The Vettel enigma: Why we could have another Schumacher

Two races into the 2011 Formula One Season it is reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel who sits emphatically atop the Driver's Championship with a perfect 50 points. The signs for the rest of the year are ominous as Vettel, despite some impressive and surprising race pace from McLaren, won both the Australian and Malaysian Grands Prix with relative ease. A variety of frustrations have beset his interminably unfortunate team-mate Mark Webber, who sits in a tie for 3rd with just 22 points. With the closeness at time in race pace, and Webber's struggles, one could be forgiven for thinking we have yet another exciting competitive year on our hands. There's every indication that may not be the case however. At regular vital intervals Red Bull have shown that they have easily the year's premier car, as can only be expected from master designer Adrian Newey who Martin Brundle aptly called "the Leonardo Da Vinci of Formula One."

Rumour has it that at this weekend's Chinese Grand Prix, every team in the paddock except the three new boys, and Red Bull, will run with their Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems technology. This technology acts as a glorified push to pass system essentially, with a complex system of energy recovery under braking being able to transfer back into the power train for 80bhp extra power per lap, for seven seconds. The FIA introduced the scheme for the primary purpose of overtaking of course, but it is said to be worth on some circuits more than half a second per lap. Red Bull have had problems with faulty KERS since the introduction of their car and have swept to both pole positions and both victories almost entirely without the system's bonus power. The disadvantage is twofold though, as the KERS motor's 35kg weight means 35kg less ballast to move around the car, significantly limiting the potential for optimum weight distribution. If Red Bull do decide to remove the system from their car entirely in China, they will shed the one element that seems to have most affected the stability of the car. The big question at this race, especially if without KERS, is whether the RB7 will be better balanced and able to extend its already sizable gap to the rest of the field. If this happens I fear we may not see Vettel threatened on his way to an emphatic title defense.

The possibly mistaken view that 2011 is going to be thrillingly close comes from the simple fact that 2010 was also deceiving in its tightness. 2010 was really an astonishing season, with five men leading the world championship and the unprecedented scenario of four drivers still in the running at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Vettel won the title despite having not led the points standings once during the entire season before the final race. Throughout the whole season Vettel utterly dominated qualifying and always loomed as a man likely to threaten for the title, even when he was as low as fifth in the standings.

In truth Sebastian could call himself unlucky that he wasn't already a World Champion. For all of his astonishingly short career he had impressed, from scoring a point on debut at the age of 19, to shining spectacularly as a late season replacement for Toro Rosso in 2007. In 2008, after a tough start adjusting to a difficult car, Vettel was supreme, scoring a remarkable pole to flag win for the small team in driving rain at Monza. Then he came to Red Bull in 2009 and largely dominated his new team-mate Mark Webber in the process. Webber was already entrenched at the team and is not just experienced but fantastically fast. Before Vettel no-one had come close to challenging Webber's domination over all his team-mates for qualifying pace. Vettel won third time out in China and went on to win three more races on his way to second in the championship, not too far behind Jenson Button. Although few would begrudge Button his title, the truth remains that all six of his wins came in the first seven races thanks in large part to the headstart his Brawn GP team had by virtue of a loophole in the regulations. By that time Newey's RB5 had established itself as the class of the field and Button did not win again all year.

Vettel came in 2010 frustrated from being so near yet so far in 2009. His nerves and inexperience often came to the forefront, in a series of often controversial errors. In reality, Vettel's own faltering resolve, and the fallible reliability of the RB6, conspired to almost lose a championship that should gone their way in a canter.

Vettel won the 2010 World Championship with 256 points on the back of five wins. Alonso was just four points behind (seven points seperate 1st and 2nd in every race to give an idea how close that is), on 252 with Webber on 242 and McLaren's Lewis Hamilton on 240. Vettel could very easily have run away with the title by over 100 points however, but was denied liberally by car failures and brain failures. The most inopportune mechanical gremlins afflicted Vettel while leading three grands prix, two of them surely guaranteed victories. Vettel's own youthful exuberance ruined his weekend at least another four times. Here's a short summary of only those major setbacks which spring to the forefront of the mind:

Bahrain - Vettel dominated all weekend and was easily on his way to a pole-to-flag victory before a spark plug failure on the engine hamstrung the car. The Ferraris of Alonso and Massa drove past as if Vettel was standing still and finished 1-2. Even with the initially fatal-looking problem, Vettel still somehow salvaged 4th.

Australia - Once again Vettel took a dominant pole position and pulled immediately away at the front before a break failure plunged him into the gravel and out of the race. With the wet conditions Vettel was far from guaranteed victory but surely lost major points again.

Spain - Another break failure denied Vettel 2nd place and once again it was the class of the man which still salvaged 3rd (with help from Lewis Hamilton who crashed out of 2nd) when it looked as if he was set for retirement.

Turkey - The famous collision, as Vettel threw away a guaranteed 18 points and possible 25 with an ill-advised move on team-mate Mark Webber to take the lead. The move handed victory to McLaren but while Webber recovered to 3rd, it was DNF for Vettel.

 Great Britain - After racing to his now customary pole position, Vettel got a poor start and then an over-aggressive squeeze on team-mate Webber to try and hold the lead left Vettel off the track and with a puncture that sent him to dead last. He recovered to finish 7th but with Red Bull's dominant pace it should have been at least 2nd.

Germany - Yet again Vettel fluffed the start from pole, losing out to both Ferrari's, and that's where he stayed all day.

Hungary - Another pole, another solid lead. Then an obscure safety-car rule cost Vettel of all things, as he failed to stay within 10 car lengths of the safety-car in front and was given a drive-through penalty that dropped him to 3rd.

Belgium - Like Australia, the race at Spa was wet and wild with no guarantees, but Vettel made extra sure he wouldn't score points with an amateurish crash into Jenson Button that broke his front wing and earned him a drive-through penalty. This was compounded by a puncture later in the race and Vettel finished 15th.

Korea - For the 3rd time, and most heartbreaking, Vettel's RB6 gave up the ghost while he led convincingly. This time there was just 10 laps to go and Vettel was well clear of Fernando Alonso when his engine gave way spectacularly, seemingly ending his championship chances.


Obviously mistakes can happen, even more assuredly will reliability strike at inopportune moments. But there is much to read from Vettel and Red Bull's near-self destruction in 2010. What must be remembered is that Vettel is just 23 years of age, comfortably the sport's youngest ever World Champion. Furthermore, his Red Bull team are also babies in the grand scheme of things, having entered F1 in 2005 and only become competitive in 2009 as Adrian Newey's influence took over. Neither team or driver could be expected to possess the kind of battle-hardened consistent acumen to get the job done as the old hands at Ferrari and McLaren might have.

The fact is that Vettel and Red Bull were unlucky not to be champions in 2009, and 2010 should have been a walk in the park. The reason it was not was because neither party had ever reached these heights before. Now the job is done, the ambition is achieved, and the pressure which seemed to utterly overwhelm anyone near Vettel, has been lifted. Since it debuted in testing this year, Newey's RB7 has looked as fast as can ever be expected, but also possessing of nearly flawless reliability. More importantly, Sebastian looks to have followed the same path. There is an aura of calm contentment around Vettel these days which belies his age, and clearly not by coincidence, he has looked ominously metronomic on track.

Sebastian Vettel is clearly one of a handful of truly special drivers in the world today, surely matched only by Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton. At his best it is arguable he is unmatched even by those peers. Adrian Newey IS unmatched at what he does, that bears no cause for argument. Vettel has shown signs in the two races so far in 2011, that he can match the uncanny speed he was born with, to the kind of inch-perfect precision that made the only other German World Champion Michael Schumacher so unbeatable at times. If Adrian Newey can give him the car to match for years to come, who's to say there won't be another German dynasty?

WORLD CUP: Solid Australians tick the boxes

The 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup is already entering its second week, and after 10 matches of varying competitiveness and quality, it is difficult to discern whether this World Cup is destined to be a success yet. The fortunes of the tournament lie in the same unsure pensive state as the chances of the team who have dominated so thoroughly over the past decade.

I'm not a man who gets involved in a lot of these fancy new technologies (this esteemed blog aside), but doing the Internet rounds you find certain trending dialogues in social media inescapable. The latest common discourse is that this tournament  is already feeling overlong, and that there has been barely any competitive cricket in a week.

Sure, there have been inevitable logistical imperfections such as the ticketing problems for the final in Mumbai, but this is the ICC we're talking about and no Cricket expert would have expected competency from such an organisation. There hasn't been a last-ball classic yet either and we've had our fair share of huge thrashings, but all in all it's been solid viewing. Cynicism seems to be a job requirement for cricket punditry these days. It is the in-thing to pour scorn on every World Cup in the last 20 years because of the minor flaws inherent in the formats and fortuitous happenings of each tournament. In truth, of the last five World Cups, only 2007 left a sour taste in my mouth or the mouths of anyone I know.

As a wonderfully lethargic home pundit, I haven't had to experience the frustration of many (often delayed) flights back and forth around the subcontinent. I haven't had to experience India's stifling heat nor have I viewed the panorama of empty stadiums during neutral clashes. But this is the perspective of 99% of the Cricket fanatics watching this World Cup, many of whom have watched every ball just as I have, even at the late hours the games run to in Australia.

The ten games so far have all had their own unique charms. Only three have had any lasting tension late in the match but you can't expect thrillers every day from any tournament, even that model of efficiency the Football World Cup. These one-sided contests have been somewhat skewed towards the front of the tournament as well. More one-sided humiliations will come, but tight high-quality contests should pepper throughout with increasing regularity. The only real nagging problem with the World Cup is that the top 4 in each group advance to the Quarter Finals, and barring any miracles the Quarter Finalists are essentially a foregone conclusion. But each match can still be enjoyed on its own merits, and there are many marquee clashes to come, starting tonight when India face England in Bengaluru.

As the World Cup goes on, the paths of its participants will start to diverge. Some teams will ride a wave of good form, others will sink into an interminable trough, some should fluctuate wildly. Then there is the major upset or two which always finds a way of happening. The Quarter Finalists may be easy to pick, but their order isn't whatsoever.

As for Australia, they have had two comfortable wins, but still don't look convincing.There have been brilliant patches from the raging pace trio of Lee, Tait and Johnson, and the top order pairing of Watson and Haddin have looked as dominant as ever, but there are still huge questions marks over the depth in either department. Neither Zimbabwe nor New Zealand tested the Aussies, whose basic skills were enough alone to do the job. The first big test will come against Sri Lanka on Saturday. Last night came the first result that could reasonably be called an upset, with Pakistan's 11 run win over Sri Lanka. Pakistan's triumph last night could halt Sri Lanka's rampant ODI confidence, which started late last year with their series win in Australia. Sri Lanka remain favourites for the match in my book, but Pakistan might just have done Australia a great favor.

Favourites wobble at the Asian Cup.

The first round of games in this year's Asian Cup football tournament in Qatar have been completed and once again, we've been given a significant reminder of how compact the competition in Asia has become. Asian powerhouses like Australia, South Korea and Japan may not be achieving quite the progress many suggested was possible early in the decade, but while they've stuttered, the overall burgeoning strength of Asian football has allowed the rest of the pack to close up behind.

The tournament of four years ago was full of unexpected results and finished with a major upset in Iraq being crowned Asian champions, and there's every indication similar upsets could rule this time. Most games in the first week have gone to some sort of schedule, but the prevailing point to be made is that every game has in some way proven closer and more competitive than expected, even including Australia's 4-0 win over India to an extent.

But the major anomaly has been Group B, where the state of Arabian football was spectacularly highlighted by heroic performances from the underrated Jordan and supposed minnows Syria. The Jordanian defence held up throughout the first half against the might of Japan, before a goal from Abdel Fattah against the run of play right on half time. Trailing 1-0 into the second, Japan looked shell shocked, as if the sheer astonishment of such a scoreline had violently struck them across the face. They slowly took control of the game however and 2 minutes into injury time came Maya Yoshida's last gasp, and for all fans of the under-dog, desperately disappointing equaliser.But there was satisfaction for upset junkies just a few hours later when Syria shocked their regional rivals 2-1.

As for the Socceroos, they did what they had to do. India, perplexing qualifiers through a questionable playoff system, were spirited but comfortably outclassed. India's clear standout was goalkeeper Subrata Pal, who prevented a scoreline which could easily have been 7 or 8 to nothing. 4-0 on paper looked like a disappointing result, and the Socceroos certainly were very scratchy in their basic skill execution in the second half. But this kind of lethargy can often result from such gross mismatches. The important boxes were ticked. Three points. Tim Cahill showing he is in fine finishing form. Harry Kewell reminding of his still spectacular prowess with a powerful long range bullet for Australia's 2nd goal. Brett Emerton was also particularly impressive, although there are definite improvements needed, especially from Mile Jedinak and David Carney on the left.

