England have their best chance in 40 years to win the opening Test of an Ashes series in Australia. But can they seize the moment against a weakened home side, or will they fold as they have so often before?

Two years on from the bitter fallout of the Jonny Bairstow stumping controversy at Lord’s, the teams meet in a city that has long been Australia’s killing ground. England have lost their last eight Tests in Perth.

India showed the way last summer, claiming a famous win on the western front after 17 wickets fell on the opening day and Virat Kohli produced a masterful century.

Kohli, like England’s Joe Root, arrived in Australia under pressure to score runs. Kohli’s patience and precision against Australia’s pace attack could serve as a blueprint for Root in the coming days as his teammates blaze away in strict adherence to their Bazball philosophy.

England’s record in Australia is dire. Since their last series win Down Under in 2010-11, they have gone 0-13 in Tests, failing to claim a single victory or mount a serious challenge in 15 years.

Both teams are gambling with their squads for the first Test.

Australia will blood Jake Weatherald at the top of the order to try and solve the opening batting conundrum that has plagued the team since David Warner’s retirement two years ago.

They will also play another mature-aged rookie in bowler Brendan Doggett, also aged 31, with Josh Hazlewood having joined Pat Cummins in the casualty ward.

It’s certainly the biggest series that I will lead the side in.

Mitchell Starc will lead a new-look Australian pace attack, which will also include Scott Boland who England fancy themselves against.

England will play injury prone spearheads Jofra Archer and Mark Wood as they hope an all-out pace attack can subdue Australia’s reconfigured batting line-up.

Brimming with confidence, if England cannot win this first Test, before most likely succumbing in the day-night second Test at the Gabba, it will be a big mountain to climb to get themselves back into the series in Adelaide.

Channel Seven commentator and former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting told The Nightly on Wednesday that England coach Brendon McCullum’s Bazball mantra of an all-out batting assault was designed specifically for this Ashes series.

Question marks remain if Bazball will hold up to the rigours of the fast and bouncy Australian pitches.

If it fails it will mean three years of English cricket wins were for nought. If it succeeds it will prove Australia can in effect be beaten at their own game in their own backyard — something no team has done for a decade.

The English heroics of the 2023 Ashes showed this team can take it up to Australia, but they will need more than moral victories if they are to reclaim the urn.

England’s aggressive Bazball approach rescued them on home soil after trailing 2-0 to eventually draw the series 2-2 at The Oval with Stuart Broad starring in his final Test.

Captain Ben Stokes, who starred with the bat in that series, famously said the Bairstow dismissal was against the spirit of the game and insisted he would never encourage his players to do the same.

Australian skipper Cummins and Travis Head, however, this week stood by Alex Carey’s decision to throw down the stumps as Bairstow wandered out of his crease before the ball was dead.

“Would I want to win a game that way? The answer is no,” Stokes said in 2023.

Both sides claim to have moved on, but one of the most controversial incidents in Ashes history will remain a major talking point in the stands and commentary boxes this summer.

Stokes is chasing history, hoping to become only the sixth post-war England captain to return home with the urn.

“Everyone in the world, everyone in Australia, everyone in England, knows how big this series is,” Stokes said.

“If we were to come out and not accept that — treat it as just another series — we’d only be lying to ourselves.

“It’s certainly the biggest series that I will lead the side in.”

Stokes admitted today how monumental the task at hand was and didn’t want the team simply defined by Bazball’s success or failure.

“Everyone knows the record of England over the history of Ashes series (in) Australia isn’t the best, but we’ve got an opportunity here over the next two-and-a-half months to write our own history,” he said.

“We’ve obviously come here with the goal, and that goal is to get on that plane mid-January, returning to England being Ashes winners.”

“It’s been three-and-a-half years of a lot of time and effort put into this role, it’s something I’ve thoroughly enjoyed.

“I wake up every morning loving what I do, because it’s the greatest honour in English cricket to lead this team out.”

With Pat Cummins sidelined, Steve Smith is leading Australia in an Ashes Test for first time since 2021.

Smith has fired his own shots, questioning England’s tactics and warning of the challenges ahead as he engaged in a war of words with former England spinner Monty Panesar. Panesar has urged English players to target Smith about Sandpapergate.

Smith, who accepted a 12-month ban for his role in the ball-tampering saga during the the infamous 2018 Newlands Test, has never been allowed to forget the darkest moment in his career by opposition fans.

“Ben Stokes and the England team have got to make Steve Smith feel guilty and play on that,” Panesar said.

When asked on Thursday about Panesar’s comments, Smith said he was going “off topic”.

The 36-year-old brought up Panesar’s ill-fated appearance on UK show Mastermind in 2019.

“Who of you in the room have seen Mastermind and Monty Panesar on that? Any of you?” Smith quipped.

“Well, those of you who have, you’ll understand where I’m coming from.

“And those of you who haven’t, do yourself a favour because it’s pretty comical.

“Anyone that believes that Athens is in Germany, that’s a start.

“Oliver Twist is a season of the year, and America is a city.

“Doesn’t really bother me, those comments.”

Smith has also not shied away from the mind games leading into the series opener.

“They might have got things a bit wrong in terms of the pace from previous years. Sometimes, the slower bowlers are harder to face when you have to make the pace yourself,” he said.

Smith believes England’s all-out pace attack — featuring Archer and Wood — could misfire on Australian pitches that reward seam movement over raw speed.

“Those nibbling seamers can actually be quite tricky. They might have got things the wrong way around,” he said.

“The wickets in Australia over the last three or four years have been very tricky for top-order batters. It’s going to be a good challenge for them, but it’s going to be a wonderful series.”

Who is the world’s best batter is also up for grabs with under-fire English No.4 Joe Root — the world’s number one ranked batter — going up against Smith.

Recently becoming the second-highest run-scorer in Test history, only behind Sachin Tendulkar, Root has made four Ashes centuries, but none have come in Australia.

“Him and Joe Root are neck and neck, in my opinion, in terms of the greatest batters of this generation,” Stokes said.

“You always want to come up with ways to try and keep the best players quiet ... it’ll be a hard thing to be able to do.”

Twelve of Smith’s 36 Test centuries have come against England, but he was below his best during the last home Ashes four years ago.

Almost written off this time 12 months ago, Smith re-emerged as a force when he smashed four tons in five Tests either side of the New Year.

Sure to send a scare through the England camp, Smith’s average is an immense 68.98 in his 40 Tests as Australian captain.

Smith’s conversion rate as captain is also staggering, hitting 17 centuries and 14 fifties, compared to 19 and 29 when not leader.

“I’m pretty chilled,” Smith said of his evolution as a player and captain.

“I’ve learnt a lot over my journey. The couple of times that I’ve stood in for Patty, I’ve tried to be pretty relaxed and let the game play.

“I’ve got to do it my own way out there and have my own style.

“But I’m a lot more relaxed these days.”

With AAP