“As much as Ollie Robinson appears to be a good fit for Aussie conditions and a fit Mark Wood feels almost like a necessity given the awful absence of Archer, I wonder if at least a little part of the reason for not picking Broad for this Test is that England are going to rotate their quicks more than they normally would over an Ashes in Oz and the last time Stuart Broad was snubbed for the start of a series he took it personally and came back bowling with the fire of a thousand English suns over the rest of that series. Perhaps England are hoping for a repeat of that this time around.” It’s as compelling a theory as any, Michael Jenkins. I can buy the argument for Wood and Robinson in these conditions, but I’m not sure how Woakes (as good as he is) gets the nod ahead of Broad, given how the latter has torn up Australia’s left-handers before. Different country, different conditions, but if the chance was there to punch the bruise, it was going to be in England’s first bowling innings of the series. Richard writes in from Kuala Lumpur. I used to live there for a time, a tremendous city. Please have some roti pisang for me. “A very good morning from Malaysia! Hoping for a bat first and a decent return from our top 4. Sobers scored a 132 on this day at the Gabba to kick off the 1960s WI tour of Australia - it’s possible! Quick shout out to my brother, who reached 49 not out this week... happy birthday Nick Rodwell.” Kevin Plastow is corresponding with me from outside the Gabba. “The crowd are all outside waiting patiently to go through security, check in, and then the gate. Patience required.” “Slightly delirious with excitement, or perhaps it’s the booster jab I had earlier. Half an hour ‘til all our dreams are crushed, yay!” Ah, English pessimism. Enjoy it, James Walsh. Teams England Rory Burns Haseeb Hameed Dawid Malan Joe Root * Ben Stokes Ollie Pope Jos Buttler + Chris Woakes Ollie Robinson Mark Wood Jack Leach Australia David Warner Marcus Harris Marnus Labuschagne Steven Smith Travis Head Cameron Green Alex Carey + Pat Cummins * Mitchell Starc Nathan Lyon Josh Hazlewood Pat Cummins says he doesn’t mind the result - Australia would have batted but he reckons it’s a 50-50 call anyway. So, we could have skipper vs skipper pretty soon into the series. England win the toss and will bat An early minor victory for the English, in that they don’t have to face the prospect of conceding 500 in the first innings. They will have to bat well initially, but surely there are runs to be had if they manage that. Root has no hesitation. Here comes Patrick Cummins in his green blazer, and the crowd breaks out into applause as he walks to the middle for the first time. I’ll tell you what, I didn’t see Broad warm up with the others, he was hanging out with Bairstow, who isn’t playing. For a visual reference... We’ve had a lengthy and meaningful barefoot ceremony in the middle, led by Aunty Deborah Sandy with the teams standing barefoot around the Walkabout Wickets artwork. The players are told about this land, the rivers that run through it, the languages spoken, the indigenous people who have lived and do live here. The best part is that one of the TV producers keeps trying to signal to her to wrap up, and she serenely ignores them and sails on, telling the story. A power move. There is intrigue around the England lineup, with suggestions swirling around the Gabba that Stuart Broad will miss out and spinner Jack Leach set to get the nod. It would mean an England team with no Jimmy Anderson and Broad together for the first time in five years. Stand by for the toss, coming up shortly. It’s being billed as something of a new era for Australian Test cricket, with debutant captain Pat Cummins in charge. Here’s a nifty guide to the players who are going to shape the series. Greg Bradley emails in. “Have a great Ashes series or at least have a great Ashes first test, or maybe first innings, or maybe first morning ? Lovely to see your intro but the stadium is empty. No crowd ? Weird. I’ve gotten used to crowds at the footie again.” Well, the crowd is coming in. Still almost an hour until play. It’s allegedly a sell-out today. The Gabba can take over 40,000. How about the pitch? It looks green, yes. But the Gabba pitch always looks green on day one. It’s not usually grass that does a whole lot. I’m willing to bet it will be very decent batting surface, after perhaps a little hard work early. The big question: will we get play? Well, probably. The forecast for Brisbane entire says that rain may be around from exactly 10am local time, which is the first ball. But that doesn’t mean it will fall here at 10am. There are thunderstorms forecast for the afternoon, but hopefully that means they will rain intensely but briefly and then clear off. The Gabba drains better than any other ground in the world, and we’ve seen the ground staff here perform miracles before. So, be optimistic. Preamble Good morning from Brisbane! I happen to know that it is already late at night in the UK, and any other number of times in other zones around the world, but here from the Gabba it is a fresh new day with a fresh new pitch in the middle. The Ashes! That old thing. Thank providence that it is beginning, so that I don’t have to write, nor do you have to read, any more preview pieces. From now on, we will have views and reviews only. Everyone is out there on the ground: players, whole squads, coaches, umpires, ground staff, tractors, camera operators. There’s Haseeb Hameed with a bat under each arm, just in case. Cap backwards. Strutting. There’s Danny Reuben, talking media with the Channel Seven broadcast managers. Mike Hussey is out there in a suit, Adam Gilchrist in shirt sleeves. There are nets strung up for throw-downs. Eskies full of drinks. Hurdles and medicine balls. A circle of England players are heading a football around. There are strings of orange flags around the centre square. David Warner is standing on the centre wicket about where the stumps will go in, facing up with his bat and visualising. It’s warm, it’s sweaty, it’s overcast, and it’s happening. I’m Geoff, hello.