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Travis Head has laid down a marker ahead of the Ashes, proving he has the game to work in England with a blazing century to help Australia to 3-327 on day one of the World Test Championship final against India.

On a dominant first day for Australia to open their tour, Head finished unbeaten on 146 while Steve Smith walked off beside him 95 not out at The Oval on Wednesday.

David Warner also did enough to ensure he will play in next week's first Ashes Test with a fighting 43, before being caught down legside when a big score beckoned.

But it will be Head and Smith who will have commanded most attention from England's players on their golf trip in Scotland.

Australia's own version of England's 'Bazball' phenomenon, Head again scored at a rapid rate with another counter-attacking hundred after arriving at 3-76.

Dropped for the last Test of the 2019 Ashes when he averaged 27.28, Head's first overseas Test century showed he is a different batsman now.

He flamboyantly flicked the ball off his pads, and upper-cut Mohammed Shami to and then over the third-man boundary off back-to-back balls.

When India adopted a barrage of short balls after tea it briefly slowed him, but while he took a glancing blow to the helmet he brought up his century hooking Shami.

The 29-year-old then took to Shardul Thakur late in the day with a swashbuckling cover drive and another uppercut among his 22 boundaries.

"Technically I've made those changes, not just for England, but all around," Head said.

"There are certain parts of your game you adapt to each conditions you go to. That's the same going anywhere.

"But the foundations I have set with my technique have definitely changed a lot since 2019. I felt like coming here I was in a better place."

Head hit two centuries in the 2021-22 home Ashes, but the only thing that could offer England more nightmares than him firing would be a merciless Smith.

In his first Test in England since his Bradman-esque 2019 Ashes, Smith looked just as determined in his 227 balls on Wednesday.

Australia's vice-captain left outside his off stump patiently, and worked balls off his toes to the square-leg and mid-on boundaries as regularly as he did against England four years ago.

Between them, the pair put on an unbeaten 251-run stand, giving Australia the clear advantage after they were asked to bat.

The under-pressure Warner, meanwhile, would have been frustrated with what could have been.

He survived the difficult opening spell from Shami, who mimicked Stuart Broad's tactics from 2019, coming around the wicket at the left-hander.

And after he watched Usman Khawaja perish for a duck to Mohammed Siraj and fought through a tricky period with the moving Dukes ball in gloomy conditions, Warner briefly looked ready to shine.

He pulled Shami for four when the Indian quick briefly went over the wicket to him for three balls, and took 16 off one Umesh Yadav over as he played with freedom outside off.

But as a big score that would have helped his plans to retire from Test cricket at the SCG in January loomed, Warner gloved a short ball down legside from Thakur and was out just before lunch.

Marnus Labuschagne followed soon after when bowled for 26 by Shami, after copping a painful morning blow to the thumb off Siraj that has since been cleared of causing damage.

But from there Head and Smith took charge, in an ominous sign for not only India but for England and the summer ahead.

© AAP 2023

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An estimated 60 billion bugs were lost during the Black Summer bushfires in Australian rainforests and it's having a major impact on the health of the ecosystem.

Scientists from La Trobe University studied 52 sites in East Gippsland in Victoria and southern NSW that were severely impacted by bushfires in 2019-2020.

About 75 per cent of invertebrates visible to the naked eye had disappeared entirely a year after the natural disaster.

Rainforests make up just one per cent of all forests in Australia and lead author Professor Heloise Gibb fears up to 120 trillion invertebrates could have been lost across the country.

"With this kind of really severe fire we might lose species from the ecosystem completely or they may go extinct," Prof Gibb told AAP.

Snails, cockroaches, spiders and other creepy-crawlies play a vital role as a source of food for native animals like lizards, small mammals and birds while also breaking down litter and debris.

Prof Gibb said it was unclear when or even if invertebrate populations would recover and she was concerned species previously unrecorded by scientists may also have been lost altogether.

"With increasing climate warming and so on, it's much more likely we'll have more of these and that this risk will become greater," she added.

© AAP 2023

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Gold Coast coach Justin Holbrook says he's not feeling any pressure from the club hierarchy despite the Titans' habit of blowing match-winning leads.

The Titans host Wests Tigers at CBUS Super Stadium on Thursday night in 13th position on 14 points after losing their last two games from strong positions.

They led 14-0 at half-time against Canterbury before losing 20-18. Against South Sydney last week they led 12-0 inside 10 minutes and 22-16 at half-time, before losing 46-28.

