Australia captain Steve Smith unfazed by Ashes pressure

The calmness was a marked shift from the tense, restless presence he once carried at the crease, and it came despite stepping into a familiar yet temporary role: captaining Australia in Pat Cummins's absence.

With Cummins injured, Smith will lead the side for the seventh time since losing the permanent position in 2018 after the Newlands ball-tampering scandal.

That incident is likely to attract taunts from travelling England supporters, but Smith brushed off the prospect with a long, light-hearted joke aimed at former England spinner Monty Panesar when asked about it.

He admitted it was 'unfortunate' to be without both Cummins and fellow frontline quick Josh Hazlewood, but said their setbacks had created an intriguing opportunity for Scott Boland and debutant Brendan Doggett to stake their claims on the biggest stage.

"I'm pretty chilled," Smith told reporters. "I think I've learned a lot over my journey. And yeah, the couple of times that I've stood in for Paddy, I've tried to be pretty relaxed and let the game play.

"And, obviously, I've got to do it my own way out there and have my own style. But I'm a lot more relaxed these days, chilled and let the guys go about their work."

Looking ahead to England's aggressive 'Bazball' approach, Smith accepted Australia may at times need to adopt a more defensive posture.

However, he downplayed the significance of the series opener, suggesting that losing the first Test would not be catastrophic.

"I've been involved in a few now, and there's always so many words said before the series," he added.

"But for us, it's about just ignoring the outside noise, concentrating on our processes, what we do well as a team and trusting and backing that throughout.

“It's exciting that we're starting tomorrow. Everyone's been raring to go for the last few days of training and... (it) all starts tomorrow.”