If England could hand-pick the hardest possible assignment for their bid to avert an Ashes meltdown and save the Bazball project, a pink-ball Test at the Gabba would come low down the list. It might even finish bottom.
Australia have won 42 of their 67 Tests in Brisbane, and England only four out of 22, with two victories coming in the 1930s. And while the Australians have won 13 of their 14 day/night Tests at all venues, England have managed two victories out of seven.
If they are to stand any chance of winning back the urn, then, they must shrug off not only the weight of precedent, but flourish at a venue widely regarded as Australia’s fortress. The place is known, with sadistic relish, as the ‘Gabbatoir’, while Ollie Pope was asked by one local journalist, with equally little sense of irony, whether he ‘feared’ it.
Even after just two days’ cricket, English hopes are already on the line. And while defeat here would hardly go against the grain of history, it would also be unthinkable: Australia have never failed to win a home series from 2–0 up, and England have never won anywhere from 2–0 down.
Ben Stokes, of course, is supremely uninterested in the record books, except to point out that they exist to be ripped up. Asked about Australia’s record at the Gabba, he trod his favoured line, between showing respect but not awe. Deference will get England nowhere this week. It really is make or break.
‘For Australia, the Gabba’s a little bit like Edgbaston or Headingley for us, where you take a lot of confidence at home if you’ve got good records at those grounds,’ he said.
Does their record at Brisbane make him fearful? ‘It doesn’t, no. Records go back a long, long time, but this is a brand new outfit. Lots of guys are on their first Ashes tour, so this is going to be a new experience for them.
‘It doesn’t hold too much fear, but you also understand that Australia know this is a very good ground for them and we’re excited for that.’
For England fans seeking a little comfort, however, all is not lost. After going unbeaten at the Gabba for over 20 years, Australia lost to India in 2020-21, and in the venue’s most recent pink-ball match they went down to West Indies by eight runs.
Pope described that result as a ‘bit of a positive’, though Stokes admitted England hadn’t studied the game itself, and preferred to focus on using any residual emotion from the two-day defeat in Perth to spur them on.
‘We want to take that disappointment and frustration into a game like this,’ he said. ‘Not that we need any extra motivation when we go out there and play, but I feel like on the back of that first game, if we’re able to take the the emotion from that and use it in a good way it’s good, as opposed to just going: “Right, park it and start again.”’
The selection of Surrey all-rounder Will Jacks, who will bat at No 8 and step into the role of first-choice spinner in what will be only his third Test, is not just a gamble but a retort to those who accuse the Bazballers of inflexibility.
For nearly two years, Shoaib Bashir – still only 21 – has been handled with care and attention by Stokes, and been widely regarded as a project player in the absence of more compelling spin options in the county game.
Now, with the Ashes on the line, Stokes and Brendon McCullum have opted for the kind of pragmatism many thought beyond them.
And it is a quality that ought to stand them in good stead as they look for a way through a pink-ball Test that will serve up almost three different sets of conditions: with each day starting at 2pm, the first session and a half should be most favourable for batting, before the ball begins to skid off the surface around dusk, then swing under the floodlights.
That will not be the only factor. The pink Kookaburra ball tends to go soft, placing extra onus on the fielders to keep it dry – no easy feat in the draining humidity of Queensland. With that in mind, England have scoured Brisbane for extra sweatbands.
It all adds up to a tactical minefield, in which decisions need to be tailored to conditions.
In that respect, England have a helpful experience to fall back on, having beaten New Zealand with the pink ball at Mount Maunganui in February 2023.
Stokes declared their first innings on 325 for nine from 58.2 overs, allowing his bowlers to operate under lights and reduce New Zealand to 37 for three by stumps.
Later, England put crease occupation ahead of run-scoring, to ensure they again bowled under lights. Again, it worked a treat, with New Zealand closing the third evening on 63 for five en route to a crushing 267-run defeat.
‘You have to think a lot more tactically,’ said Stokes. ‘But that Mount Maunganui game was an ideal situation, if you’re batting first. A couple of lads got in and put on a big score, and we took three or four wickets under the lights. God knows what’s going to happen on day one here.’
To add to the potential for mayhem, Australia’s Travis Head is likely to reprise the opening role in which he settled the Perth Test with a magnificent 123 off 83 balls, after it emerged that Usman Khawaja had not fully recovered from the back spasms that led to his demotion to No 4.
That could mean the end of the 38-year-old Khawaja’s 85-Test career, which has brought him more than 6,000 runs and 16 hundreds.
Ahead of a match where batting will not always be straightforward, he may conclude he got out at the right time.
For England, on the other hand, there is quite simply no time like the present.
Lose here, and Bazball’s many critics will point out they are on the verge of failing to win yet another five-match series. Win, somehow, and the dream lives on.