In Group C's other game, South Korea were comfortable but unconvincing winners over Bahrain 2-1. Any worry about The Socceroos being in goal difference danger because of their theoretically small margin over India should not be a concern. Bahrain gave no sign that they will be any threat to Australia. Despite being ranked 7th of the 16 teams in the tournament, and twice coming within a final playoff of reaching the World Cup, Bahrain were clearly out of their depth against South Korea. They showed the clear step down in class from the big boys that the lower-ranked Syria and Jordan were supposed to show. Meanwhile South Korea also were not too intimidating. As ever they relied on their individual brilliance and skills as opposed to any sort of clinical dominance. Providing India can stay motivated through three big losses, the big question really, South Korea shouldn't win by too much more than four.

If such a situation arises where passage to the quarter finals depends on goal difference, then there is no real cause for expectation for glory anyway after such a disappointing group performance.

At any rate, all will become clear on Friday when South Korea and Australia face off in their second group matches. A combination of the surprise results four years ago, FIFA's questionable ranking system and the hosts Qatar, a weak team comparatively, taking one of the four top seed positions in each group for themselves, has allowed the unlikely instance of Asia's two strongest teams on paper ending up in the same group. A convincing win will be needed for the Socceroos if they are to entertain any notion of being genuine contenders for the final trophy.

Results

Group A

Qatar 0-2 Uzbekistan

Kuwait 0-2 China

Group B

Japan 1-1 Jordan

Saudi Arabia 1-2 Syria

Group C

Australia 4-0 India

South Korea 2-1 Bahrain

Group D

North Korea 0-0 UAE

Iraq 1-2 Iran

ASHES REVIEW: Where to for Australia?

At long last the Ashes are mercifully over. The final act of the series was a fittingly lazy prod at a short ball from Michael Beer that trickled lamely back onto the stumps. With this dismissal England won the 5th Test at Sydney by an innings and 83 runs, the narrowest of their three wins in the series. It is statistics like these which point to the magnitude of Australia's dismal failure. Due praise must be heaped on Andrew Strauss' men who performed with a discipline and consistent intensity unprecedented in my lifetime. But for any blatantly prejudiced and angry Australia, it is the systematic failure on and off the field of our boys which has been the true headline grabber.

The painful irony of this disaster of a summer is that it all started to spectacularly. England dismissed inside the first day at Brisbane on the back of a rousing spell of devastating fast bowler from Peter Siddle. Looking back, it was really only this opening day and the 2nd day in Perth when Mitchell Johnson showed fleeting heroics where Australia could be said to have truly shown any sort of dominance. The only perverse consolation out of the series is that England there were so many thoroughly humiliating days that they have blurred into one mind-numbing mesh, with nothing really standing out. After the series opener in Brisbane I thought it would take many years to forget the remarkable English 2nd innings, when they amassed 519 runs for just a single wicket lost. As it happens, it now sits long abandoned in the recesses of the memory, usurped by the comprehensive embarrassment of Adelaide, getting skittled for 98 in Melbourne, and England's mammoth 644 in Sydney.

It's tempting to award every player in the Aussie side a blanket single star but one must try to look through the petulant short term reactions of such a result and be more objective and mature. Here are my assessments on five of our best, if I can muster five.

 Michael Hussey - ****

Obviously a huge outlying shining light for Australia with his efforts. But even still, Hussey's performance is soured slightly by the fact that he contributed very little in the last two tests, always falling at particularly vital pressure situations after getting his eye in. Nevertheless, it was so refreshing to see a flowing Hussey in full flight, and 570 runs at 63 is a great series by anyone (perhaps except Bradman...or Alastair Cook's standards). His epic in Brisbane and crucial match winning hundred in Perth were true classics.

Shane Watson - ***

 There is something immensely frustrating about Shane Watson, a man with the technique and temperament to shadow most of his team-mates, yet who still fails to rack up the dizzying statistics he in reality should. He threatened even Hussey's status as Australia's most consistent batsman of the series, and in all the repeating calamitous collapses from the top order, almost invariably was the survivor, seeing out the new ball. Right as this storm was weathered, with 40 or 50 on the board and a big score beckoning though, comes the customary wicket, usually a frustratingly soft regulation catch behind or LBW. His running between wickets is also beginning to reach Inzamam-like status in its shoddiness. However he is still one of the few Australians who can hold his head up high at all. Adding to this was his underused bowling wares, which were always penetrating and often far outstripped the genuine quicks.

