Ashes 2017/18: 5 Talking points from Australia's Gabba win

Australia continued their impressive record at the Gabba as they recorded a comfortable 10-wicket victory and took a 1-0 lead in the Ashes. Steve Smith continued to show why he is the No.1 ranked Test batsman in the world while Australian pacers breathed fire, just like they promised.

That was expected, but what wasn't was England's meek surrender in the second innings after such a confident display in the first. So let us take a look at the major talking points from the first Test:

Australian selectors' faith pays off

Much was made of Australia's picks for the first Ashes Test. While Cameron Bancroft was widely regarded as a fine choice, some didn't think it must have been at the cost of Matt Renshaw. Others were bemused at the number of chances Shaun Marsh continues to get and everyone was taken back by the decision to bring Tim Paine from the wilderness into the Test side.

However risky the picks might have been, the trio ensured that the Australian selectors' faith paid off. Marsh scored a crucial fifty in the first innings, which ensured that the hosts took the lead. For someone who doesn't always keep for his state side, Paine showed no signs of ring rust and it was his crucial stumping of Moeen Ali, however controversial, that turned the game decisively in Australia's favour on day four.

Bancroft had scored a mountain of runs in the domestic circuit and his gritty second innings display, where he scored his maiden Test fifty, showed just why he is so highly regarded.