For the first time since 2009 there’s no Stuart Broad lurking in the shadows, ready to torment us.
England are suddenly short an Ashes villain.
There’s no obvious public enemy number one but by the end of the summer i'm betting a new villain candidate will emerge. Enter: Harry Brook.
If you’re wondering why Brook is even in the conversation, start with this: neither he nor Ben Stokes exactly covered themselves in glory after that drawn fourth Test against India. Stokes probably deserved more heat - captain’s tax - but here in Australia, we still get a shiver down the spine anytime that 2019 Headingley montage shows up.
And Brook didn’t help his case when he declared England would claim a “moral victory” in the 2023 Ashes.
Although...did he really? It's complicated.
Watch the full breakdown on Harry Brook's ascendency to Stuart Broad's throne in the player below.
Brook can play. He blasted 809 runs in his first six Tests at an average of 80 - a number that looks cooked, like it was ripped from Bradman’s scrapbook.
His early career included a sparkling ton in Rawalpindi and a lightning Ashes knock at Headingley that helped him race to 1,000 Test runs faster than almost anyone.
He was shortlisted for ICC Player of the Year last season, averaged 55, and currently sits at No.2 in the ICC Test batting rankings behind Joe Root. That alone is annoying enough.
What makes him truly dangerous is how often he steadies England’s innings. In the India series he peeled off five half-centuries, each one coming at a moment England desperately needed someone to take control. A 99 at Leeds dragged them from 3-206 to within 73 of India. A monster 158 at Edgbaston hauled them out of a 3-25 disaster.
He turned deficits into leads, chaos into momentum. It’s infuriating - exactly the sort of trait you don’t want in an English batter heading to Australia.
Still, he hasn’t proven he can do it in Australia, and that’s where the real battle begins. Our attack isn’t exactly welcoming: Cummins, Starc, Hazlewood, Boland and Lyon tend to sort out hype quickly.
Brook’s aggressive, fearless style has worked everywhere else - Rawalpindi roads, English greentops, Indian dustbowls - but will it stand up to the bounce and glare of an Aussie summer?
We’re about to find out.