Aussie T20 team target rankings rise

Australia's Twenty20 squad is vowing to improve its woeful ranking ahead of this year's ICC World T20 by putting a final nail into England's coffin.

Australia sit eighth on the ICC rankings, one place ahead of minnows Ireland, less than two months out from the World Twenty20 in Bangladesh.

A series clean sweep would see the hosts swap places with England - from eighth to sixth - but any other outcome would keep the Australians in their current position.

The squad has arrived in Hobart for the first of three matches against the tourists, who have already been humbled 5-0 in the Commonwealth Bank Ashes and 4-1 in the Carlton Mid ODI series.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Matt Wade said the new-look Australians, many fresh from the Big Bash League, were desperate to improve the nation's fortunes in the game's shortest format.

"Definitely, you usually play two (matches) and generally it's a drawn series," he told reporters. "This time they've got three which is going to be good.

"There's a World Cup coming up so we've got to try and finalise the team."

Wade said despite the change of format, the home side could continue its humiliation of sixth-ranked England.

"I think we'll take the momentum (from) throughout the whole summer," he said. "The guys have set it up really nicely for us, they've managed to win the one-day series as well.

"It would be really nice to finish the summer off on a high and win this series."

But the former Test keeper warned England's T20 stars would be primed to perform after also spending time in the Big Bash.

"They're very dangerous in this format," he said. "They've got players like (Melbourne Star) Luke Wright and (Sydney Sixer) Michael Lumb who have played over here for a couple of months now, so they're going to come in and be more dangerous as well.

"We've got to be at our best."

The Australian side was waiting on a medical assessment of scans on allrounder James Faulkner's injured knee. No replacement has been named.

More T20 information

At all KFC T20 international games, kids 15 and under get in free. A ticket and allocated seat is still required and all fans are encouraged to avoid queues at the gate and pre-purchase tickets online.

There's a great range of off-field activities throughout the series. These include: KFC’s mega catch innings break where fans can win cash prizes; have your photo taken with the Cricket World Cup trophy; roving entertainers including the Wickid Force and Trampolinists.