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England's cricket stars have stepped up their preparations for The Ashes by attempting to acclimatise themselves to the conditions they expect to face in Australia.
The hotly anticipated series begins in Perth on November 21 and Ben Stokes' side are trying to ensure they are in tip-top shape heading into the first Test.
Some members of the 16-man squad are with the white-ball side in New Zealand, while others will head straight to Australia - and many have been working hard at the ECB's National Performance Centre at Loughborough University over recent weeks.
And during their time at Loughborough, fast bowler Mark Wood revealed that heaters and fans have been used in training to replicate the stifling heat England may face Down Under, with temperatures potentially reaching 40 degrees Celsius over the Aussie summer.
Speaking to The Wisden Cricket Podcast earlier this month, Wood said: 'Loughborough's been great to get amongst the fast bowlers and to bowl down there in a tent.
'You obviously don't get outdoor practice in the North East so you're stuck indoors because the season is finished.
England's cricket stars have been stepping up their preparation for this winter's Ashes series
Mark Wood (pictured during the 2021-22 Ashes series Down Under) revealed how England's bowlers have been training in conditions similar to what they expect in Australia
'So it's invaluable to get into that tent and pump the heating up and stuff so it's like being abroad. It's been nice.'
When pressed further on what exactly happens in training to prepare England's stars, Wood, who is set to go on his third Ashes tour, added: 'They have heaters and fans in the tent.
'You quickly go from coats, jumpers, long pants, to all of a sudden Brydon Carse was bowling in a vest the other day!
'It’s chalk and cheese when you’re in and out of the tent. It’s just trying to gear you up for what’s to come.'
England always receive an intense welcome from Aussie fans throughout the series, and Wood also joked that sledging has formed part of their preparation.
'Yeah. We’ve been "champed" about 50 times in the last week.,' he added. 'Champ' is a typical Aussie sledge which is seen as a tactic to belittle an opponent, with former Australia international Moises Henriques once describing it as a way of 'paying a compliment and wrapping it in a dirty sandwich'.
Wood continued: 'So we're just getting used to it. It’s just trying to gear you up for what’s to come.'
The 35-year-old then went on to discuss the general experience of being an English player in Australia during the Ashes and how to handle that pressure.
Wood advised England's players to embrace the noise and atmosphere around the series
'I’ve had a tour where I’ve essentially run drinks around the boundary, which was a bit tasty and then I've had one where you're on the field,' he said.
'This is different from player-to-player but I remember that first game at Brisbane when I played, there were some lads that were a bit wide-eyed on edge of boundary getting a bit of flack. But I've actually enjoyed the crack a bit.
'I just tried to just embrace it and have a big crack with people in the crowd and bounce a bit off it. If they’re a bit too far, you can just ignore it.
'It is a pressure situation and like when they're over here, they will prey on that if you show any sort of weakness. So you have to be willing to have a bit of back and forth with the crowd as well.'
