There is still hope for England. After four sessions of the first Test, they were 99 runs ahead with nine second-innings wickets remaining.
The capitulation that happened from that point will leave a sour taste in everyone’s mouths, none more so than the players.
However, given the pink ball seems harder to see and the faster you bowl it, seemingly the more effective you are, it leaves England well placed to make the most of the talent at their disposal.
England’s quickest bowler, Mark Wood, played one pink-ball Test on the last Ashes tour four years ago and took nine wickets in the match, proving a menace throughout.
He isn’t available this week, but England will still have Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson and Brydon Carse – all capable of bowling over 90mph – in their XI, while captain Ben Stokes can exceed 85mph.
The eye-catching display in Australia’s first innings was the most sustained spell of ‘fast’ bowling I’ve seen from an England attack.
There were former Australia internationals remarking how impressed they were by England’s bowling, and writers sharpening their knives for an evisceration of the home team.
If the England bowlers can find the same hostility, pace and skill in Brisbane, there is no doubt they can cause Australia big problems.
Can England go toe-to-toe with Starc? If he recaptures the rhythm and confidence he showed in Perth, he could be Australia’s match-winner once again.
He must go to bed dreaming of bowling with a pink ball.
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