Tony Judd has warned Scotland to expect a backlash from Australia A in their four-day match which starts at The Grange today.

The former Sal-tires coach believes that the senior team's recent woes will make their understudies even more determined to make a mark. Now head coach at the Northern Territories Institute of Sport in Darwin, he watched the Australia A squad prepare prior to departing for the UK and has identified a couple of real prospects and believes some of them will have a part to play as Australia bid to win back the Ashes later this summer.

"Scotland will come up against a pretty potent mix of experience and youth," he said. "I saw them preparing at the centre of excellence and was impressed. People know about guys with genuine Test pedigree like Peter Siddle, Brad Haddin and Nathan Lyon but there is a new generation coming through. Chadd Sayers is a real prospect and I was particularly impressed by a kid called Jordan Silk. He has played in Darwin and at my old club in Tasmania over the last year or so. He's a star in the making."

Australia's one-day squad, preparing for the Champions Trophy, suffered a humiliating drubbing at the hands of India on Tuesday – they were bowled out for 65 – but Judd said: "The guys facing Scotland will be able to play with greater freedom than the senior team as they have everything to play for. Most of them will feel that an Ashes spot is not out of the question given the current form of the top team. It's going to be a tough test for Scotland."

Both sides went through their paces yesterday. Scotland, led by Preston Mommsen in the absence of Kyle Coetzer, will field a youthful side with an average age of just 24 – the Aberdeenshire wicketkeeper Matthew Cross makes his debut – although it will also feature three English county players in Josh Davey (Middlesex), Matt Machan (Sussex) and Iain Wardlaw (Yorkshire).

Brad Haddin, the Australia A captain and wicketkeeper, who is expected to be Michael Clarke's vice-captain for the series against England, leads a line-up that includes several players who have been omitted from the squad for the Champions Trophy.

There was a late call-up for the leg spinner Fawad Ahmed, who may be fast-tracked for Australian citizenship ahead of the Ashes series. Originally an asylum seeker from Pakistan, he is the subject of a special amendment to the Citizenship Act of his adopted country but may now get an early chance to press his case on the A team's tour. "It's no different to anyone else coming into the squad," Haddin said. "He's come over to get some bowling. Whether he plays, who knows?"

Scotland P Mommsen (capt), J Davey, M Iqbal, M Machan, R Berrington, F Coleman, C MacLeod, M Cross, G Goudie, I Wardlaw, C Burnett, E Chalmers

Australia A B Haddin (capt), S Smith, A Agar, J Bird, A Doolan, R Harris, M Henriques, U Khawaja, N Lyon, N Maddinson, J Pattinson, C Sayers, P Siddle, J Silk