BRISBANE (Reuters) - The war of words that has added spice to the lead-up to cricket's oldest enduring test series will give way to genuine hostilities on Thursday when bitter Ashes rivals Australia and England march out in front of a packed crowd at the Gabba. Compounding the drama, Cricket Australia later revealed batsman Shaun Marsh had suffered a back strain at training on Wednesday and was also uncertain for the match. He also joked that he wanted to see Root, who was omitted for the Sydney test during that series, "dropped again". The threat from Australia's pace trio of Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood on a juicy Gabba deck is very real, however. Paceman Mitchell Johnson destroyed England with nine wickets at the Gabba four years ago, setting the tone for a miserable series for the tourists.

Source: The Star November 22, 2017 07:10 UTC