescothick, is on standby for Bell, who was struck a painful blow on the left wrist during batting practice.

England expects Bell to recover to occupy the crucial No.3 position in the first Test at the Gabba, which starts Thursday, to offset the loss of experience in the tourists' top order given the absence of Trescothick and sidelined skipper Michael Vaughan, who is still recovering from knee surgery.

Bell had his wrist iced after he was struck by a delivery from teammate James Anderson.

He was later cleared of a fracture after he underwent X-rays at hospital.

But bad bruising means he will be reassessed, and if he is ruled out England will play Joyce at first drop in what would be a memorable Test debut.

Joyce, 28, was born in Dublin but qualified for England and has played three one-day internationals for his adopted country, the first coincidentally against the country of his birth.

The departure of Trescothick and the doubt over Bell means opener Andrew Strauss must perform this summer if England is to retain the Ashes, but the left-hander was confident his younger teammates could handle the pressure.

Strauss said his opening partner Alastair Cook and Joyce would benefit from their strong temperaments and cool heads when called upon.

Strauss said Cook's exceptional debut, when he was called in to replace Vaughan in India this year and scored 60 and 104 not out, typified his mettle.

"Playing in India is not easy at the best of times and he showed his temperament there," Strauss said.

"We all know what a calm, cool customer he is and this is just taking it up to another level.

"An Ashes series is obviously different, but he's got a lot of confidence and he's got an average of 54, and that's not a bad position going into the first match of the series."

Trescothick's departure with depression leaves England without a batsman who has played an Ashes Test in Australia.

But the tourists enjoyed their first hit on Brisbane's bouncier practice wickets and are again focused on equating no previous visits to no lingering scars.

"I've always thought it's better to have no memories at a ground than bad memories ... everyone is going there with a blank canvas," Strauss said.

Although strike bowler Steve Harmison trained strongly after being sidelined last week with tightness in his side, England still has a couple of boxes to tick before the series begins.

Aside from Bell's reassessment, the tourists must decide between which spinner - Ashley Giles or Monty Panesar - to play, along with who will field at first slip in Trescothick's absence.

Strauss is expected to field there to the pacemen, while Paul Collingwood should get the nod to the spinner.

Vaughan, is also likely to give England one last pep talk before he officially hands the reins to Andrew Flintoff and heads to Perth to join England's academy squad.

"It would be stupid for us not to use his knowledge, he was an instrumental factor in us winning the Ashes last time around," Strauss said of Vaughan.

"He's got some forthright views on how best to play against Australia."

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP