Day 1 of the Ashes: England close on 336/7

If the first day of this Ashes series taught us anything, it was that Test cricket doesn’t need changing.

At a time when the ICC are considering fundamental alterations to the nature of Test cricket – each game will last only four days if they have their way – and the ECB are discussing pruning the championship
programme to make way for more T20, it was reassuring to witness a wonderfully absorbing, competitive and evenly-matched contest that
promises much for this summer.

There were no DLF maximums. No Citi moments of success. And no tactical breaks. Yet a packed crowd remained riveted by good quality,
hard, Test cricket. The Ashes really don’t need to be hyped.

Perhaps that’s just as well. The ECB must have wasted all of £30 on the fireworks display that preceded the start, while the singing
provided by, among others, some fella who once didn’t win a reality TV show – no, that doesn’t narrow it down too much – was as welcome as
the sound of welding. At least they resisted the temptation for a Michael Jackson tribute.

But this was an absorbing day. It was full of fluctuations and drama and ended with England just the happier of the two sides by virtue simply of winning the toss. The pitch is already turning and will surely deteriorate; batting fourth will not be easy.

The other thing that is clear is the changed nature of this Australian side. Gone are the match-winners and characters of 2005. Instead they have a team of hard workers and a four frontline bowlers who have never played a Test in England before. The Australian team of 2005
would murder them.

That’s not to say they won’t win the Ashes. This series looks set to be played on a succession of slow, flat wickets and the winning side will be the one that shows the most patience and consistency. It will not be like 2005.

Besides, England have problems of their own. Alastair Cook, who was brilliantly caught by Mike Hussey at gully after he pushed at one away from his body, remains fragile outside off stump, while Andrew Strauss was caught off
the glove as he tried to evade a short ball. On such a slow pitch, that must be a concern.

But it was Ravi Bopara’s innings that caused the most concern. Struck in the throat by his second delivery, a well-directed one from Siddle, Bopara looked distinctly uncomfortable against the short ball and was utterly bamboozled by Johnson’s excellent slower delivery. Though
Bopara did drive with customary élan, his style lacked substance and the manner of his dismissal, lofting that slower ball to point,
suggested he has much to learn.

England’s innings was given substance by Pietersen and Collingwood. The paid added 138 in 41 overs, milking the spinners with ease, and
proceeding with caution against the seamers.

Both will feel they played a hand in their own dismissals, however. Collingwood was well caught after being drawn into prodding at one he could have left, before Pietersen attempted to sweep a delivery at least two feet wide of his off stump and succeeded only in top-edging
into his helmet and then on to short-leg. It was the sort of dismissal that will infuriate his detractors, though it was hard to disagree
with Australian coach Tim Nielsen’s assessment: “That’s the way he plays. If a guy nicks a cover drive, you don’t tell him to stop driving.”

In truth, Pietersen was fortunate to have lasted so long. He was reprieved on 61 – when Billy Doctrove unfathomably declined a leg-before appeal – and again on 66 when he was dropped at extra-cover by Clarke. The deserving Ben Hilfenhaus, who swung the ball at a sharp
pace throughout, was the unfortunate bowler on each occasion.

Hauritz deserves some credit for the wicket, too. Yes, Pietersen was guilty of poor shot selection, but the bowler found some drift to take the ball away from the batsman in the air. It was a canny piece of bowling.

“He out-foxed me a little bit,” Pietersen admitted afterwards. “He’s a good bowler. Although he doesn’t have mystery spin, he bowls good lines and is a clever bowler.

“I was unfortunate. I hit the ball into my helmet. If it hadn’t hit my helmet it would have gone down to fine leg.”

Hauritz will be rubbished by many simply because of who he is not. Just as Ian Craig, the man who replaced Bradman, always struggled with the burden.

But don’t underestimate Hauritz. He’s a decent, if unspectacular, off-spinner in the mould of Peter Such. Here he found a surprising amount of turn for a first day pitch, but wasn’t helped by the peculiar field his captain set for him that made it almost impossible to stem the flow on singles.

He’ll never be a spinner in the Shane Warne class, of course. There were times on the first day – one of them after just eight overs and
another, much longer, period when Pietersen and Collingwood were together – when Ponting didn’t appear to know where to turn. While Hauritz was respectable, he’s never taken a five-wicket haul in first-class cricket and he comes nowhere near replicating Warne’s control or threat.

Don’t completely rule out a Warne return, either. He played for Rajasthan Royals at Lord’s on Monday, remember, and might – just might – be persuaded into a return if his country need him. Stranger things have happened.

The game was in the balance after Pietersen’s dismissal. But a stand of 86 between Flintoff and Prior lifted England past 300 and ensured a
respectable first innings total.

Prior’s batting excellence should come as no surprise. This was his fourth time past 50 in his last five Test innings (the other one was 42) and he again drove and cut as well as anyone.

Flintoff’s batting was more of a surprise. It is a long time since he could be considered more than a bowler who bats, but here he unleashed
a couple of thumping back foot shots and one thunderous straight four off the left-arm leg-spin of Katich.

Both fell just before stumps to as Australia clawed their way back into the game. Flintoff, failing to move his feet, played on off the inside edge, before Prior was beaten by prodigious inswing from Siddle.

“We’d have taken that score at the start,” Pietersen said afterwards. “In previous series Australia have dominated day one. Myself and Colly missed out on the chance to get a big score but it’s great that we’ve been so positive.”

For full scorecard and ball-by-ball details, click below.