It is now just over three weeks before Australia and England meet in Perth to kick off the Ashes series.
The importance of a positive start in the first Test cannot be understated, especially in Australia, where the opener has almost always been a strong indicator of what lies ahead over the next six weeks.
England have struggled of late in the first Test of an Ashes series, losing both previous matches at Edgbaston and suffering heavy defeats in their last three starts Down Under.
We look back at where things went (largely) wrong for England at the Gabba during the previous four Ashes tours.
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2021-2022: Australia won by 9 wickets
Ashes series are defined by player stories, iconic matches or even just one moment, and unfortunately for England fans it was just one moment from the 2021-2022 series that remains so synonymous with what turned out to be another miserable Ashes away tour.
Rory Burns shuffling across the crease and exposing his leg stump to a Mitchell Starc in-swinging yorker from the very first ball, after England had elected to bat, not only set the tone for the series to come, but provided a moment that summed up the last decade of desperation on Ashes tours Down Under.
England were bowled out for just 147 runs inside two sessions, with newly appointed Australian captain Pat Cummins claiming 5-38, before Travis Head (152) held on to an expensive Jack Leach and a hobbling Ben Stokes to bludgeon the third-fastest Ashes century from 85 balls and quell the faint hopes of a comeback from the tourists – who opted not to include James Anderson or Stuart Broad in their XI – as Australia built a significant first. innings lead of 278.
Joe Root – who recorded his highest score yet in Australia with 89 – and Dawid Malan put up some resistance for the second time with a 162-run partnership for the third wicket, but a collapse was not far around the corner as England lost 7-74 early on day four to leave the hosts within just 20 runs of continuing their fine Test record at the Gabba.
2017-18: Australia won by 10 wickets
The 2017-18 series does not live long in the memories of most fans, not only because England were once again on the receiving end of another thrashing at the hands of a Steve Smith-inspired Australia, but also because off-field drama dominated the headlines as much as the action on it.
However, the Gabba Test represented something of a missed opportunity for England and provided an important ‘what if’ moment on the first day, when a recalled James Vince was passed by Nathan Lyon’s direct hit for what turned out to be a career-best 83 in Test cricket, with England well placed at 145–2.
Vince and Mark Stoneman had shown tremendous composure on their Ashes debut as the visitors ticked away on a slow surface until Dawid Malan’s dismissal sparked a collapse as England fell from 246-4 to 302 all out.
Australia were up against 76-4 and 209-7, but England allowed the upper hand to slip as Steve Smith masterfully anchored the hosts into a slim lead with an unbeaten 141 – just four more than his average would be for the entire series.
With England five behind, Moeen Ali and Jonny Bairstow counter-attacked with a threatening partnership, but Ali was somewhat controversially called out by the third umpire, despite a rather questionably painted crease line, with only 40 more runs added to the total after that as the tail unraveled.
Needing 170 runs to take a 1-0 lead, David Warner and debutant Cameron Bancroft shared the biggest opening partnership in a successful fourth-innings chase in Test cricket as the pair, both in their 80s, reached the target unscathed before lunch on day five.
2013–14: Australia won by 381 runs
England arrived as favorites for the 2013/14 series and were full of optimism as it was only a matter of three months since they had held on to a 3-0 lead on home soil and still with fresh memories of their 2010/11 victory, making the subsequent victory one of England’s worst Test defeats in Australia in recent memory – and there are many to choose from.
In fact, things started well for the tourists who had their opponents 132-6 on the first day until a challenging century stand between Brad Haddin and Mitchell Johnson eventually guided Australia to 295 despite Stuart Broad’s best figures Down Under of 6-81.
Then came Mitchell Johnson, ball in hand, a career-defining bout of hostile fast bowling that lasted not just a session or a Test match but the duration of a series, putting fear in the eyes of England’s batsmen and providing one of cricket’s greatest redemption stories after previous struggles in the Ashes series.
Stuart Broad’s cameo took the score from 91-8 to 136, but after Michael Clarke kindly checked James Anderson was wearing an armguard in the middle, England were shocked and in reality never recovered from the sheer brutality of a Gabba Test that paved the way for a decade of home dominance.
Warner and Clarke both hit centuries to bring home Australia’s lead as they declared at 401-7 that they would set England an impossible target of 561, before Johnson returned to terrorize Jonathan Trott and co again with some fiery short bowling.
England trailed by four at tea on day four but, in what became an underlying theme for the upcoming Ashes series, destroyed themselves in the evening session, losing 6-37 as they were dismissed for 179, with Johnson taking 5-42 to make it. nine wickets for the match.
2010-11: Match drawn
Everyone associated with England continues to rejoice in the infamous 2010-11 series and with good reason as the only England side to win Down Under since 1986-87, and also the only away side to win the Ashes series since Australia in 2001.
However, England were to thank for a record performance from their highest level in the second innings, securing a confidence-boosting draw after a difficult first half of the Test.
Peter Siddle’s birthday hat-trick on the first day saw England fall to 260 all out, before Michael Hussey (195) and Brad Haddin’s (136) triple-century stand left the visitors facing a huge 221-run deficit after the first innings.
From then on, however, it was England’s dominance as Andrew Strauss (110) and Alastair Cook (235*) scored 188 runs for the opening partnership, with Cook achieving a then-highest individual Test score at the Gabba and the sixth-highest score by an Englishman in the Ashes – until he outdid himself at the MCG in 2017.
Alongside Jonathan Trott (135*), the pair saw their side declared 517-1 in what was the most productive English partnership on Australian soil at 329, before the captains shook hands after a 26-over draw in Australia’s fourth innings. The comprehensive manner in which England wore Australia down over the course of two days could have had a knock-on effect for the rest of the series.
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