But just in case anybody was starting to have doubts, England captain Joe Root served up a warning for Australia before battle commences at The Gabba tonight, insisting things are going to be very different without him.

Johnson’s incredible performance in 2013-14 taking 37 wickets was so potent that it is understandable Australia have sought to tap into its life-force once again as they seek to regain the Ashes on home soil.

Yet as Root pointed out, just three of their side who wrapped up that 5-0 victory remain, and few if indeed any of the scars Johnson inflicted remain on anybody in the England dressing room.

“You hear a lot about these scars but it’s a series which happened four years ago, we’ve won four of the last five Ashes and we are coming off a great series in England [in 2015],” he said.

“We’ve got a lot of guys who were part of that squad and have very fond memories of that, so I don’t know whether they are just trying to brush that under the carpet or what.

“For me it’s completely irrelevant what happened four years ago. It is a completely different set of players against a completely different Australia side – there are only three guys in their squad who were in the last series.

“Of course you want to harness those experiences and make sure you don’t fall into a similar trap, but both sides are in two very different places to where they were back then.”

Australia have built up the pace attack of Pat Cummins, who will make his debut on home soil here, and Mitchell Starc this week, suggesting that this time round they have two players capable of performing like Johnson did in the last Ashes on home soil.

But Root was adamant his batsmen could load pressure on their shoulders at The Gabba if they resist the new ball and force them to come back for repeat spells.

“Those guys have not played an Ashes series in Australia themselves so they are going be under pressure as well,” he said. “It’s about making sure the lads are aware that it’s not just you that is going to be feeling the heat, it is them as well.”

Landing an early blow here in Brisbane will not be easy given an Australian record of not having lost in their last 28 matches stretching back to 1988, and particularly in Ashes cricket with England managing just one win in their last 20 attempts at The Gabba, back in 1986.

Yet with rain forecast over the weekend and temperatures lower than normal for this time of year (closer to a swing-friendly venue back home), a draw or victory with an unpredictable day-nighter in Adelaide second up could give Root’s men a perfect start.

To do so Root will need at least two of his three top-order rookies to step up with Mark Stoneman opening, James Vince at three and Dawid Malan at five.

He will also need catches to be held – they dropped 16 against West Indies in the late summer series – and for Moeen Ali to be able to bowl long spells to rest his seamers.

Almost every accusation of weakness that can be levelled against England can be redirected at Australia, who have also made bold selection calls in their batting ranks with Cameron Bancroft making his debut and the recalls of Tim Paine and Shaun Marsh contentious.

“We’ve got plans in place for their team,” said Root. “We have been quite thorough about how we want to break their side down. It’s about making sure that we look after ourselves now.”

The England skipper has won five of seven Tests since taking over from Alastair Cook in February earlier this year, a record that already compares favourably with his counterpart Steve Smith (13 from 26 wins).

That is another area England will seek to put pressure on – something which started with a gentle prod from Root yesterday.

“One of Australia’s big strengths last time round [in 2013-14] was how well Clarke captained and used his bowlers,” he said. “So that will be a nice little battle between me and him about how we are going to try and break each other’s sides down.”

Hitting Nathan Lyon out of the attack will be crucial but not easy for all the added incentive that his intervention in the pre-match build-up gave them after he said Australia wanted “to end England Test careers” and also “get Root dropped”.

Root refused to be drawn too much despite the bait dangling in front of him.

“You can sort of see through it a little,” he said. “I know Nathan and played club cricket with him in Prospect [in Adelaide] although I remember at the time we weren’t sure who was the first spinner. He has obviously come a long way since then.”

So has Root, and England, particularly since Johnson ran through them here last time.