England captain Andrew Strauss is under no illusions as to the challenge that will come from a wounded Australian team in the third Ashes Test in Perth.

Speaking on Wednesday, Strauss predicted a stern backlash from Ricky Ponting and his team.

"This is going to be five days of hard, tough Test cricket - with Australia coming at us very hard," he said.

"I've got no doubt about that.

"They are a proud cricketing nation, and they wouldn't have liked the way they were beaten in Adelaide.

"We're expecting a bit of a backlash from them - and we've got to be strong enough to withstand that and come out the other side."

England were blamed for complacency in the 2009 Ashes when they crashed to an innings defeat at Headingley after having taken a series lead at Lords. Again in South Africa at the start of the year Andrew Strauss' team conceded a 1-0 series lead when they crashed to a heavy defeat against the Proteas in Johannesburg.

"The easiest thing for us to do is to learn from our previous mistakes," commented the England captain.

"Everyone talks about Headingley against Australia last time and, to a certain extent, the Wanderers against South Africa.

"There have been times when we've been on top, had a good performance and haven't followed it up. That is at the back of our minds.

"We're a confident side, and I'm pleased with what we've achieved so far. But everyone has made a conscious effort to keep their feet on the ground."

Aiding England in that attempt to stay grounded was a tough three-day tour match against Victoria at the MCG last week, a match in which the tourists were made to hang on for a draw.

"The game in Melbourne was a bit of a come back down to earth.

"It was tough cricket on an unresponsive wicket, and we had to dig a bit on that last day to make sure we got something out of the game."

With a lighting-fast track expected and the promise of a result in the third Test at the WACA, Strauss is confident that the England batsmen will continue their dominance over Australia's bowling attack, having posted 517 for 1 and then 620 for 5 in their last two Ashes innings.

"Australia would have gone and looked at their plans for our batsmen, having spent a lot of time in the field against us.

"They will be wondering whether they've gone about things right so far.

"They may go the same route, or they may look at things slightly differently - we've got to be ready for both.

"The most important thing is about adapting well to the conditions here - which will be a challenge, because they are different to Adelaide," said Strauss.

"If they do come at us with the short stuff then we've got to be ready for it.

"They bowled a bit of short stuff to (Alastair) Cook, (Jonathan) Trott and (Kevin) Pietersen at Adelaide.

"I think the crucial thing is not to be surprised by anything on the day. Preparation has to be about being ready for anything - and we will be," he added.

In a newspaper column on Monday, Australian captain Ricky Ponting questioned England's decision to allow fast bowler James Anderson to return to England after the Adelaide Test on paternity leave.

Strauss however disagrees, and believes Anderson to be better off for his brief trip back to the UK.

"He's fine," said Strauss. "It was a great thing for him to have gone back and everything go well with the birth of his daughter.

"He's got a spring in his step and thankfully he wasn't away long enough to feel the effects of jet-lag. He is back into it and keen to play his part on Thursday."