Right then, here come the players. Jake Fraser-McGurk and Matthew Short to open up for Australia. They stride out to the middle through some dry-ice and smoke. Shaheen Shah Afridi is going to start with the new ball. I imagine this will all be quite high octane. Buckle up knuckleheads!

Here are the teams:

Australia: Jake Fraser-McGurk, Matt Short, Josh Inglis (c/wk), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Aaron Hardie, Xavier Bartlett, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Spencer Johnson

Pakistan: Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan (c/wk), Sahibzada Farhan, Usman Khan, Salman Agha, Irfan Khan, Abbas Afridi, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haseebullah Khan, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah

Pakistan win the toss and choose to bowl

It looks like we'll get a game in after all!

Update: It has stopped raining in Brisbane and there’s a sniff of a chance that we might get a five over game in if the weather stays clear and the ground team can get cleaned up in time for an 8.30pm start time. Stand by your beds!

No news is probably bad news in Brisbane. Need those dark clouds to get a wiggle on. A bit like this:

“Hi from Brisbane’s West End, a few kilometres from The Gabba.”

Hello to you Phil Kerr.

“One hour past the scheduled first ball, the sky is full of sound and fury, signifying not very much. Riffing on your Bob Dylan reference: tonight Brisbane has the Rolling Thunder Revue.”

Let’s hope we don’t find ourselves on the Desolation Row of a washout, Phil.

Hopefully the worst of the storms are passing to the north of the ground. We may be able to get a shortened game in, I’ll bring you any official news as soon as we get it.

The latest we can start is is 8:30 PM (AEDT) Time) and that’ll be for a 5-over Slogapalooza.

Lightning has started to strike around the ground. No chance of them getting out there any time soon I’m afraid.

In the meantime, why not take a look at some of the cricket pieces we’ve published in the last few days.

First up – the Don of the sporting interview Don McRae sat down with a reflective and revealing chat with Jimmy Anderson:

He pauses when I ask what would have happened to him without cricket. “It’s a great question,” Anderson says. “I’ve no idea. I did sixth form and thought of going to uni if I didn’t get a contract. I didn’t have a clue what I was going to do if cricket didn’t happen. It’s frightening because I’m sure there’re many people in that same position and they don’t have that something I loved with a passion. I feel so fortunate I had cricket.”

His wife, Daniella, was furious when England discarded him as a player. Is she still angry now that Anderson is back in the fold as the Test bowling coach? “I think so, yes. She’s been my biggest supporter from when we first met. I had injuries and she was the one who motivated me to get going again. She just felt it wasn’t the right way to have done things. She felt I should go on my own terms. But I think it’s easing now.”

Hello Sam MacAulay! That sausage looks like it could be useful in whacking away any lightning that comes your way. No further comments, your honour.

Go easy on the steins, we might still have a job to do here. We can squeeze in a five over game if get on the park before 8.30pm local time. (hic)

I’m not having this. As if things didn’t feel apocalyptic enough right now…

A Hard Raiiiiiiiin’s a Gonna Fall?

Bob Dylan was in London the other night, very much enjoyed this review.

An artist who pronounced himself freewheelin’ in 1963 seems no more inclined to keep to any script 61 years on. Best to stick close to the guy in charge and keep your eyes peeled for clues as to where he’s headed. As they hawkishly follow his unpredictable vocal phrasing and a piano style that’s simultaneously florid and ragged – Art Tatum by way of Les Dawson – he’s still capable of wrongfooting them: there are moments when you could swear the band start building to a climax or slowing to a conclusion, only to discover their leader has other ideas.

Reports of sonic boom level thunderclaps around the stadium. Are you in earshot, any OBOers local and got the skinny on the storms? Drop us a line in the usual way, links on the left flank of this page.

Some wet weather reading? Martin Pegan has got you covered as he digs into how time waits for no man, not even Australian cricketers:

Australian cricket has had several reminders that Father Time remains undefeated. The lingering effects of an end for every cricketer and every era have been hammered home in recent decades as fallow years have followed bumper crops of all-conquering Australians. Yet it remains to be seen whether the lessons of the past have truly been learned as the current men’s Test team starts another summer of cricket rolling towards a cliff edge.

Batten down the hatches Mr Binnacle!

Toss delayed by threat of lightning

Preamble

James Wallace