Peter Handscomb grew up pretending to be his Ashes heroes in the backyard and he's determined to create his own legacy when he gets a taste of the real deal.
The Australian camp has been plagued by scrutiny following a raft of shock selections ahead of the first Ashes Test in Brisbane beginning on Thursday.
Handscomb was injected into the Test side last summer when selectors opted for youth - but the inclusions of Shaun Marsh and Tim Paine have left many stumped about the direction of Australian cricket.
No stranger to leadership, Victorian captain Handscomb sees his first Ashes campaign as a chance to put Australian cricket on his back and show everyone the way forward.
If the 26-year-old can build on an already impressive Test resume boasting a batting average of 53.07 and two centuries, he will have come a long way from the backyard.
"I always liked Damien Martyn, but Ponting got a fair workout there as well," Handscomb said of the heroes he used to emulate.
"Absolutely excited for what's to come this summer. You grow up pretending to play in the Ashes in your backyard or at the beach or whatever and you're always having a great time. To go out and actually live it, it's going to be pretty awesome.
"If anyone comes in they want to try and stay in the team for as long as they possibly can and really make a good legacy for themselves moving forward.
"Obviously I'll be trying to do everything that the team needs, the team requires, and if I can make some runs, that's just gold."
The Australian side trained at close to match intensity on Tuesday, with fast bowlers firing up in the nets and batsmen intent on surviving the onslaught.
Handscomb got through unscathed, which he says was clearly "a good sign" ahead of the biggest summer of his career.
Question marks hovered over Australia's No. 6 and 7 [the wicketkeeper] positions for a long time and Handscomb knows he has a crucial role to play given he slots in at No. 5.
But he says "the feeling in the camp is great" and one of the world's greatest athletes has provided the Australians with a trump card as they look to regain the Ashes urn.
Australia teamed up with eight-time Olympic Games gold medallist Usain Bolt in a bid to become faster between the wickets and Handscomb is eyeing a prize up at season's end.
The Gatorade Fastest Run trophy will be presented to the Australian men's cricketer who records the fastest run speed between the wickets this season.
It's been dubbed the "Bolt rate", with Australia's Test squad members put through their paces with bats in hand as they leave no stone unturned in the search for an advantage.
"The big fella was just teaching us a few things about how to get in and out of the crease pretty quickly and get up to the other end," Handscomb said.
"He was big on power and really trying to explode out of the blocks, which was awesome.
"We we're just watching him do it, he showed us a couple of things and it was pretty amazing to watch how he went about it. We picked up some good things and we'll hopefully be pretty rapid between the creases.
"[Ashton] Agar had stars in his eyes, that's for sure. He didn't quite know how to take him but once he warmed into it it was all good. Usain was very nice, very warm, very welcoming and very easy to talk to."
