England faced with tough task of retaining Ashes

Brisbane: All the talk, hype and build-up will finally give way to actual on-field action when Australia and England clash in the first Ashes 2017-18 Test in Brisbane on Thursday.

Among the factors that could make the series intriguing is the newness of the line-ups and thus, the unpredictability of the outcome.

Both sides have first-time Ashes captains in Steve Smith and Joe Root respectively, who are expected to be the backbone of the respective batting orders.

Much of the pre-series talk has centred around Australia's pace trio of Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, but England's combine of James Anderson and Stuart Broad beats the host’s attack on experience, if not skill.

Where Australia holds the edge, though, is the venue for the series-opener.

The Gabba has been a fortress for the host for ages, and England in particular has not had the best of times there.

The last time the visitor won at the Gabba was in 1986-87, its most recent experience being a 381-run drubbing in 2013-14.

That result, made possible by a marauding Mitchell Johnson, set the platform for a 5-0 hiding which has constituted the bulk of the build-up to the current series.

England has pretty much reconciled to life without Ben Stokes, the talismanic all-rounder who has been left behind at home as he awaits a decision on whether he will be charged by prosecutors investigating a brawl outside a Bristol nightclub in September.

Australia suffered an injury scare ahead of the Test when David Warner hurt his neck while taking a high catch at training on Tuesday.

Australia has left out Jackson Bird and Chadd Sayers and will hand a debut to Cameron Bancroft, who will open the batting with Warner.

Tim Paine, the wicketkeeper, has made it to the side for the first time in seven years while Shaun Marsh has got the nod at No. 6. Nathan Lyon will perform the off-spinning duties and complement the pace attack.

That pace attack could well turn out to be the difference between the sides, but England will take confidence from this not insignificant fact – it has won four of the last five Ashes series.

Teams:

Australia: David Warner, Cameron Bancroft, Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith (capt), Peter Handscomb, Shaun Marsh, Tim Paine (wk), Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon.

England: Joe Root (capt), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Jake Ball, Stuart Broad, Alastair Cook, Dawid Malan, Mark Stoneman, James Vince and Chris Woakes

Pitch and conditions
It will have a smattering of grass. Showers are forecast to fall at times throughout the match.

Stats and trivia

• Australia have not lost a Test match at the Gabba since 1988, with England not winning there since 1986
• England have claimed the Ashes in four of the past five series.

Match facts
November 23-27, 2017
Start time 1000 local (00:00 GMT)