Ashes 2017/18 - Gabba Day 5 - Australia Take Ashes Lead

Unbeaten overnight, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft saw Australia safely past the total inside just 16 overs on the final day. The Barmy Army showed up in numbers hoping to see England at least take a few wickets and send out a statement of intent but it wasn't to be, The Gabbatoir forcing England to wait at least another four years for a chance to reverse the one-way form guide in the Queensland capital.

And so the focus shifts to South Australia for the first ever Ashes match to be played as a Day/Night fixture with the Pink Kookaburra Turf ball. Australia have now played a three Test matches under lights and have prevailed, England just once against a very weak West Indies side just a few months ago. The toss will, as ever, be crucial. Logic suggests that the anticipated bowling conditions will suit James Anderson and Stuart Broad, but Hazlewood, Cummins and Starc will doubtless be licking their lips at the prospect.

England have a conundrum; Chris Woakes was strangely off-colour and Jake Ball's inexperience showed at times, but perhaps it's still too early to chop and change. Unless Ben Stokes is Australia-bound imminently the only potential change would be Craig Overton to come in for Jake Ball to give some control and a little aggression. He is an "in-your-face" cricketer and it's that kind of character that the Three Lions need. Botham, Flintoff, Darren Gough, Kevin Pietersen are all of the same ilk as Craig Overton, and an exuberant debutant who won't shy away from a challenge can lift a side. Overton's accuracy in the County Championship and the Ashes warm-ups could, and perhaps should, be rewarded with a chance to shine in Adelaide.

Whether it is an Australian media fabrication or not, unwanted attention has been brought on Jonny Bairstow. Allegedly the England wicket-keeper had a coming together with Cameron Bancroft over in Perth a few weeks ago and the players themselves have already described it as a non-event. However following the Ben Stokes controversy the Australian media will jump on any opportunity to destabilise the visitors and further heap on the mental pressures that these contests apply.

Australia will almost certainly go into Adelaide unchanged, just about everyone other than Khawaja and Handscomb contributed in some way to the hosts comprehensive victory. Having said that, Glenn Maxwell will be in the ears of anyone with selection contacts after slamming a 318-ball 278 for Victoria in the Sheffield Shield, quietly ignoring the second innings 16 in the same game against New South Wales. For all England's failing in this match, it would be unwise to discount them at this stage. Should they fail to win in Adelaide though, questions will need answering with increasing urgency. The one I am tempted to ask is to the British Airways booking office... "Can you please confirm the booking details for a Mr B Stokes?"

Advantage: Kangaroo.

Australia 1-0 England.

Ashes 2017/18 - Gabba Day 3 and 4 - Australian Victory All But Guaranteed

Firstly, please accept my apologies for this amalgamated review of Days 3 and 4. I play cricket on a Saturday which makes it a bit more difficult to get a timely review of the day's play so combining the two days play seems like a better idea.

With the game so evenly poised after Day 2, the pendulum started to take its first prolonged lean late on Day 3. Shaun Marsh passed 50 as expected but departed soon after to a very tame push to mid-off. Still trailing by 127 when Marsh was dismissed England had the chance to really turn the screw. Tim Paine (13) and Mitchell Starc (6) soon followed but the tourists perhaps underestimated Pat Cummins' ability with the bat while Steve Smith continued on his merry way towards yet another hundred.

Australia got themselves a 26 run lead with Smith's sublime unbeaten 141, no obvious weakness in his unorthodox technique. Before England managed to get the scores level Alastair Cook was superbly caught at fine leg, perhaps a little unlucky because it wasn't a mis-timed hook. If anything he got it too well. James Vince also departed before the close of Day 3, England finishing with a lead of 7 with only 8 wickets in hand. Joe Root held the hopes of his country going into Day 4...

Sunday belonged to Australia. Of that, there is no doubt. Stoneman was the first to be dismissed as Nathan Lyon found the edge and Steve Smith held on to a very good slip catch. Dawid Malan went in almost identical fashion, and the relative experience in the English batting line up of Joe Root and Moeen Ali would go on to define England's chances. Root brought up his fifty but was trapped lbw very next ball for the second time in the match, and the familiar feeling of an imminent England collapse began to come to the fore, but with Moeen Ali still at the crease alongside Jonny Bairstow, this really was the last hope for the visitors.

Alas, the Lions were tamed. Root's 51, Ali's 40 and Bairstow's 42 were all eclipsed by Smith's 141 not out the day before, the Australian captain's ability to not only convert the score but go on with it have fundamentally put Australia on the verge of another victory at The Gabbatoir. Chasing a total of just 170, England will know that once again they have fallen short of the standard required to put Australia under pressure on home soil. A target of 220-250 was the goal, had they achieved such it will be forever unknown how this Ashes opener would have evolved, having been so even for the best part of three days.

