The tourists must get on top of their nerves if they are to take their chance of winning at The Gabba
There are two very nervous teams in Brisbane right now. But it is when you drive to the ground on the first morning of the match that the stress of the Ashes really starts to show. As I remember it no one seemed too worried in the team meeting on the evening before the first Test in 2006. It was only when we were on the bus that it became clear how anxious the players were feeling. The atmosphere was so quiet. Nerves affect different people in different ways. Most players tend to go into their shells, though the odd one or two will become perky and try to crack jokes to lift the mood. What is obvious is that people are not being themselves.
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Of course everyone remembers Steve Harmison's opening delivery in that series, which was a wide that went straight to second slip. But that ball has obscured just how nervous Australia were in that first half hour as well. Justin Langer just went ballistic and started hitting the ball through slip and over gully. They were shots he would never normally play. Langer hit four fours off Harmison's first two overs, but three of them went to third man. Matthew Hayden was also playing like a man who just wanted to get out of there. He just wanted to attack, which is not a bad policy, but on another day those catches would have gone to hand and Australia could have been two wickets down for next to nothing.? Sign up now for our weekly email The Spin
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For two players with that much experience to play so nervously just shows how tense the first morning of an Ashes series can be. All cricketers will worry a little about their own performance on the morning of such a daunting match. They will be anxious not to let themselves down. Nerves are natural for a player in that situation. What England want to avoid is fear. That is something quite different. Fear is a collective apprehension that you might be about to be humiliated. Teams can be taken over by it.
The big advantage England have this time is that everyone in the squad is fit, which means that they have a settled team. That was obvious when they chose to send their Test bowling attack up to Brisbane last week rather than play them against Australia A in Hobart. On previous Ashes tours we had so many injuries that we were not even sure who was going to pitch up and bowl on the first morning. Australia, on the other hand, would always know exactly what their best attack was. This time Australia are fretting over the fitness of their players on the eve of the match. Uncertainty over whether a major player like Michael Clarke will be fit or not can unsettle the team, particularly when the guy waiting in the wings, Usman Khawaja, has never played a Test match.
Another factor that will work for England is that for the first time in a long time they will start a Test at Brisbane with a bowling attack that is at least as experienced as Australia's, especially now that it looks like Xavier Doherty will make his debut. He is lucky that he is not playing his first match at Adelaide or Perth, where the pitches are more likely to take spin. At Brisbane Doherty's job should just be to hold up an end. It will be slightly different for Graeme Swann. He will have a bigger role to play because whereas Australia have Shane Watson, England do not have a genuine fourth seam bowler to take some of the overs.
Watching how the Australians play Swann's first spell is going to be one of the most fascinating parts of this Test. It will give a strong indication of how they are feeling, of whether they are just battling nerves or even if a little fear has crept into the camp. If they panic and go after him straight away, that will suggest that there is some desperation in the team. If they are in a confident mood, they should just see him off and know that they will have chances to attack him later on.
England should also have learned the lessons of history when it comes to the toss. Brisbane can be a confusing wicket to read. If you just pitched up there and had a look at it you might see that it is green and rock hard and think "let's have a bowl on here first". Of course that was what Nasser Hussain did in 2002. I backed Nasser on that decision. It tallied with all the information we had got as well. I remember we spoke to Matthew Elliott after the game, and he said that when he had played at Brisbane with Victoria they had won the toss and been unsure about whether to bowl first too. England now know better.
So England have a great opportunity to kickstart their Ashes and make a little history. But they have to be careful. When I wrote last week that this was the most muddled Australia side in 30 years I was comparing them to some of the best teams the country has ever had. This team are not that good, but will still be very competitive. And I think they will enjoy being slight underdogs. And whatever everyone else says they will not be worrying about losing another Ashes series. They will just be concentrating on winning this match.
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