By Oliver Brett BBC Sport in Brisbane

The history of the Ashes can be traced back to 1882, making it almost as ancient as golf's Open Championship, older than the Tour de France and football's World Cup.

The fight for the Ashes is one of sport's oldest contests

And the excitement and anticipation felt by both teams - and their rival sets of fans on both sides of the world - ahead of the toss at 2330 GMT on Wednesday is immense.

But were it not for England's remarkable triumph in the previous Ashes series, secured just 14 months ago, the atmosphere in this sun-baked corner of Queensland would be very different.

If England had tamely succumbed in the manner they had in 1989 and the seven following series, the Ashes would have begun to lose their edge.

Australia's players, who had already begun to view India as more testing opposition, would have been confirmed in their belief.

And their cricket board may have begun to question the necessity of playing 10 Tests every four years against toothless opponents.

The Brisbane Test is just the first episode in what promises to be a titanic contest between now and the first week of January

Now the contest officially pits the top two sides in Test cricket.

The Andrew Flintoff-inspired victory changed all that in the heady summer of 2005, and the all-rounder now known simply as Freddie has since been elevated to captain.

England's last Test on foreign shores, in Mumbai, was inspired by a brilliant captain's performance by their talisman.

But an ankle injury in the summer has largely kept him away from the limelight since then.

All the better, perhaps. A well-rested Flintoff could be an irresistible weapon.

Australia's admiration of England's hero from Preston had led them to adopt England's team shape, playing Shane Watson in the Flintoff role at number six.

ASHES SERIES FIXTURES 23-27 Nov: 1st Test, Brisbane Starts 0000 GMT 1-5 Dec: 2nd Test, Adelaide Starts 0030 GMT 14-18 Dec: 3rd Test, Perth Starts 0230 GMT 26-30 Dec: 4th Test, Melb'ne Starts 2330 GMT (from 25 Dec) 2-6 Jan: 5th Test, Sydney Starts 2330 GMT (from 1 Jan)

But an untimely injury to local hero 'Watto' forced a re-assessment, and they return to four bowler mode.

It is not ideal. Captain Ricky Ponting has already intimated that someone, perhaps even himself, will be required to support the attack.

Australia have not lost a Test series on home soil for 14 years and have not even conceded more than one Test defeat in a home series for 10 years.

Their greatest strength is their experience, although England have tried to paint them as over-the-hill.

From the almost legendary status of bowlers Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne to the awesome run-scoring ability of their top three batsmen, they are a hard team to undermine.

England are missing three key components from their last triumph - captain Michael Vaughan, opener Marcus Trescothick and pace bowler Simon Jones - but they too have strengths.

Kevin Pietersen was the leading run-scorer in the last Ashes series, and is beginning to realize that he doesn't have to thrash every ball for six.

England's win in 2005 gave a new spark to the contest

The mercurial Steve Harmison could be key. He loves bowling on fast pitches, as proved by his brilliant performance at Old Trafford last summer against Pakistan.

But he can also be horribly off-colour, and if he gets it wrong here, the heat and the Aussie fans will get to him, and he will suddenly wish he was back in Durham.

Ian Bell, expected to play despite a sore left wrist, is another player whose form could go either way.

He has improved radically over the course of the year and he could prosper on these true wickets. But he did struggle in the 2005 campaign against Australia.

The Brisbane Test is just the first episode in what promises to be a titanic contest between now and the first week of January.

Do not expect either side to back down from confrontation, but bear in mind England only need to secure a drawn series to keep their hands on the urn.

If that happens, it will not matter to England fans if the series is not half as entertaining as last year's.