After the hope of day three, there came the fall of day four – England succumbed to a nine-wicket defeat to Australia on Saturday to go 1-0 down in the five-match series.
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Attention will now turn to Adelaide for the second Test match, which begins next Thursday and will be a day-night contest with the pink ball.
Here are a look at the selection questions captain Joe Root and head coach Chris Silverwood will have to answer when picking their side for the fixture.
Which of the big guns will return?
The main talking points surrounding England’s XI was the absence of their two leading wicket-takers in Test cricket: James Anderson and Stuart Broad. Reportedly suffering from a minor calf issue, Anderson was not risked for the series opener while Broad missed out as England opted for Chris Woakes and Ollie Robinson as their new-ball pair.
However, a pink-ball Test surely paves the way for the return of Anderson, and Broad will be in to contention to play his 150th Test. Anderson has 14 pink-ball wickets for England at an average below 20, and celebrated his maiden Test five-for in Australia in the day-night fixture in Adelaide back in 2017. Broad has 10 wickets at 27.30 in day/night Tests, a record which trumps Woakes’ five at 45.40. Robinson and Mark Wood have both yet to play day-night Tests.
Which England quicks will drop out? There will be losses from all three angles. Taking Woakes out of the equation strips away a level of batting security in the tail; resting Wood would mean leaving out England’s fastest bowler by a distance; and the omission of Robinson would rid England off a bowler who continues to sparkle at Test level and adapted well to conditions in Brisbane.
Will Jack Leach keep his spot?
Questions over which quicks play could well be eased by dropping Jack Leach, who enjoyed a difficult match in Brisbane. Short of match practise and recent Test experience – he was overlooked for the entire of the English summer – the left-arm spinner was targeted by Australia’s batters to end up with figures of 1-102 from 13 overs.
After Australia wrapped up their win on Saturday, Root conceded that he’d been too aggressive with Leach’s fields early on, but will he keep the faith in the tweaker? Leach’s selection is often linked to the presence of Ben Stokes as a fourth seamer, so the all-rounder’s struggles with the ball at Brisbane could also go against the Taunton man when it comes to picking an XI for the second Test.
Will there be any changes in the batting line-up?
While the key debates will form around the composition of the bowling attack, England’s batting remains their main point of concern. Having been bowled out for 147 on day one, will they explore any changes? Earlier this year head coach Silverwood said he’d “rather be accused of giving somebody one too many chances than not enough”, which may suggest that England opt not to make any changes for now. The options on the bench are Zak Crawley, Dan Lawrence and Jonny Bairstow, all of whom have had opportunities in the XI this year.
