There are two anxious teams trying to outwit the other at Gabba. Yes, the Ashes 2010 has got under way as England has lost the wicket of Andrew Strauss for naught. Not the type of start that the Englishmen would have expected, as the Australians now have come out with a clear game plan to scuttle an English dominance on the cricket field. Earlier it was Mitchell Johnson who came out with his plan to unsettle Strauss and Kevin Petersen to raise quite a few eyebrows. Australians rely more on Mitchell Johnson to deliver at Brisbane, and the war of nerves has just begun at the Gabba.
Ashes for long has remained a battle that has been fought fiercely, and Ashes 2010 is no different from the others. Englishmen with the upper hand are trying to create history by winning the Ashes 2010 series at the Australian soil after the 1986 series win at Australia, and Australia on the other hand have not been in the best of form, with the bowling really being inept and bumbling. With Ponting’s head on the block, Australians too feel the effect of frayed nerves as they are battling it out to prove their supremacy over a much confident English side.
It was the year 1986 which last witnessed an English victory over the Australians in Australia, when the match at Gabba had unveiled some sterling performances from the Englishmen. Mike Gatting led from the front, as the England team had a very decent side that had some stalwarts in the form of Gower, Botham and Allan Lamb. Ian Botham set the tone up for an emphatic win at Gabba in 1986, as his belligerent knock of 136 and five-for-41 haul helped England win the Ashes series in 1986.
England rates it chances high in this Ashes 2010 encounter, as the team is well set, and the bowling attack is as good as the Australian bowling attack, if not better, and Swann, who has been blossoming into an effective bowler certainly has to unleash all his tricks if England are to remain as strong contenders and clinch the Ashes 2010 series in the bargain. With Australians trying to get over the wounded-dog image, England begins another grueling Ashes series as favorites, as they have great opportunity to get off the ground at Brisbane and then to put the pressure on Australians in the remaining matches. This muddled Australian side is surely not going to lie in wait for the unceremonious defeat at the hands of their arch rivals, as they would be planning to get some steam up though their underdog image doesn’t work in their favor.
At the end of the 19th over, England were 61 for 2 with Cook and Petersen holding the forte at Gabba. Can Petersen get over his lean patch and come with a triumphant knock? That would really set the tone up for the Englishmen.