More often than not, The Gabba in Brisbane has appeared to be an overly intimidating environment for touring England. It is a venue that had hosted 18 Ashes Tests prior to 2010, with England having won on just four occasions - the last of which came back in 1986 with Ian Botham in fine fettle.
The England side that made the long trip three years ago was a different, more ruthless animal, though. They had regained the urn on home soil in 2009 courtesy of a 2-1 victory and now had a host of players at the peak of their powers.
History may have been against them, but a large proportion of the cricketing world expected them to prove themselves this time around.
In terms of team news for the opening encounter, pace-bowler Steven Finn was given his first taste of Ashes cricket in the England attack, while the latest player to attempt to fill the Shane Warne-shaped void in the Australian spin department was the unknown Xavier Doherty. The rest was pretty much as expected.
Day One
All of England's meticulous preparation, which had seen them perform strongly in three warm-up matches, threatened to be undone after just the third ball when skipper Andrew Strauss, who had won the toss and elected to bat, returned to the dressing room after he was caught by Mike Hussey off the bowling of Ben Hilfenhaus without troubling the score.
© Getty Images
A combination of Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott and Kevin Pietersen helped to steady the innings to 197-4, but when Cook was dismissed by Peter Siddle, the birthday boy was about to become an Australian hero. With the very next ball he bowled Matt Prior, before going on to trap Stuart Broad lbw, much to the delight of The Gabba crowd, who wildly celebrated his hat-trick.
Ian Bell put up some stubborn resistance with a knock of 76, but the day belonged to Siddle, who ended with figures of 6-54 as England were removed for 260. At stumps, the home side were 25-0, while England had been given a harsh, sobering reminder as to how tough this assignment was going to be.
Day Two
England needed a reaction and in the afternoon session of day two, they got one. The Aussies returned from lunch on 96-1, but they went in for the tea break on 143-5, with Ashes debutant Finn getting among the wickets.
All of a sudden England's below-par 260 looked a respectable score, only for Hussey, just as Siddle had done the previous day, to swing the game back Australia's way during the evening session. He frustrated the English attack along with Brad Haddin as the home side closed 40 runs short.
Day Three
If that duo had angered England on day two, then they made their blood boil on day three. Neither would budge until after tea, when significant damage had already been done. Hussey scored 195 and Haddin added 136, while together they put on 307 runs, which was a record for a Test encounter in Brisbane.
© Getty Images
Finn eventually claimed the wicket of Hussey and although he was relatively expensive, having gone for 125, he did claim six of the Aussie wickets.
Australia as a team eventually fell for 481 and while openers Strauss and Cook saw England through to stumps on 19-0, they were still a hefty and seemingly unreachable 202 runs adrift.
Day Four
Many felt that England were in need of a divine intervention as the fourth day got underway. Whether you believe in miracles or not, somebody was certainly looking over Strauss and Cook - that's for certain.
Both were dropped on their way to posting centuries and Cook was still at the crease at the end of the day on 188. Strauss made 110 before he was stumped by Haddin, but a determined Trott dug in to ably assist a free-flowing Cook.
It meant that having started the day some 202 runs behind the hosts, England ended it leading by 88 and what's more, they had lost just the one wicket.
© Getty Images
Day Five
Record-breakers Hussey and Haddin were duly knocked off their perch on the final day as Cook and Trott put on a partnership of 329, which surpassed the 307 that the Australian pair had recorded on day three. It was also the ninth-highest England stand in history.
Cook's mammoth contribution of 235 also saw him surpass Sir Donald Bradman for the highest Test score at The Gabba.
Strauss eventually declared on 517-1, which left Australia needing a highly unlikely 297 to win from 41 overs. They subsequently took on the challenge, but Ricky Ponting (51) and Shane Watson (41) could only guide their side to 107-1 at the end of play.
The match may have ended in a draw, but as far as England were concerned, the momentum that they gained from resurrecting what had been a flat-lining performance would set them up in a positive frame of mind for the remainder of the series.
Liam Apicella
