THOUSANDS of cricket fans are set to descend on the Ageas Bowl in Hampshire for England's first One Day International against Australia.

The home of Hampshire cricket will hold the first of five matches in the Royal London series after England secured a 3-2 win in the Ashes.

Traffic is busy in and around the venue in Hedge End ahead of the teams taking to the field at 2pm.

Motorists travelling on the M27 have experienced delays ahead of the match as have others travelling on roads near to the stadium.

And that is likely to continue later in the evening after the end of the match.

England one day captain Eoin Morgan hopes his England team can take the next step in their development during the Royal London one-day series against world champions Australia.

England's young team head to the Ageas Bowl on Thursday looking to build on their series victory over World Cup runners-up New Zealand earlier this year.

Now they face the team who beat the Black Caps in March's World Cup final in a five-match series.

Morgan told a press conference screened on Sky Sports News HQ: ''It's a great opportunity to see our younger guys get tested again against one of the best sides in the world.

''We're at a completely different phase in our development with our team and our squad compared to Australia so it's certainly going to be a good test.''

Morgan took over the captaincy before the World Cup, which ended in humiliation as England were dumped out in the group stage.

But a new-look team was picked for the series with New Zealand and they responded with a 3-2 series victory.

Morgan added: ''I think the performances from the team are getting better with each game and my development as a captain is coming along.

''I'm learning along the way and my thoughts and ideas are being implemented.''

Australia's new one-day skipper Steven Smith is ready for England's attacking brand of cricket.

He said: ''The way they played against New Zealand was really good, they took the game on. Moeen Ali recently said they're trying to play quite similarly to the way we play.

''We know how they're going to play. They're going to come quite hard so we're going to get opportunities if we get the ball in the right areas.

''We've just got to make sure we take those opportunities.''