Y ou know what they say. Never judge a pitch until both teams have batted really badly on it. You know what they say. Over here you bat long, bat hard, bat short, bat soft. You know what they say, the Ashes in Australia is all about a hybrid maverick production with a fan-first identity.

Given the brilliance of the basic entertainment on day one in Perth , it was easy to forget that England’s Baz-facing tourists aren’t the only setup with a brave new philosophy in play, out there disrupting the norms, and in need, above all, of a decent start.

“We’re not going to be stale, we’re not going to be traditional.” Not, repeat not, the words of a fully weaponised Ben Duckett. But the words instead of Scott Young, group SVP of content at Discovery Sports Europe, which is apparently also TNT

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