WORCESTER, England - Let the games begin.

The Australian limited overs cricket squad arrived in England tonight for its pre-Ashes tour and immediately piled onto the team bus for a two-and-a-half hour trip to Worcester.

Captain Steve Waugh and the rest of the world champion Australian outfit have only two days to find their barings before the tour opener against Worcestershire on Friday.

English newspapers are describing the looming Ashes battle as "momentous" and "enticing" and the second Test between England and Pakistan, which starts Thursday, is regarded as little more than a prelude to the main five-Test bout against Australia.

The Australians did not arrive at the grand Bank House Hotel, set among a long stretch of green rolling hills, until after dark following their flight from Turkey.

They will be on the field before they know it but congested schedules have become a fact of life for the modern cricketer, and captain Steve Waugh was not complaining.

"There is so much cricket and a lot of tours, there's not many lead up games to any tours anymore," he said.

"You've got to get accustomed to it because it's just a part of cricket now."

Australia's thin preparation for next month's tri-series against England and Pakistan is the three-dayer against Worcestershire then a pair of one-dayers against Middlesex and Northamptonshire.

England and Pakistan launch the one-day tournament on June 7 at Birmingham before Australia begins its campaign two days later against Pakistan at Cardiff in Wales.

The Australian Test squad will have a similarly scarce build-up to the Ashes opener at Edgbaston from July 5 courtesy of three-day fixtures against an MCC XI and Essex.

"A couple of guys won't have a lot of cricket but we're hoping they'll get a lot of practice beforehand and they'll switch on," said Waugh.

"That's part of being a professional."

© 2001 AAP