The dusk of day one of the five-day-long climb up the mountain called ‘Ashes’ saw Australia digging their tents a little higher than England. Though a total of 307 is good going on day one, losing eight wickets is not; that’s where England are placed after winning the toss and electing to bat.
Though Cook and Strauss failed to lay a good foundation, a 102-run second-wicket partnership between Strauss and Bell firmed up the English hopes of a mammoth total. The scoring rate too wrinkled up the Aussie faces, with England reaching 108 for 1 in 26 overs at Lunch – a run rate of over 4 runs per over. Strauss departed in the third over after the luncheon interval scoring a gritty 55. Collingwood joined Bell in agonizing the Aussies with a 62-run stand, when Collingwood was sent back for a fighting 24.
The debutant – Jonathan Trott – made his first appearance in the league of big men and must be said looked solid in both defence and attack. Bell’s resurgent knock of 72 was curtained-out by Siddle who castled him. Trott continued to impress in his 48-run stand with Prior who was dismissed by Johnson for 18, with the England score reading 229 for 5. From 114 for one to 229 for 5 is surely a slump and it didn’t stop there. A bright start to the day continued to fade away with the departure of farewell man Flintoff (7), Trott (41) who was unfortunate to get run out and Swann (18). Stuart Broad (26 not out) again showed signs of a future all-rounder for England being the last man standing at stumps on day one.
So the first day of the decisive fifth Test of Ashes 2009 went from rosy to gloomy for Strauss and his men. The mood in the opposition camp, however, was one of sheer optimism for obvious reasons. Though the Aussies gave away some easy runs at the start, capturing eight wickets did make up for that. In fact, we can say Aussies got a Usain-Bolt start to the five-lap race.
Going in with an unchanged side was always on the cards for Australia, considering the way they incised the English team in the fourth Test. At the same time, admission must be made that leaving out a fit-Lee is not a decision many captains would savor. Siddle once again came to the fore capturing four wickets and is fast becoming an indispensable commodity. Johnson took two wickets but was a little on the expensive side giving away 69 runs in his 15 overs. Watson looked very average in the role of fifth bowler but North made up for that with a tight spell.
The new ball is just 2.2 overs old and Australia will look to wrap up the English innings in a flash. On the other hand, English hopes of reaching 350 rest mainly on Broad but he has Anderson and Harmison for company which is not one-bit encouraging. There are many twists and turns in this 5-day-long climb up the ‘Ashes’. Let’s see what happens when the two teams resume their climb up this mountain on day 2.
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