[Getty Images]Matthew Henry - BBC Sport JournalistMon, December 1, 2025 at 2:21 PM UTC·5 min readOver the past eight days you would have been forgiven for thinking all English Ashes hopes were lost.
Ben Stokes' side were pummeled in Perth, where they supposedly had to win to have any chance of winning back the urn.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementUp next? The Gabba, where England always lose, and the pink ball, which turns Mitchell Starc into some sort of Wasim Akram-Glenn McGrath-Mister Fantastic hybrid.
You may as well forget the early-morning alarms and concentrate on the snooker.
Not quite.
Here are five reasons for England fans to be positive before the second Test against Australia begins on Thursday.
A breached fortress
India chased 328 to beat Australia at the Gabba in 2021, ending Australia's 33-year unbeaten run at the venue [Getty Images]There is no escaping the fact England's record in Brisbane, historically the host of the series opener, is dire.
It is 39 years since they have won a Test in Queensland's capital - a run of nine Tests.
The famous draw in 2010, when England's scored 517-1 declared in their second innings, and a rain-affected match in 1998 are the only two occasions England have escaped without defeat since 1986.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBut Stokes' side should be more accustomed to Brisbane's pace and bounce than previous tours given their (brief) playing time in Perth. Hope can also be found in Australia's recent results there.
They were unbeaten in 31 Tests between 1988 and 2021 but have only won two of their past five at the venue.
India breached the fortress in their iconic 2021 victory and a Shamar Joseph-inspired West Indies inflicted a pink-ball defeat here in 2024 - the only time Australia have lost a day-night Test match.
Once impregnable, touring sides have won more matches at the Gabba than any other Australia venue since 2021.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementA pitch to suit England
Those usual characteristics of the Brisbane pitch, namely pace and bounce, should suit England's battery of pace bowlers, as they did in the first innings in Perth before things took a ghastly turn.
Historically, the Gabba is even bouncier than the Perth Stadium and sits as the bounciest pitch anywhere in the world.
It is also the ground where a 'hard length' (balls pitching between 8m and 10m from the batter) is most effective globally.
Helpfully, Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Ben Stokes and Josh Tongue, who could come in for the injured Mark Wood, bowl within or close to this range on average.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementWhen England found good or hard lengths in the first Test they averaged 12.5 and 19.8 respectively.
Previous pink-ball Tests suggest batting will be tricky under lights but there have also been long periods the ball does little in the daylight.
That could also help England's struggling batters find form.
The positives from Perth
Given how the Test ended, it is easy to forget just how well England bowled to dismiss Australia for 132 in the first innings in Perth.
Only twice have Australia been bowled out for fewer runs at home in since 2010.
Across the match England's expected bowling average (the metric devised by analysts CricViz which is similar to xG in football) was 25.4, better than Australia's which stood at 28.7.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementGlass-half-full supporters would view that as a positive, though it could equally show how England's batters fell to deliveries they should not.
Looking into the data, there is little evidence of England's bowling falling apart in the second innings.
The amount of deliveries England bowled a good length and in the channel outside off stump remained largely constant from the first innings to second.
Travis Head took risks in pursuit of a low total and reeled off a sensational 128.
The biggest change was the drop in pace with England bowling 44% of deliveries above 87mph on day one and just 33% on day two.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIt's over to the batters to ensure those England quicks have the time to recover.
Australia's batting downturn
England must also tell themselves the hosts' batting issues were more than a few isolated struggles.
Other than Head, Marnus Labuschagne, who made 51 not out in the second innings when the pressure had long evaporated, was the only other batter to pass 26 in Perth.
Australia's batters average just 27.65 across their eight Tests this year.
Only twice have they averaged lower in a calendar year in the past 35 years - and one of those was in 2024.
Speaking on the Tailenders podcast, England's leading wicket-taker James Anderson said: "We left some marks on them - we hit them with pace and they weren't comfortable with it.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"In the first innings you were looking at Australia and thinking there is not a lot to worry about.
"If England can bowl like that again then there is no reason that we can't bowl them out cheaply again."
Starc's day-night Brisbane record
With 81 wickets at an average of 17.09 in day-night matches, Starc's place as the world's premier pink-ball bowler is beyond question.
His team-mates Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon are next most successful wicket-takers in such matches but have each taken 43 wickets.
Starc is in a class of his own.
Taking in three Tests and one pink-ball Sheffield Shield match, Starc's day-night record at the Gabba - 15 wickets across seven innings at 31.26 - is unspectacularly normal, however.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThis one may come back to bite England but straws need to be clutched.
Coming back from 2-0 down would surely be beyond Stokes' side. A rare win in Brisbane is not completely out of the question, however.
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