Sticks and stones, perhaps the occasional bouncer, may break England's bones but Khawaja knows bulk runs from No.3 are going to cause far greater hurt. For all of the chatter about ending careers, he just wants to end England's aspirations of an away Ashes triumph.

If Nathan Lyon and David Warner have volunteered their services as the pantomime villains ahead of the first ball at the Gabba on Thursday, Khawaja is the brooding drama student tucked away in the corner, working on a more deep and meaningful monologue.

It's not that he objects to the macho aggression being sprinkled about by some of his more vocal teammates. It's just never been his style. Khawaja remains studious and serious about his cricket and feels the best way to express himself is with the blade, not the tongue.

"Everyone is different. I focus on my skill set, trying to score runs. If I'm out there scoring 150 runs, that's going to hurt me more than saying a few words to them," Khawaja said.

"So I always back my teammates. If I need to back them, I will. But the way I play cricket doesn't change too much. Some guys get out there and get in people's faces, some don't. Same with the English team.

"If you had 11 players going at each other the whole time, that would be quite interesting. It never happens."

It's hardly surprising Khawaja won't be piling headlong into the increasingly bitter banter. He steadfastly refused to even talk about the Ashes before he was selected and now he's back, he intends to keep his eyes squarely on the prize.

Dropped in Bangladesh, Khawaja now concedes he was given assurances from the selection panel that he would be back for the five-Test Ashes series. Being in, then out, then in again still doesn't sit well but he has made his peace with the move and said he never felt like an outsider trying to break back into the squad.

"It doesn't really feel like a recall. I was dropped for the last [Bangladesh] Test just for the team balance. I had an idea I'd still be a fair chance of playing the summer. I talked to selectors - I couldn't say much - but they pretty much told me beforehand. It doesn't really feel like a recall. It feels like I've never been out of the team," Khawaja said.

"There was no guarantees. If I scored four ducks in a row maybe I wouldn't have been picked. I wasn't dropped in Bangladesh because I had a streak of failures. It was one of those things where they wanted to go for another player for the one-off game.

"I knew that in the back of my head and I had talked to selectors about that. For me it was about concentrating, playing well in shield cricket and the rest would take care of itself. There's always pressure to score runs, no matter what level you're playing. I felt like I was always a part of the team, even if I wasn't in the team."

Khawaja has barely featured in the English media in the lead-up and belongs to the group of Australian bats considered "very ordinary" by Geoff Boycott; only Warner and Steve Smith raise red flags in his preview.

The 30-year-old has featured in only four Ashes Tests and lost every one, making just 172 runs in eight innings from 2011 to 2013. Yet he enters this series in ominous touch and on a pitch he has made his home for the past six years.

In the first three rounds of shield cricket, he has returned scores of 40, 122, 27, 28*, 78* and 52. On a difficult pitch at Allan Border Field against NSW last week, as his Bulls teammates fell like flies, Khawaja looked in complete command of his fortunes.

"I've had seasons where I haven't scored runs at the start and other seasons when I have. I think I've just matured as a player a bit more, some more understanding of my game and how to get the best out of myself," Khawaja said.

"I've matured in life obviously. My fiancee Rachel I've known for about three years now. That's settled me down too. It gave me some perspective on life outside of cricket. All of those combined makes it easy for me to just go out and play.

"I'm just trying to win cricket games. Whether it's a fighting 40 or a big 160, I'm just trying to contribute.

"Even when I'm playing grade cricket now, first-class cricket, Test cricket, nothing changes for me. I'm trying to score as many runs as I can in grade cricket as I do in Test cricket. It doesn't change and I try to do that on purpose. I'm making it a habit to score runs at every single chance I get."

His inability to take an iron grasp on a permanent spot in the team has been an enduring frustration for Khawaja. It's also been an essential part of the making of him as a batsman. Should he produce against England this summer, he knows the bad times would have contributed to the good.

"I've had a bit of a roller coaster in international cricket. It was a great learning curve. Without getting those failures and going in and out, I wouldn't have grown as a player. It gave me an opportunity to work on all forms of my game too," he said.

"I came back, starting working on one-day cricket, T20 cricket, Test cricket. At the end of the day, when a new series starts, there's no guarantees about anyone performing and doing well.

"In the back of my head I always know that, so I try to stay on an even keel. Hopefully I will contribute and score some runs. But it's all about winning games."