David Warner (60*) and Cameron Bancroft (51*) have seen Australia safely to the close without even a half chance, on 114 without loss; 56 paltry runs away from a 1-0 lead. There was an interesting passage of play when Bancroft played a ball back to James Anderson, whose attempted throw at the stumps hit Bancroft just to the side of a part of the anatomy that would have made most men crumble just watching, let alone experiencing. Bancroft was unmoved, Anderson only symbolically apologetic. It was this moment that perhaps sums up this match; No matter what England throw Australia's way they will stand up to it without flinching, and stare down any attempt to target any vulnerability.

The manner of the expected Australian victory in Brisbane breeds confidence in the ranks of Baggy Greens, yet this series still appears to be very closely matched. It will be interesting to see which way England will go with selections, Australia's selectors will feel justified in theirs. Come tomorrow, I hope to see England take a few wickets, go down fighting and start afresh in South Australia. Surely Australia can't lose 10 wickets for 50 runs can they...? The weather forecast contains rain, but not enough to lose a whole day's play so an Australian victory is almost as certain as Donald Trump causing a controversy.

Many will wonder about the logic of my series prediction considering England's capitulation on Day 4, and how exactly England will react in Adelaide next week. No team has come from behind to win an Ashes series since 2005 in England, yet I still feel that England can win The Ashes. Adelaide is a day/night game at a ground that will offer sideways movement for two of the worlds leading exponents of such conditions; James Anderson and Stuart Broad. Adelaide and Brisbane are almost chalk and cheese; the pace and bounce of The Gabba hardly likely to transfer to the City of Churches. The Barmy Army are almost certainly already saying their prayers.

Ashes 2017/18 - Gabba Day 2 - We Have A Contest!

Early on in proceedings you could have been forgiven for thinking that Australia had missed a trick by not going straight for an intimidatory tactic of well-directed short-pitched bowling, Moeen Ali and Dawid Malan making a comfortable start to the day without much alarm. It took a few overs but the anticipated tactic arrived and predictably when it comes to England it worked. From relative comfort at 246-4 the tourists found themselves on 250-7 with both set batsmen gone and Chris Woakes misadventure early putting England in a perilous position.

Malan appeared ever comfortable on what seemed early on to be a flaccid Gabba wicket, easily dealing with Starc's timid bouncers but the New South Welshman finally managed to convince Malan into one pull too many, a top edge finding Shaun Marsh at Deep Square Leg. The following over Moeen Ali was trapped in front by Nathan Lyon, an easy decision (and correct one) as modern Umpires don't hesitate to give LBW's on the front foot for spinners anymore. That left two new batsmen at the crease on a pitch offering turn and bounce, Woakes duly succumbing to an ambitious drive outside off stump and getting himself bowled through the gate.

Stuart Broad, a fan favourite in Brisbane, has lost confidence in his ability to play the short ball since suffering a nasty facial injury against India in 2014, when after hooking two successive sixes the third attempt went through the grille of his helmet and left him with two black eyes. That lack of confidence was evident this morning as Starc and in particular Cummins targeted him with a barrage. Equally uncomfortable were Jake Ball and James Anderson, but Ball's willingness to get after Lyon saw England pass 300 which is a minor moral victory.

Anderson and Broad were on the receiving end of some verbals while batting, the stump mic picking up Broad telling Cummins to "Shut up!" after one exchange with Anderson, but whereas 4 years ago the English pair seemed timid against a fired up Mitchell Johnson they had a steely determination in their eyes while facing an attack that has a long way to go before building an aura anything close to previous Australian quicks.

Upon Bancroft and Warner entering the field, Anderson and Broad bowled with intent and while Warner appeared more than adept at farming the strike, Bancroft was dismissed early as Broad found the edge. Usman Khawaja is a conundrum, and it appears Joe Root has done his homework because even on the home soil which Khawaja has played so much state cricket for Queensland he has a deficiency against spin bowling. Root introduced Moeen Ali first change, Khawaja playing and missing his first delivery against Ali, then trapped in front with the second. No need for a review. I would hope that Khawaja left his pads on and took Nathan Lyon to the Gabba nets to have an intensive workover on a flaw that England will look to expose if Khawaja continues to play in this series. Glenn Maxwell's double-hundred for Victoria against New South Wales today will have caught the eye of a selector or two.

