Sid-Vicious Australia

After months of patient build up, the pinnacle of international cricket is now underway. Could England have asked for a better start? After winning the toss and choosing to bat surely nothing could go wrong...  

What with Steve Harmison’s first ball of the Ashes series 2006 ending up in Freddie’s hands at second slip with no batsmen interference, it was a relief to have our openers stroll out to the middle. Unfortunately, this relief was quickly followed by stunned silence as third ball of the game skipper Strauss gave the Australians an early Christmas present, hitting a short and wide Hilfenhaus losener directly into the hands of Michael Hussey in the gully. Maybe I should have bowled boys?    

Despite this early setback England managed to consolidate up to lunch, losing only the wicket of Jonathan Trott on top of the skipper. This brought England’s superstar Kevin Pietersen to the crease, who was seemingly eager to take advantage of any nerves debutant Xavier Doherty may be feeling. The young Tasmanian, who also floored an easy catch before the lunch break was not afraid to show aggression towards the intimidating figure of KP, the beginnings of an interesting battle looked upon us.

This session of play took us to 2am London time and put the same question in every England supporters mind. Do I stay up through the lunch break? I took the decision to retire to the warmth of my duvet and get some much needed sleep. With hindsight, possibly the right decision.

The rest of the opening days play swung the first test and Ashes momentum swiftly into the hands of Ricky Ponting and his men. England’s batsmen slipped from being 197-4 to an abysmal 260 all out. King pin of the Aussie bowling line up was the aggressive Peter Siddle, who ended with figures of 6-54 from his sixteen overs and took a memorable Ashes hat-trick, dismissing first Cook instantly followed back to the pavilion by a bewildered Matt Prior and Stuart Broad. Australia successfully batted out the final seven overs of the day with measurable ease, ending the day on 25 for no loss.

Although the English batsmen proved it’s not only flood-ridden Cornwall that has good weather for ducks, can we take anything positive from the day? Ian Bell continued his impressive form with a scintillating 76 from 131 balls, showing he can be a force to be reckoned with this winter. One of the worries going into the tour, Alistair Cook, also provided dog-eared defensive for a hard-fought 67.

So all-in-all, a good day for Ponting and his camp and a day Peter Siddle will remember for the rest of his life. Let’s hope that 12am tonight will provide more English resilience and give us all a reason to stay up til the early hours.

COME ON ENGLAND!

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