Mitch Marsh was in teasing mood as he insisted England would have to "wait and see" who comes out to open the Australian batting alongside Travis Head in the opening ODI at Nottingham.
The skipper was happy to play the opposition guessing on the eve of Thursday's opener at Trent Bridge, content that he had several options at his disposal to get the Aussie innings off to a flying start alongside the increasingly indispensable Head.
Now that David Warner has hung up his international willow, Head is an automatic choice for the 50-over fray, but Marsh has potentially half-a-dozen others - including himself - in the squad who could comfortably launch the innings alongside the left-hander.
But at Nottingham on Wednesday, he refused to offer any clues, just smiling: "We've got a few options. You'll have to find out at the toss - or when we bat."
Among the tantalising prospects are Jake Fraser-McGurk, fresh from his maiden international half-century in the drawn T20 series against England last week, reprising the job he first did in Australia's most recent ODI against West Indies in February.
Josh Inglis also featured as opener in that series, while Matt Short could just as easily fit the bill after looking in good nick at the top of the order during the T20s.
There's also the return of key old guard stars like Steve Smith and Marnus :Labuschagne.
It may depend on the fitness within the camp with Marsh hinting that there might be still a few issues among the squad after he himself had been laid low with sickness during the T20s.
"We're still working through that but we'll have an XI on the park", he said in what didn't sound the most resoundingly confident declaration.
One thing is for sure, though. Adam Zampa, Australia's key spinner, will play his 100th ODI in Nottingham, leading to Marsh offering the maverick 32-year-old a nice tribute.
"He's certainly tracking towards being one of our greatest ever ODI players," Marsh said.
"I feel very lucky to have him in this team. There's no hiding behind the fact he's certainly one of our go-to men with the ball.
"One of the challenges he's taken in his stride in the last few years is being that person for us and he certainly thrives off the bigger moments, which all great players do."
Zampa's bowling got treated with unusual disdain in the second T20, when young allrounder Jacob Bethell took 20 off a single over and the leggie will be keen to get back to his more parsimonious ways as he seeks to spin the world champs to a 13th consecutive ODI victory.
The Australians will have to deal with England pacer Jofra Archer, who will play his first ODI for 18 months.
England's stand-in captain Harry Brook said of the 29-year-old, who's recovering from long-standing elbow and back injuries: "He's obviously a world-beater, and it'll be nice to have him alongside me and going out there and taking them on."