Warner going about the business of strike rotation alongside Steve Smith was a crucial part of the game, and again it showed that Root and the England heirachy have done their research. Tucking Warner up and not allowing him to free his arms in the last Ashes series led to Warner playing a strange, angled, chop-pull kind of shot, losing his wicket at least three times in such fashion in the 2015 series. Today, Broad and Anderson used the same tactic and Jake Ball reaped the rewards, Warner caught at mid-wicket playing the same shot for just 26.

Peter Handscomb bats very deep in his crease and James Anderson got just reward for aiming at the stumps although originally Aleem Dar turned down the appeal. An excellent review left Australia teetering on 76-4, and England very much on top but with Smith still in. No team has yet worked out exactly what Smith's weaknesses are, and the Australian Captain has an intelligence and ability to adapt his game which have led to his meteoric rise to become one of, if not the best batsmen in world cricket. He passed his fifty with not much more than a slight acknowledgement of the applause, the body language suggesting he has his sights on a big big hundred tomorrow.

Although much maligned, Shaun Marsh came in and played beautifully alongside Smith, timing cover drives and clips through midwicket with the grace of a Damien Martin or Mark Waugh, and in the face of some good bowling from England saw Australia safely to the close with an unbeaten partnership of 89. Marsh on 44 not out will look to pass fifty and together with Smith take Australia into a healthy lead.

The morning session was undoubtedly Australia's, and although England made four breakthroughs with a lead of over 200, the hosts have fought and fought to be in a position where honours are still very much even. The first session tomorrow will be pivotal in dictating where this Test Match goes, If England come out with a first innings lead of between 30 and 50, they will be delighted, but Australia bat long and themselves will be looking at 400. England's failure to convert one of those fifties into a century could come back to bite them. Australia currently hold an Ace or two but England can dig deep into their pack to produce a Joker. Just two days in, and we're already being treated to quite a game.

Ashes 2017/18 - Gabba Day 1 - The Ashes Begins

Unusually for Brisbane, grey skies adorned The Gabba as the Captains gathered for the coin toss to get this eagerly anticipated series under way. Joe Root called correctly and despite the temptation to be excited by a green tinge, chose to bat.

With much being made of England's inexperienced batting line up it was a mere 16 deliveries into the series before veteran of 147 Tests Alastair Cook was dismissed by a beaut of a delivery from Mitchell Starc, the slightest sideways movement bringing an edge that Handscomb pouched with aplomb at first slip. You could have been forgiven for thinking that England were there for the taking with two Ashes debutants at the crease and Cook removed, but James Vince was watchful while punishing anything overpitched. Particularly productive through the cover region, Vince's innings was aesthetically pleasing much in the style of Michael Vaughan back in 2002/03.

Mark Stoneman's innings, while less fluent, was the anchor that England needed as he notched up 53 from 159 balls. Surprisingly, Josh Hazlewood was fairly placid with the new ball and save for his wicket ball to Cook so was Starc. Perhaps the most tenacious was Pat Cummins, revelling in the chance to perform with the backing of a home crowd for the first time. From around the wicket he brought enough doubt into Stoneman's mind that despite being very well set he was beaten for pace and clean bowled.

Nathan Lyon, curiously vocal in the lead up to this series, twirled away and without luck. Tim Paine shelled a chance from Vince that perhaps should have been taken off Lyon, but it's one of those that either sticks in the gloves or bounces awkwardly off a palm agonisingly out of reach. Having been so tidy behind the stumps for the whole of the day up to that point, it was perhaps a surprise that this one slipped by, however others may argue that someone who has not been keeping much at all in Tasmanian colours could be forgiven for being a little rusty. In the end, Vince only added 15 more runs before being run out in spectacular fashion by the aforementioned Lyon effecting a direct hit from cover.

Joe Root's maiden innings of the series wasn't exactly notable, and on 15 Cummins trapped him in front. Initially Umpire Marais Erasmus turned down the appeal, but upon review the stars aligned for Australia and England were 4 down. Dawid Malan and Moeen Ali saw England safely to the close, Malan once again showing that England's new faces do not bear any of the mental scars that Australian players publicly have stated that they wish to open.

On the face of it, honours appear to be even so far. Australia will feel they have a foot in the door with Root and Cook both gone cheaply. Equally, England will feel that whilst the pitch nearly always favours batting first in Brisbane, conditions throughout the day were very bowler friendly, particularly the rain delay over the lunch break allowing the seamers more movement upon the recommencement of play. A switch of ball also worked in Australia's favour, however England will take heart from only being four wickets down with almost 200 on the board. Moeen Ali is dangerous and with Bairstow to come followed by dangerous tail-enders in Woakes and Broad, England will want at least 400 on the board by the close of play tomorrow.

This is what Test cricket is all about, a superb way to start The Ashes. The second day promises to be compelling viewing.