Should incumbent Brad Haddin keep himself fit, Graham Manou's selection yesterday in the 2009 Australian Ashes touring party could amount to a long and leisurely trip around the UK.

But Manou intends to make the right impression among a squad of players who may not have considered him an Australian player in the making until only very recently.

''It's a hell of a lot more professional these days,'' Manou said of a role that does not exist for almost any other tour anymore.

''First impressions count when you're in a side and a squad like that, so I'm hoping just to do everything that's been required.''

At the announcement of the touring party, Haddin spoke of how being Adam Gilchrist's understudy in the 2005 Ashes tour had been a turning point in his career, and Manou said he had seen Haddin's improvement.

''It was really noticeable how much he took from that tour as an opposition player,'' Manou said.

''When he came back to play in the Shield games following that tour he was really impressive the way he went about it all and if I can learn as much off him as he did with Gilly and then to also go out onto the field and display those qualities then fingers crossed my game will continue to go from strength to strength.''

As is usually the case, Manou's emergence has been written in some quarters as the start of a rivalry with Haddin, but the players themselves had a far less adversarial view of things.

''Wicketkeepers are all the same, because there's only one of us we tend to feel sorry for each other and you want to speak to them a bit and there's a bit of a union there,'' Manou said.

''So we've always gotten along really well and I'm really looking forward to learning from him and watching the way he goes about it, and also developing my game as well.''

For his part Haddin said he felt supported, rather than threatened, by Manou's presence.

''Traditionally we have always taken a back-up keeper, I think it is a good move,'' Haddin said. ''My body feels great, I've got no niggles now, my hands feel fine, so it's all systems go for the Ashes.''