History against England as Ashes gets underway tomorrow

After a build-up overshadowed by controversies and Covid, Australia and England's hotly anticipated five-Test Ashes showdown gets under way Wednesday in Brisbane with Joe Root's men confident of defying recent history to cause an upset.

Few series between the old rivals have witnessed such troubled preparations, with the tour  threatened early on over Australia's tough Covid-19 quarantine rules.

With that hurdle cleared, the hosts were rocked by a text-message scandal that led to the downfall of skipper Tim Paine, while English cricket has been engulfed in claims of institutional racism.

Throw in torrential rain that severely derailed both teams' warm-up games, and it has been memorable for all the wrong reasons before a ball is even bowled.

The poor weather could yet cause more problems. Showers are forecast for the opening Test at Brisbane's Gabba, where the deck looks set to favour the seamers given the recent deluges.

England haven't won a Test at Brisbane's 'Gabbatoir' since 1986 and will need to conquer those psychological demons to avoid another potentially fatal start to their Ashes campaign.

It comes courtesy of India, who pulled off a stunning three-wicket upset in January, snapping Australia's undefeated red-ball streak in the Queensland capital stretching back to 1988.

"Look at that India team that won at the Gabba. They were a long way from their first-choice XI but they had no fear," skipper Root said ahead of his departure for Australia.

As history suggests, if something can go horribly wrong for England at the outset of an Ashes series in Australia, it usually occurs at the Gabba.

In 1954, England's legendary Len Hutton won the toss and sent Australia in to bat -- and crashed to an innings defeat. In 2002, Nasser Hussain did the same and England were crushed by 384 runs.

Root's men didn't fare much better four years ago, crashing by 10 wickets with Steve Smith smacking an unbeaten 141 and David Warner 87 not out.

At least seven of that 2017 Australia team, including dangermen Smith and Warner, will again be standing in England's way come December 8. England are also massively boosted by the return of all-rounder Ben Stokes after a finger injury and mental health break.

There was doubt whether he would travel to Australia, but England's 2019 Ashes hero was on the plane and is expected to start in Brisbane.

Captain Root expects Stokes to play a major part in the Ashes but warned Monday that England must manage his bowling workload on his highly anticipated return.

Meanwhile, Australia are strong favourites to retain the urn, despite the disruption of losing Paine a fortnight ago.

In his place, Pat Cummins will captain his first Test, supported by deputy Steve Smith. Australia go into the series once more relying heavily on the batting prowess of Smith and David Warner, along with the bowling firepower of Josh Hazlewood, Cummins and spinner Nathan Lyon.

Cummins is a rare thing -- a fast-bowling captain -- and how he juggles the task will be under intense scrutiny.