Australia led by Peter Siddle’s destructive fast bowling dismantled England on the first day of the first Ashes Test at Gabba, Brisbane.
Aussies were able to put pressure early on in the game when England’s skipper Andrew Strauss fell off third ball of the match to Siddle for a duck, leaving the hosts to gain an upper edge. Wicket of Strauss, who has been the star for England throughout the
year, gave http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 a lot of momentum and possibly a psychological advantage to overpower England.
The middle order stood up firmly against strong Australian bowling line up and showed resistance by battling sensibly. Alistair Cook hooked up well with the middle order and hit the ball to all corners of the ground. He was well supported by Jonathan Trott
who scored 29 including 5 boundaries. Kevin Pietersen who was the hero for England in the last Ashes series, dealt with resilience in troubling the run scorers with Cook in supreme form at the other end. The duo added 76 for the third wicket before Pietersen
edged an out swinging delivery to Ricky Ponting off Siddle for 43.
Collingwood came in and left early to the throttled Siddle. Cook was then supported decently by Ian Bell who was asked to bat down the order this time by the skipper. Bell took his time early on as the ball was not coming to the bat easily at a pitch that
turned out to be a paradise for fast bowlers.
None of the Australian bowler proved to be as successful http://www.senore.com/Cricket/AS-Peter-c46174 Siddle who bowled with ultimate pace and class, varying his deliveries from short to in swinging Yorkers making life miserable for the English batsman. He was lucky enough on his 26th
birthday to get three England batsmen out in a row, completing his first Test hat-trick when he wrapped Alastair Cook, Mathew Prior and Stuart Broad off consecutive deliveries. Broad who hesitated to leave the pitch after being declared out at a painful Yorker
angling in to his front foot, called for a referral only to add more to his disappointment and cheer of thousands of fans chanting for Siddle, when his referral was turned down.
Although Australia have been on the top of Test ranking for a number of years but this magical piece of bowling which got Siddle a hat-trick came after 10 years since Glenn McGrath in 2000-01. Not only was the ace bowler able to grab quick wickets but he
maintained extraordinary pace throughout the match which aided him to get 6 wickets. This has been one of the finest bowling performances by an Australian in any of the Ashes series.
Siddle’s marvellous bowling got the whole of England team go back to the hut for 260, leaving Australian openers to defend their wickets for a minimum of 7 overs. Fast bowlers with Stuart Broad in particular bowled in with great line and length, mixing their
deliveries nicely and getting the batsmen think for their shots.
When the day ended, the hosts were 25-0 with Katich at 9 and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Watson-c96326 on 15.
Both the teams will be aiming to revise their game plan with chances of heavy showers in the rest of the four days. Aussies are satisfied by knocking the opponents out for fewer than 300 runs as Ricky Ponting had suggested.
Graeme Swann, who has been the most successful bowler for England over the summer holds the key for England.
The second day of Ashes promises to give more thrill and exalt for the incoming Australian crowd who will be looking forward to the home side’s batting performance.
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