Australian captain Ricky Ponting won the toss at the Adelaide Oval and decided to bat first. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 made 1 change to its previous line-up as the out of form Mitchell Johnson gave way to another left-arm fast bowler, Doug Bollinger. On the other hand,
English team was unchanged and stuck to its combination.
Australians usually love to bat first in Test cricket and pile runs on the scoreboard first no matter what the conditions are. But this time round, the decision to bat first did not prove to be a great one as Australia were 3 down for just 2 runs on the
board. First Simon Katich was run out without facing a single delivery. Then James Anderson showed his skills to swing the new ball when he had Ricky Ponting and Michael http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Clark-c51118 caught in the slips.
Australia would have been in a deeper trouble had Anderson took Hussey’s catch of his own bowling. Michael Hussey and Shane Watson played particularly well under pressure and took the Aussie to safe shores. By lunch, Australia was at 94 for the loss of 3
wickets.
But straightaway after lunch, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Watson-c96326 was caught at point of the bowling of Anderson. Marcus North also played well for his 26 before he played a lazy shot off Finn’s delivery outside the off-stump. Aussies were 156 for 5 when Hussey and Haddin took charge
and looked threatening before Hussey was caught in the first slip by Collingwood off the bowling of Swann. Hussey played an amazing knock under-pressure and deserved a hundred but that was not the case. His 93 included 8 fours.
After Hussey’s dismissal, it was always a question of time before Australians were bowled out. Haddin batted well with the tail but did not get enough support from any of the lower-order batsmen. Hussey’s departure forced Haddin to play his shots and he
completed his half-century with an extraordinary six over fine-leg. But he was dismissed by Stuart Broad when he hooked one straight into the hands of Steven Finn. He made 56 off 93 balls in which he struck 3 fours a six.
Australia were bowled out for 245 runs in the 86th over of the innings. Hussey remained the top-scorer with 93. James Anderson bowled well and picked up 4 wickets for England. Off-spinner Graeme Swann took 2 crucial wickets as Stuart Broad and
Steven Finn picked up one each. Two of the Australian batsmen were run out. The highlight of day 1 was the English fielding as they took all the opportunities that came their way in shape of catches or run outs.
England just had to bat out for 1 over late in the day which they did without any loss. England bowlers and fielders have put them in a driving seat on day 1, now the onus is on the batsmen to score big in the 1st innings which can give them a
tremendous opportunity to take an early lead in the series.
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