Australia captain Michael Clarke said left-armer Mitchell Johnson is bowling as fast as ever has in the build-up to the first Test against England.

The latest instalment of the Ashes begins in Cardiff on Wednesday and England will surely fear facing Johnson given his record against them in the most recent series.

Johnson took 37 wickets at 13.97 as Australia romped to a 5-0 whitewash in the summer of 2013-14, with his barrage of short-pitched bowling causing England no end of problems.

• Geoff Lawson: the Ashes will be a cakewalk
• Why the Ashes could be Darren Lehmann’s last dig
• The Ashes will be tough, but we’ve prepared well

His pace and impact has dropped off since but Clarke is confident Johnson is back to his quickest.

“He’s bowling as fast as I’ve ever seen him bowl in the nets and he’s swinging it too. It’s not fun to face,” Clarke said.

Johnson celebrates taking a wicket against Kent. Photo: Getty

“He’s fit, healthy and excited about what lies ahead.

“There’s been things said about whether he can perform in these conditions and that’s put fire into his belly.”

Australia and England will wait until the last minute to name their sides for the first Test, but Clarke is confident he knows the hosts’ XI.

Chris Rogers is expected to be the only change for the visitors, with the opener set to return from concussion at the expense of Shaun Marsh.

Alastair Cook is likely to lead the same team that battled to a 1-1 draw in their recent series against New Zealand, leaving uncapped leg-spinner Adil Rashid on the sidelines.

“Everybody knows the England team. I don’t think that XI will change,” Clarke added.

“They’ll stick with what they’ve played with in their last couple of Test matches.

“They had a bit of success there and I don’t think (new coach) Trevor Bayliss will make too many changes just yet.”

National selectors Darren Lehmann and Rod Marsh had a lengthy chat in the middle of Sophia Gardens on Tuesday, when intermittent rain fell throughout the day.

The presence of Mitch Marsh bowling in the nets at training effectively confirmed that Shane Watson would be playing this week.

Clarke hinted at the prospect of an all-out pace attack earlier this week, but was less bullish on Tuesday after the pitch had been trimmed.

Cook himself has put behind him a poor run with the bat that began in the 2013 Ashes and subsequently saw him fail to score a century in 18 Tests.

The thrashing in Australia was the nadir of his captaincy career but the 30-year-old opener insists there are no mental scars from a series dominated by Johnson.

“That has gone, you cannot keep harping on about it,” he said.

“If you went back five months before that we won 3-0 [against Australia] in our own conditions. You have to be very careful not to read into all that stuff.

“It’s a brand new challenge. It’s not what about what happened two years ago it’s about what’s happening now.”

Likely Australia XI: David Warner, Chris Rogers, Steve Smith, Michael Clarke (capt), Adam Voges, Shane Watson, Brad Haddin, Mitchell Johnson, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon

Likely England XI: Alastair Cook (capt), Adam Lyth, Gary Ballance, Ian Bell, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Moeen Ali, Stuart Broad, Mark Wood, James Anderson.