You cannot blame England seeking encouragement following their shattering defeat in the Ashes opener at Perth.

They may not find much heading to Brisbane.

Queensland’s capital has traditionally staged the opening match of each series at the Woolloongabba – better known in its shortened form as the Gabba and often referred to (at least down under) as the Gabbatoir given England’s hopes go up in smoke there so often.

The city’s first Test venue had been the Exhibition Ground, where England enjoyed a spectacular 675-run victory in 1928-29 – still the widest margin in the history of Tests. Four years later, the Gabba’s first Ashes Test also proved a happy one for the tourists as they won back the urn with a four-wicket victory which owed much to Lancashire’s Eddie Paynter discharging himself from hospital – where he was suffering from acute tonsillitis – to hit 83 in tropical heat. He also had the satisfaction of making the winning hit in the second innings to secure the series and Ashes.

Four years later England enjoyed another win there, this time by 322 runs, as the Gabba staged the opener for the first time but since then their fortunes have been woeful. Only two more victories have come, in 1978-79 and 1986-87.

Captains who insert the hosts there run the risk of joining Len Hutton and Nasser Hussain in a short but notorious group. Hutton sent in Australia on winning the toss in 1954-55 and saw them amass 601 for eight declared, largely thanks to Arthur Morris (153) and Neil Harvey (162), before his side were dismissed for 190 and 257. Happily for the tourists, they recovered from that setback to win the series 3-1, much of it down to Frank Tyson. He took one for 160 in the opener but then shortened his run and soon earned the nickname of “Typhoon” for blowing away Australia in Sydney and Melbourne.

Hussain amazed everyone – not least his own side – by following the same path in 2002-03, Matthew Hayden (197) and Ricky Ponting (123) taking toll of a side who lost one of their fast bowlers, Simon Jones, to a serious knee injury on the first day. There was no fightback for Hussain, losing the match by 384 runs and series 4-1 against a side which included Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne.

The Gabba also hosted one of the odder Ashes matches in 1950-51. Despite the retirement of Don Bradman, England were still underdogs but could be quietly satisfied by bowling out Australia for 228 on the opening day. Thunderstorms – Queensland does those spectacularly well – meant no play on day two and it was followed by the rest day, so by the time England came to bat the pitch had been sweating profusely. Caught on a “sticky”, they plunged to 68 for seven, whereupon skipper Freddie Brown declared. Now the hosts desperately struggled, provoking Lindsay Hassett to do likewise at 32 for seven, 70 minutes still remaining in the day with batting sure to be easier the next day.

England pushed kingpin Len Hutton down the order to protect him but plunged to 30 for six by the end of play. Hutton had just the tail left and made a technically brilliant 62 not out but the rest could not hold out, sliding to 122 all out.

Who knows what the Gabba may hold this time?

By Richard Spiller