It was the actor Hugh Laurie who perhaps best summed up the mood four years ago, describing how he had gone to bed with England’s initial foray with the bat in Brisbane safely under way only to “wake up next to a horse’s head of a first innings, blood everywhere”.
This time around, however, a more appealing scoreline could be found under the duvet as, on a beautiful batting strip, in front of a 35,144-strong Gabba crowd that burbled away without ever truly baying for claret, Joe Root’s tourists established something resembling a foothold in the contest.
Related: Australia rally as England’s Joe Root falls late on even Ashes opening day
Related: England’s James Vince happy to prove doubters wrong with Ashes knock
Continue reading...