It wasn't great.
Is it better for England to skip the Gabba and accept being down in the series? It may be less damaging.
England surrendering the Ashes more often than not in the first Test of a tour down under. The beginning of bloodshed all over Australia has been the result of a slaughter at the Gabbatoir.
There are a lot of reasons why Australia will want to retain the urn.
There are many positives for England. Honest.
England leave with a different perspective.
In the pink.
If you think England's 35-year winless run in Brisbane is bad, consider the fact that their only victory came in 1978.
The schedule of the first three cities of the series was one of the main reasons for England being beaten before Christmas on three of the past four tours down under.
The thought of ending the tour in Western Australia would have been enough to give them the heebie jeebies, even though the new Optus Stadium has replaced the fortress of the Waca.
The series finale has been switched to Hobart because of the cooler, wet climate in the state which is close to England.
The fifth Test will be played with a pink ball, which could offer more movement for England's seamers, and possibly the return of James Anderson and Stuart Broad.
The two grounds where England have had the most success in Australia are Melbourne and Sydney.
If Joe Root's side are to get back into this series, they would not have asked for a less competitive schedule.
Rockin' Robinson.
England is often outgunned in Australia. It is true that recent trips have seen the tourists bullied by pace, which is why it was so encouraging to see Mark Wood having the home side's batting line up hopping around at the Gabba as the fastest bowler in the match.
Success in Australia doesn't come from speed alone. bounce is a key factor. Think of the attributes possessed by Glenn.
Robinson is the most McGrathian bowler England have ever produced and he had a fine debut in the Aussies.
Robinson releases the ball from a height few in the global game can match and, when added to the movement he extracts, the Sussex seamer looks ideally suited to bowling down under. He was particularly troublesome to Australia's left-handed players.
Robinson's ability to bowl spell after spell could be important in a series of five Tests. Even if some of his friends say that his nickname is due to a lack of Abs, he says it's because of his relentlessness.
England should be building their attack around Robinson for the rest of the series.
Australian issues.
For the first time, Australia has injury problems to contend with.
Josh Hazlewood will miss at least the second Test with a rib problem, which is the sort of issue that can put a fast bowler on the shelf for some time.
When you consider that Mitchell Starc hasn't played five Tests in a series since 2015, Australia might be left in a tricky position when it comes to juggling their pace-bowling resources.
Jhye Richardson is a fine bowler but inexperienced at Test level, while Michael Neser is an uncapped 31 year old.
It could be that England has more pacemen.
It's not ideal that David Warner wasn't able to take part in the second half of the match because of his injury, but the hosts say he will be fine.
Marcus Harris, Warner's opening partner, has not scored a half-century in his past 12 Test knocks and was out for three in the first day of the match.
The runs should be root.
Before the series began, it was clear that England would not win the series unless they got a lot of runs from Root.
After his first-innings duck, he was back to his best, batting with the rhythm, intensity and authority that has seen him break the record for runs scored by an England player in a calendar year.
Nathan Lyon, the least likely candidate to praise an Englishman, called him the best batter in the world.
The early signs are good, especially if he can continue to get support from his partner, who looks like he's born to bat in Australia.
The others need to help.
Bad memories.
India was in a worse position than England around this time last year.
The captain was out for 36 and had a lengthy injury list.
One of the greatest Test series victories of all time was achieved after a stunning comeback.
Australia have a good record when it comes to being on the wrong end of a turn around.
It will be fascinating to see how the Aussies respond if England puts pressure on them.
