Australia leads England 11-4 at the Gabba

11-4? Surprised it is that close.

You're right. I was going to mention that but couldn't remember who we would have actually missed so as to be able to put any sort of asterisk against that tour. Terry Alderman was about all I could think of (and his record in Australia pales compared to his 2 England tours). According to Wikipedia, the Australian rebel squad in 86/7 was Kim Hughes (captain), Terry Alderman, John Dyson, Peter Faulkner, Mike Haysman, Tom Hogan, Rodney Hogg, Trevor Hohns, John Maguire, Rod McCurdy, Carl Rackemann, Steve Rixon, Greg Shipperd, Steve Smith, Mick Taylor, Kepler Wessels, Graham Yallop There are some decent names there but a number of them at the tail end of their careers, and questionable who would have got in at that time ahead of: G Marsh, Boon, Jones, Border, Ritchie, G Matthews, S Waugh, Zoehrer, C Matthews, M Hughes, Reid (Australia's team for the first Ashes test) Apart from Alderman, Rackemann also maybe if he was fit. Maguire might have offered some steadiness with the ball. Different batsmen for Greg Ritchie and a then very callow S Waugh maybe? Notable that the Australian rebels look very light on for batting apart from Kim Hughes and Graham Yallop (who would have been getting on by then). Apart from that, the rebel players don't look much better than the ones who played. But I acknowledge that's 30 years ago and my memory of where people were at in their careers and how good they actually were is open to question. I think England were unaffected by their previous rebel tour - suspensions had expired (?) They actually lost a lot of players from this 1986/7 tour to the England rebel tour to SA in 1989/90 (looking again at Wikipedia) which affected part of the 1989 Ashes series.

Really? I'm not Haddin fan, but he had an FC average of 38 and hit 17 centuries. Haddin's test average and centuries alone is superior to Paine's. There's simply no evidence whatsoever that Paine is as good of a batsman as Haddin.

And in 1986/87 we had the rebel South Africa defections.

Really? One century in over 10 years doesn't support your case.

Thanks Anindya, Was it Kolkata or Perth, I wondered. Do you recall when once a pitch in India was prepared greenish, Ganguly was most upset and was reluctant to play?

Excellent piece Kersi. Should be a cracker of a game. The Kolkata Test just concluded was a huge entertainer on a fantastic pitch. I was are eden Gardens one of the days and pitch was hard and bouncy and then all was seaming like crazy because of the weather. Perfect preparation for South Africa for the Indian team. Haven't seen a wicket like this in india in years if ever. Well done Sourav Ganguly in preparing the wicket. Bhuvaneshwar Kumar showed how he is fast becoming a force to reckon with even in he 5 Day format. India goes to sputh africa with a superb pace attack in addition to a good batting line up. That should be another super series after the Ashes.

Like many, I'm looking forward to this series. However, three things may diminish my enjoyment 1) unsporting pitches, we need to have wickets that offer assistance to the quicks on day one and to the spinners on days 4 & 5 - not boring, batsman friendly roads. 2) unsporting players (as well as ex players and fans), it has already started and it is unsavory to the cricket lovers of both countries. 3) bizarre team selections - pick players who are in form and deserve to be there, forget state bias. My prediction - Aus 3 Eng 1 (WACA test to be drawn).

James, Haddin didn't just have a good series. He had an excellent series. He and Johnson saved the Aussies bacon on multiple occasions. We don't have that kind of safety net now with Marsh and Paine at 6 and 7

Yes Jeffrey, you are correct. In the second innings of the 1936-37 Gabba Test, Australia was 4 for 7 to start with. The highest partnership was 17 runs for the ninth wicket on a rain-affected pitch. Four batsmen, including openers Fingleton and Badcock, Bradman batting at no. 5 and Bill O'Reilly batting at no. 9 made ducks in Australia's 58. England's skipper Gubby Allen took 5-36 including three Aussie bats for 0. In the first innings, Australia's Jack Fingleton extended his run of consecutive centuries to four. But he was bowled first ball by Bill Voce for a duck. A 100 and 0. In the exciting Kolkata Test against Sri Lanka which concluded yesterday as a draw, India's captain Virat Kohli scored 0 and an unbeaten century.

Kersi regarding that 1936-37 test, I seem to recall that Australia were set quite a large total to chase in the 4th innings when it started to rain. Australia batted on a sticky wicket and were all out for 58. Puts Bradman's duck into context.

Paine may have been such a batsman 10 years ago, but it's very unlikely that he will have an impact close to Haddin's in that series. He was so good that you could even argue for him as Man of the Series over Johnson.

We don't have the same quality batting at 7? Yes Haddin had a good series, but Paine is overall as good a batsman as Haddin, possibly better.

Thank you Paul, JohnB and Wayne for your opinions.

Personal opinion is this Ashes series will be the battle of the bowlers. The bowlers will either dominate the bat, or throw up pies for the batsman to boost their numbers; Hopefully a Traditional GABBA pitch, a hard and fast WACA, a green top Adelaide to protect the ball to get the Bowlers taking wickets :)

Kersi I think it's worth noting that after the losses in the first 2 Gabba Ashes tests, England has only won one (out of 18) against a full-strength Australian side. The other win of course was against the virtual 3rd team during World Series Cricket. The one "proper" win was in 1986-7 - the England team that an English journo described as having only 3 problems - that they couldn't bat, bowl or field. Whether that record over a long period means much it's hard to say. Each series starts 0-0.

You've summarised a couple of key points, one which obviously gives hope to Australia and another which gives hope to England. The English side bowled very well in the first innings, the last time they played a Test at the Gabba and it needed a rescue act from our numbers 7 & 8 batsmen to post a decent score. This time round, we don't have the same quality batting at 7 and there lies England's hope. If they get through the top 5, they could get Australia for a low score and potentially set up a win. Australia obviously has a great track record at the Gabba, bit also has guys who are happy to bat there. Khawaja is a stand out but Warner, Smith and co, like to make runs up there and all are in reasonable form. The first day could define what type of series we're going to get. If England get on top, it should be close. If Australia dominate, it could be a shutout.