England arrive Down Under

The England cricket team has arrived in Australia ahead of the much anticipated Ashes series.

The 16 man squad, captained by opening batsman Andrew Strauss, was greeted by fans at Perth Airport.

Batsman Kevin Pietersen heads to Australia under pressure, having struggled to find his best form in recent times, while fast bowler James Anderson's been battling injury but should be fit for the first test at the 'Gabba.

Pietersen said he is happy to be down under: "Yeah, wonderful to be here, yeah, love it. Can we win, I hope so." he said.

The team features two spinners in Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar while England will be hoping batsman Jonathan Trott can re-produce the kind of form that inspired his team's victory in the last Ashes series in England in 2009.

England start their first warm-up game against Western Australia on November 5, with the competition beginning in Brisbane on November 24.