There has been more besides. In 2013, Mitchell Johnson terrorised England at the Gabba, with Jonathan Trott forced home with a stress-related illness. And in 2017, England’s tour began to unravel when Australia’s players planted an overblown story about Jonny Bairstow “head-butting” Cameron Bancroft, who later found himself at the centre of the sandpaper scandal.

England have lost seven and drawn two of their visits to Brisbane since 1986. The draws came in 1998 and 2010, with the latter an important moment on the way to a remarkable series victory under the captaincy of Andrew Strauss.

So often a defeat in Brisbane has set the tone for disastrous tours, so England will no doubt be relieved if they do not start the 2025/26 series in Brisbane.

Starting in Perth could prove handy logistically too, for both players and fans. While it is unclear what England’s warm-up schedule will look like, in an era of diminishing tour matches, it seems likely that England will not spend the month in Australia before the first Test that has been seen on previous trips. Instead, they may opt for a team-building camp before playing a fixture or two in the country. England fans will also be able to fly directly from London to Perth.

With the Gabba considered the most tired of Australia’s main grounds, Optus Stadium is a modern venue with a similarly bouncy pitch that Australia are yet to lose a Test at. In 2021/22 the scheduled match there was moved to Brisbane because of West Australia’s draconian Covid-19 rules.

It is unclear exactly how the series would be laid out after Perth. Melbourne and Sydney are set to host their traditional Boxing Day and New Year’s Tests, which will prove popular with England fans who were locked out of Australia last time due to the pandemic. The stunning Adelaide Oval favours hosting a game just before Christmas.