Peter Siddle believes the outcome of the Ashes could well rest on whether Australia captain Steve Smith or his opposite number, Joe Root, enjoys the better series.
Smith and Root are firmly established as the star batsmen of their teams, with respective averages of 60 and 54 in Tests.
Ahead of the first Test in Brisbane, which starts on Thursday, seam bowler Siddle - a veteran of 21 Ashes matches who may yet feature in the upcoming series - told Omnisport he was looking forward to seeing which skipper comes out on top.
"I think they're both very similar in the way they play. They're a similar age and [have had] similar careers to date," said the 32-year-old.
"They're both exciting young players and exciting to watch bat. When they go out there to captain, they've got some exciting, funky sort of stuff that they do with their fields, and chopping and changing with bowlers.
"It's a big series for both those guys. Coming up against each other as captains, in a big Ashes series, and as the star batsmen in world cricket.
"It could come down to the battle of the two captains, who stands up the best, their team will have the success. It's going to be great to watch. Hopefully Smithy's the one who comes out on top."
