Lively Gabba pitch in prospect

As England had their first serious net session of the Ashes tour, events on the opposite side of Australia may not have escaped their attention as the Gabba served up a dramatic two-day Sheffield Shield match with Queensland twice skittled for under a hundred. Kevin Mitchell, the Gabba's curator, didn't rule out a repeat of conditions for the first Test.

Brisbane has suffered a large amount of rain in the early stages of the season and the bowlers enjoyed themselves on a lively surface, none more so than Mark Cameron who took 11 for 64 in the match. There are still three weeks to go before the first ball of the Ashes on November 25, but there is the prospect of England's quicks feeling more at home than they may have imagined.

"Anything is possible," Mitchell told AAP "If there are some cloudy and humid days [during the preparation] then the moisture will stay in the wicket and the grass will continue to grow - that's what happens in the tropics. So it would be something that could possibly happen.

"We are hoping for 10 or 12 days including the duration of the match to have nice sunny days - if that happens it will be a fantastic match. If we don't get all that it will still be a fantastic match - you just won't see as many runs."

However, it's difficult to say which side a green-top would favour because pace bowling is Australia's stronger suit, with the likes of Ben Hilfenhaus, Mitchell Johnson and Peter Siddle to call upon, while England will be confident of exploiting any turning conditions they encounter with Graeme Swann.

"I know Ricky Ponting and the Australian guys enjoy the pace and the ball coming onto the bat - it provides fairly entertaining cricket," Mitchell added. "But obviously when you get conditions like we have just had plus that bounce and pace, with movement and swing as well, it is a difficult wicket to play on."

Such conditions could raise the prospect of Australia playing an all-pace attack so there is some irony that Nathan Hauritz, who captained New South Wales, played in the match to regain some form instead of linking up with Australia's one-day squad. He ended up bowling just two overs, although he did pick up the wicket of Cameron Boyce.

England, though, will be wary of reading too much into conditions three weeks out from the first Test. Australia have a formidable record at the Gabba and haven't lost since facing West Indies in 1988, 22 Tests ago. And if Andrew Strauss fears getting sucked in by conditions, he need only seek out Nasser Hussain who put Australia in on the 2002-03 tour and watched them finish the first day on 364 for 2.