The Gabba hosted Ashes novelty and normality – then came the first ball

Day one of the first Test was a dramatic mesh of delight, surprise and a premature rendition of The Great Escape

It wasn’t entirely a novelty, seeing crowds roll up to fill Brisbane’s Gabba ground, given that life in the state of Queensland has proceeded largely as normal throughout the pandemic years. There was still some novelty, though, given it had been nearly a year since the Australian men’s team had last played a Test match. That had been in the middle of January at … the Gabba, meaning the ground has now hosted back-to-back Tests for the first time in its history, despite the long break in between.

Nor was this first day of a Test match an entirely normal one, given that travellers from interstate and overseas were still prohibited from entering the state without doing a fortnight’s quarantine. But it was normal enough in having a full house for an Ashes contest, vocal and voluble in response to the action on field.

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