England have their work cut out in their attempts to regain the Ashes, with Australia vice-captain Steve Smith all but dismissing the home team's chances.
Australia head to England in July not only as holders of the cherished urn after last year's 5-0 Ashes whitewash Down Under, but as Cricket World Cup champions.
Meanwhile, confidence is high in the England camp on the back of a second-Test victory over West Indies last week - easing the pressure on captain Alastair Cook, who oversaw the nation's first away win in the five-day format since 2012.
Smith, however, insisted Australia will be far too superior when the Ashes gets underway in Cardiff on July 8.
"I can't wait to get over there and play another Ashes against England in their conditions after beating them so convincingly in Australia," the 25-year-old told ESPNcricinfo.
"It's going to be nice to go in their backyard. If we continue to play the way we have been playing over the last 12-18 months, I don't think that they'll come close to us to be honest."
Australia's trip to England may be Michael Clarke's last Ashes series as Test captain of Australia, with Smith tipped to replace the veteran, who relinquished his role as ODI skipper following the Cricket World Cup in March.
But Smith refused to be drawn on Cricket Australia's plans.
"It's not my job to decide who is going to be the captain in the future," he said.
"I've had some good experiences and really enjoyed captaining the team in Michael's absence in the summer against India. It was a great learning experience for me to have senior players like Shane [Watson] and Brad Haddin around the group to bounce ideas off.
"Shane was very supportive throughout the home series and to have him and Hadds next to me while I was standing at second slip and to have that wealth of experience beside me and to bounce ideas off them was really beneficial for me at the start and I really enjoyed the experience of captaining Australia."