It was a perfect day for Test cricket at the Brisbane Cricket Ground in Australia. England won the toss an Andrew Strauss decided to bat first in order to post a huge total on the scoreboard.
But any chances of England’s flying start were dealt a blow when Ben Hilfenhaus struck in his first over. He accounted for Andrew Strauss, the English captain, on the third ball of the match and England went on the back foot with his dismissal.
Although Alistair Cook and Ian Bell helped the struggling visitors to post a score in excess of 250, the English side failed to show signs of being the defending champions.
Ian Bell top scored with 76 while Alistair Cook stabled the innings with a gritty knock of 67. His stay at the wicket was one of the main reasons the English side didn’t falter. He faced 168 balls for his knock unlike Kevin Pietersen who struck 43 runs off
just 70 balls. His loss of form is a concern for Coach Andy Flower and his men, and one hopes he regains top form and provides England the stability they need.
The wrecker-in-chief on the first day of the historic series was fast bowler Peter Siddle who claimed 6 of the 10 wickets to fall. Returning from injury, he was preferred over Doug Bollinger who had done well during his absence. The gamble paid rich dividends
for Aussie captain Ricky Ponting as Siddle dismissed Kevin Pietersen for 43 runs and Paul Collingwood for just 4 runs. Siddle’s return to the side gave the Aussies a chance to field a pace attack featuring the indomitable Mitchell Johnson and the improving
Ben Hilfenhaus. They used Shane http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Watson-c96326 and Marcus North as well but it was Siddle who stole the show.
No one, not even the biggest supporter of Peter Siddle and the Australian side would have predicted that the pacer would go on to take a hat trick in Test cricket and join the ranks of great Australians like Freddie Spofforth, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Hugh-Trumble-c63573, Jimmy Matthews,
Lindsay Kline, Merv Hughes, Damien Fleming, Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath. He took an Ashes hat-trick which is always an amazing feat considering the animosity between the two rivals.
After dismissing Kevin Pietersen and Paul Collingwood, Peter Siddle returned to dismiss Alistair Cook, Matt Prior and Stuart Broad off successive deliveries. His feat was amazing because his third hat-trick victim Stuart Broad had scored a monumental 169
in his last test innings against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755. Peter Siddle also dismissed the dangerous Graeme Swann to cap 6 wickets for just 54 runs. He was well supported by left-arm spinner Xavier Doherty who took 2 wickets on his test debut. Doherty was selected over the
out-of-form Nathan Hauritz and the expensive leg-spinning all-rounder Steven Smith, but he managed to prove his selection right.
The whole English side managed to score just 260 runs in their first innings and would need to bowl well in order to stay in the match. Australian batsmen supported their bowlers as well. They scored 25 runs in the 7 overs they faced in the last session.
With Simon Katich and Shane Watson to be followed by Ricky Ponting, Michael http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Clarke-c51120, Michael Hussey, Marcus North, Brad Haddin and Mitchell Johnson, the Aussies have a good chance of acquiring a good lead in the first innings. They still trail by 235 runs in
the first innings but considering the 10 wickets in hand, they have the upper hand after the first day’s play. On the other hand, England will have to bowl extremely well to stay in contention.
England may have won the Ashes series the last time it was played but that was in England. Their last Ashes assignment in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 saw them lose the series 5-nil in 2006-07. If the bowlers fail to take wickets in the first session on the second day, England
would have to struggle to defend the coveted trophy.
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