England Ashes debutants are rare at Brisbane but they have tended to prosper and Joe Root’s side will be lifted by Australia’s unusually cagey selections
To say that Brisbane has not been a happy hunting ground for England cricketers is an understatement on a par with “Jacob Rees-Mogg would quite like to leave the EU”. England have not won there since the team with just three flaws – “can’t bat, can’t bowl, can’t field” – was victorious in 1986. Then the Gabba was a proper cricket ground. In the afternoon the smoke and smell of the barbecues on the boundary edge would add to the atmosphere in this outpost city. Now it is a stadium, a symmetrical bowl in which dismissed batsmen have to think hard about the whereabouts of their dressing room as they head disconsolately from the middle. However, it can still be an intimidating place to start a tour.
In 1986 England prevailed after Ian Botham had hit his last and 14th Test century, which allowed Mike Gatting some freedom when juggling a bowling attack that comprised two experienced spinners in John Emburey and Phil Edmonds, Graham Dilley, who would grab his first five wicket-haul there, Phil DeFreitas and Botham, who was still capable of bluffing wickets.
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