The Ashes: England steps foot in the sacred fortress of Gabba

One of the most celebrated rivalries, the infamous and yet famous Ashes between Australia and England, will kickstart its latest edition from tomorrow as the Gabba will see two arch-rivals collide head-on.

A fixture that has been so rich of the harvest will be played at a fortress where Australia stayed unbeaten for 32 years before India sullied the record with an emphatic victory in the preceding year.

Even before the match has started, England has been stripped of their primary weapon, James Anderson who has been sidelined with a calf injury on the eve of the opening Test match. This is just one of the woes that will be plaguing the auspicious fixture alongside the incessant torrential downpour that has jeopardized the game.

To make it worse for the visitors, they have failed to secure a victory Down Under in the last decade and with worsening situations, they will need a lot more than just skill to make it out of Gabba unscathed.

Team news:

The hosts will witness the Baggy Green being handed out to Alex Carey who will be taking up the spot of former captain, Tim Paine.

In a war of tradition and history, Australia will be spearheaded by their premium fast bowler, Pat Cummins, one of the elites of the Australian pace triptych.

Australia has also announced their opening eleven that has seen the likes of Travis Head getting a nod ahead of the seasoned Usman Khwaja who was instrumental in Australia’s exploits in England in the preceding edition of the tournament.

England will have to make do without the likes of their wizened veteran, James Anderson, a man who has conquered every single opposition in almost every corner of the planet.

He will be replaced by Chris Woakes who will most likely be accompanied by Mark Wood, the towering English fast bowler who is capable of racking up speeds close to 145 clicks incessantly. England may also opt for Zak Crawley instead of Haseeb Hameed given the former’s earlier knowledge of the hostile Australian conditions.

Match details:

Australia vs England, (Ashes, 1st Test) 

Venue: Gabba, Brisbane

Date: December 8-12, 2021 

Time: 5:30 AM IST

Head to head:

Matches: 351

Australia: 146

England: 110

Draws: 95

Stats:

Steven Smith is the only active player in the list with highest number of centuries in the Ashes with 11 to his name. He is the third player in the list with Jack Hobbs and Don Bradman being the only ones ahead of him.

The biggest victories chronicled in Brisbane by England is by an innings and 332 runs which came way back in 1946 when the English had almost unrivalled dominion.

Steven Smith is the only active player in the list of the highest runs scored in an Ashes series as he set the 2019 Ashes ablaze with 774 runs. The ones ahead of him are Don Bradman, Wally Hammond and Mark Taylor.

Stuart Broad is the only active English bowler who is a part of the highest wicket-takers list with 118 wickets to his name. He has claimed 7 fifers in the history of the contest so far.

Squads:

Australia: Pat Cummins (c), Steve Smith (vc), Alex Carey (wk), Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Marcus Harris, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, Jhye Richardson, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner.

England: Joe Root (c), Jos Buttler (vc, wk), James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Dom Bess, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Zak Crawley, Haseeb Hameed, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Dawid Malan, Craig Overton, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.