The ball pitched up invitingly. It was a perfect height but still a good take, one handed and in mid-stride. In a single fluid motion, Nathan Lyon took aim at the stumps and threw.
Zing bails are used, even in Test cricket, now. They light up when dislodged. It’s a gimmick introduced from the Twenty20 format, but it adds a splash of colour to the drama, to the spectacle of the occasion.
Zing bails are made for those moments when a fast bowler strikes – as Pat Cummins did with Mark Stoneman, sending them flying – or a fielder succeeds in shying at the stumps.
James Vince curses himself after being run out by Nathan Lyon after scoring an impressive 83
Lyon collected the ball cleanly and shied at the stumps, with Vince short of his mark
Here, Zing bails made Lyon’s throw look even better than it was. And it was pretty damn good without the flashing illuminations.
Even so: run out. Is there a more worthless way to depart the middle in Test cricket? Is there a bigger waste of time and effort?
James Vince had toiled for two minutes short of four hours when he surrendered his wicket to Lyon’s arm.
He had seen off some of the world’s fastest bowlers, calmly dealt with and dispatched an attack that local commentators had been talking up as the most potent in Test cricket. And then it ended, in a foul up.
A prod through off side, Vince’s call, and the rest of the day to process his remorse at having got it so horribly wrong.
Did Vince run as hard as he could? Was he just a little too comfortable, having played so beautifully when coming to England’s rescue at two for one?
The concentration levels demanded of batsmen in an Ashes series are brutal; one lapse was all it took.
Vince should still have been there, overnight, pushing on with three figures next to his name. He should have seen it out as England took control of the Test and, perhaps, from there the series given Brisbane’s importance to Australia’s gameplan.
It was all there to be done. Australia had long abandoned plan A, and plan B wasn’t winning any awards either.
Vince had batted superbly; diligent, unflustered, minimising risk, picking off the bad balls. He had ridden his luck, too, dropped by wicket keeper Tim Paine on 68, with the score at 121.
And then: run out. The mug’s send off. No matter how fine the throw, no matter the quality of Lyon’s play, run out will always feel like a goof.
The worst shot of the day can be hidden in the details of caught or bowled or lbw. Crimes against batting are masked by the details of the scorecard; but run out screams foolishness.
A loss of footing aside, there are no mitigating circumstances. It was a good throw? These are Test cricketers. Good throws are an occupational hazard, and to be expected by batsmen.
Why a run out is such a curse, too, is that it changes the flow of the game: the throw may be precise, but its consequences are random.
Getting Vince’s wicket, and England’s third, at 145, changed the balance of power in the match, the mood of the camps overnight.
Until that moment, it had been considered England’s day; when Vince went, the scoreboard took on a different complexion.
What had appeared an impressive reaction to the early fall of Alastair Cook now teetered on the brink. Joe Root, the captain, was then dismissed by Cummins, for 15.
England had slumped from 127-1 to 163-4. Vince’s run out already looked pivotal.
All is certainly not lost for England. This was far from a bad day. Stoneman, opening the batting, made 53, his highest Test score – and his second wicket partnership with Vince was worth 125, making it superior to any partnership achieved on the last Australian tour.
Indeed, in the first two Ashes sessions of this series, England equalled the number of century partnerships recorded on their visit in 2013-14: one.
Far from English careers being ended here, as Lyon mischievously predicted, it appeared some reputations could be made.
Vince and Stoneman, in particular, picked up the slack left by the failure of senior players. There is much to build on here.
The hope was always that England’s Ashes rookies would rise to this occasion, against expectations. And yes, we know. It’s the hope that kills you.
But handed an invitation to collapse with Cook’s exit, Stoneman and Vince resisted admirably. Given the intense pressure of the first Ashes session, the responsibility shouldered and from early, they made a very decent recovery.
Josh Hazlewood, widely cited as the pick of Australia’s bowlers, was forced to go around the wicket from his third over. Vince played some exquisite shots, dealing with what little short stuff was attempted on a unexpectedly slow wicket.
There were few bouncers – despite Australia’s lusty desire for English blood – and not much swing.
Compared to the raucous first morning of England’s last visit – Stuart Broad abused with majority chants of ‘w*****’ as he ran into bowl – this was relatively low key.
The Gabba was actually quiet, almost subdued, for all the bullishness in the local media this week.
And that just adds to the air of missed opportunity for England. A first innings score of 450 did not seem impossible when Vince was in with Root and still going strong, and that would have placed real pressure on Australia’s batting.
It will be harder now, enough though Dawid Malan and Moeen Ali steered England safely to close, and through the tension of Australia taking the new ball with only two overs to go.
The last event of the day was an lbw call against Malan sent upstairs for review. He survived, England closing 196-4.
There is still batting left, with Jonny Bairstow to come too, but England have scored slowly and working on the old cricket maxim of adding two wickets to the score to get a clearer picture of vulnerability, a couple of Australian strikes early on day two would put the tourists on the back foot.
Briefly, Australia were floundering here. They will instead see themselves as the winners of this first day; and they really do not need any encouragement.