It wasn't isolated incidents.

The collapse against the Rabbitohs was the fourth double-digit lead they had given up in 2023 and the fifth time out of eight occasions this year they had lost after leading at half-time.

Holbrook was asked at his media conference on Wednesday whether there was "any pressure from above".

"No. I thought you (the media) would come here today and ask those questions," he said.

"Judge us on if we've got all the main boys firing and not playing well , then absolutely I've got some answering (to do). We've just got to work hard and get the job done and then I don't have to worry about it."

Holbrook said injuries for extended periods to key players Kieran Foran, Sam Verrills and AJ Brimson throughout the year had hurt the team.

"They are three members of our spine and we have been in games we can win. Last year we weren't in games," he said.

"There is plenty of upside. We've just got to get it for 80 minutes.

"We have been in winning positions and come unstuck so we have got to get past that.

"We all know it has been an issue. We've got to get it done otherwise the stigma is going to be there."

Holbrook will welcome back fullback Brimson after he missed five weeks with a hamstring tear.

"To have AJ back is as important to us as Turbo (Tom Trbojevic) is to Manly or (James) Tedesco is to the Roosters," Holbrook said.

"He is that good. He is fit, firing and a boost for our team."

Wests Tigers are in 16th position on 10 points and if the Titans are to play finals footy it is a game they must win.

Holbrook said second-rower David Fifita would be fit for State of Origin despite missing Thursday night's clash

Fifita passed an HIA in Queensland's 26-18 win in the Origin series opener in Adelaide.

He backed up against the Rabbitohs off the bench.

"He finished the game with some headaches and pulled up for a couple of days with headaches so we thought there was no point trying to get him to back up with a short turnaround," Holbrook said

"He will be fine for Origin (in Brisbane on June 21) but ... we've got to take precautions in those (concussion) areas."

© AAP 2023

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Ange Postecoglou's ground-breaking arrival in the Premier League with Tottenham Hotspur has receieved a warm welcome from Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola.

Postecoglou was announced as Spurs manager on a four-year deal on Tuesday and will take the reins on July 1, becoming the first Australian to lead a team in the Premier League.

Legendary manager Guardiola and Postecoglou crossed paths in July 2019 when the Melburnian led J1 League club Yokohama F.Marinos in a friendly against City.

"Another exceptional manager is coming," Guardiola told reporters ahead of City's Champions League final against Inter Milan.

"I was lucky to meet him in Tokyo years ago when he was manager at Yokohama, one of our clubs in the City Football Group, and it was an interesting chat.

"I have a good relationship with the owner of Celtic Glasgow.

"He did an incredible job (at Celtic) and he will do an incredible job for Spurs.

"Hopefully, we can score one goal away."

Guardiola's late quip referred to City's inability to win games at London Stadium in recent years, especially against a Tottenham side that has played defensive football.

Based on that 2019 friendly, the attacking-minded Postecoglou isn't going to take that approach.

The English powerhouse won 3-1, but the Japanese club had 58 per cent of possession.

"People will say it was a friendly game, in pre-season, they didn't take it too seriously but I would hate to guess how many times a team coached by Pep has been out-possessed," Postecoglou told Optus Sport at the time.

His first game at the helm will be part of Tottenham's tour of Australia, a clash with London rivals West Ham at Perth's Optus Stadium on July 18.

After the trip the former Socceroos boss will have to get down to business in a period which could shape his legacy at the north-London club before the season even starts.

On the top of Postecoglou's to-do list will be resolving the future of England captain Harry Kane.

The talismanic striker has been linked to Real Madrid and Manchester United and has never won silverware at Spurs.

Kane has little over 12 months left on his existing deal and could walk away from Tottenham for nothing in a year's time.

Postecoglou has been encouraged to sell the fan favourite to cash in and strengthen his squad.

Kane's situation is made all the harder to juggle given the fact Tottenham's squad are all locked down on contracts and have been without a director of football since Fabio Paratici left in April.

Postecoglou is going to have to figure out quickly which players can adapt to his methods and adhere to his philosophy of helter-skelter football.

Spurs' squad was labelled as "selfish" by former boss Antonio Conte and Postecoglou is renowned for demanding tireless devotion.

If he can work out the good from the bad, then the Australian's focus will turn to getting Spurs back into the top four and guaranteeing a place in the Champions League.

© AAP 2023