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Jackson Bird, Michael Neser and Peter Siddle all did their hopes of selection in Australia's Ashes squad no harm by taking a combined 10 wickets in Southampton.

Jackson Bird hopes a masterclass from Ryan Harris, Australia's prolific workhorse in the 2013 Ashes, will help him claim arguably the most hotly contested spot in the touring party named on Friday.

Bird grabbed a haul of 3-28 as Australia's batsman bumbled and battled in Southampton, where 17 wickets fell in total on day one of the intra-squad clash on Tuesday.

The 32-year-old kept things tight throughout his 11 overs and was rewarded with the scalps of Travis Head, Kurtis Patterson and Alex Carey.

Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and James Pattinson are all guaranteed to be picked in Australia's squad for the five-Test series against England, which starts next week in Birmingham.

Bird, Michael Neser, Peter Siddle and Chris Tremain are locked in an intriguing duel for the right to be the reserve paceman.

Neser (4-18) and Siddle (3-20) also proved potent on Tuesday, underlining how fierce the battle for that final spot in the squad is.

Siddle has been playing county cricket for Essex in recent weeks while Bird and Neser have been working closely with Harris, Australia's leading wicket-taker in the 2013 Ashes.

Bird, who opened the bowling with Harris during the fourth Test of Australia's tour of England in 2013, feels he is reaping the benefits of the former paceman's mentorship.

"I had a really good couple of weeks with Ryan Harris, bowling coach for the Australia A tour, and worked on a few things that have let me down in the past over here," Bird said.

"The ball has been coming out nicely.

"I can't really control what else happens (in terms of Ashes selection). I feel like I bowled reasonably well today, which is good.

"Peter Siddle was outstanding and so was Pat Cummins. Competition for spots is going to be really tough and you expect that in the Australian team."