Former England captain David Gower has said that Alastair Cook's 'business-like' England team can dish out Australia's first Brisbane Test defeat in a quarter of a century next week.
Australia have not lost in the Queensland capital since November 1988 when they were humbled by the all-conquering West Indies, which came a couple of years after Mike Gatting's team of 1986-87 began their series victory in sensational style.
According to the Mirror, Gower backed England to win in the first Test at Brisbane as he believes that the team is well-organised and seems to have everything 'clicking into place', adding that England has become a strong side under Cook and they how to win Test matches.
Gower further said that a team could fall behind after the first morning during a Test match at the Gabba as it is a hostile venue, adding that it is hard to recover on the Brisbane pitch if the opposition is 100 for no wicket or the other team is 60 for 5
Gower further said that Australia has an excellent record at the Gabba as their batsmen tend to be more adept to playing in those conditions at the start of the series.
However, the report mentioned that Cook's double hundred in the second innings in 2010-11 comfortably averted the threat of defeat following a typically sub-par total from an away side at the famous ground.