Brad Haddin - ***

 Haddin's performance kind of lies somewhere between Hussey and Watson. His triple stand with Hussey in Brisbane which produced a majestic innings of 136 was not even close to equaled by any other batsman throughout the series. The Hussey-like part comes from the fact that as the series went on and they became the proclaimed savious, the only pair we could rely on, Haddin like Hussey faltered and didn't match his early heights in Melbourne or Sydney. The Watson-like part comes from Haddin being unfailingly consistent but aside from Brisbane, not getting past that 50-60 mark.

 Peter Siddle - ***

I'm a sensitive new-age guy. I invest emotionally with women. I have an unhealthy reliance on the Internet. I'm partial to a bit of Chicago and Air Supply. Actually that last bit isn't true at all. Notwithstanding, my sentimental side wants to give four stars to Siddle just for being so likable and for trying so hard. Siddle's fighting batting when all was lost on more than one occasion was telling. Siddle's pair of six-wicket hauls in Brisbane and Melbourne were both extremely impressive, the first as a genuine match winning spell, the second for its grit and unwavering intensity over long periods. Unfortunately the snag in the series for Siddle was that he essentially was of little use for the rest of the entire series outside those hauls. The two innings' in question accounted for 12 wickets at 10.75 apiece. Outside this he took 2 wickets at 177.50, figures not even the consistently flat and unpenetrating Ben Hilfenhaus could match. In truth both bowled well many times, but fundamentally lack a killer variety, and are inconsistent in their sameness.

Ryan Harris - ***

The question to ask now as a perfect cliche, is what now for Australian cricket? Luckily, or perhaps not, there is no time to deal with such questions yet. The limited overs portion of the summer will soon begin in earnest, and while these games always retain a degree of superfluousness, they at least mean something this year as the world cup comes immediately afterwards. After three consecutive tournaments of utter dominance, it would be the final marker of the true end of an era if Australia failed in its title defence. After the world cup is completely in April, four months pass until Australia's next test series in Sri Lanka. Ponting's performance as captain and batsman in the world cup will make a big difference in final decisions for this tour. The talent is there in the Australian line-up, the discipline and seasoned winning know-how is not. With Simon Katich returning in place of the still promising but not quite ready Phil Hughes, Khawaja as the exciting new no.3, and Ponting at 6, we'd have a batting line-up able to dominate anyone on its day, if still slightly below the nauseatingly brilliant quality of India and South Africa.

The bowling is less simple. Still no spinner has stamped his authority on the team, thanks in part to the selectors' morbid wish to prevent anyone doing so. In the short term Nathan Hauritz must be the way to go, with his NSW team-mates O'Keefe and Smith needing to develop their bowling to become genuine Test all-rounders of the future. The fast bowling stocks are deep and talented. But if Johnson, Siddle, Hilfenhaus, Harris and Bollinger are really the most skilled in the country, is there cause for concern? It's all well and good to praise the England batsman or claim bad luck and a lack of consistency forthcoming in the future as responsible for the displays this summer, but the fact remains the heights England's totals reached, and the regularity with which they did so is unacceptable. If none of those men can prove up to the challenge in the coming year, there's enough in the drawer to replace them wholesale. If anything can rouse consistent quality from the quick men, surely it is that threat.

Again though, all credit to England. They are a side of the quality not seen in the motherland since the Gatting's, Gower's, Gooch's and Botham's reigned over Australia (but certainly not the world) in the 80s, perhaps even the Illingworth led era nearly four decades ago. Hopefully they go on to be an all-time great, record-setting, world-dominating No.1 team. As hard as this would be to swallow, it might just make this Australian team seem less mediocre in context.

1st Test - Brisbane

England - 260 (Bell 76, Cook 67, Siddle 6/54)
Australia - 481 (Hussey 195, Haddin 136, Finn 6/125)
England - 1 dec 519 (Cook 235 n.o, Trott 135 n.o, Strauss 110, North 1/47)
Australia - 1/101 (Ponting 51 n.o, Watson 41 n.o, Broad 1/18)


MATCH DRAWN
MotM - Alastair Cook (Eng)

5 Test series level 0-0 after 1 Test

Full scorecard here. 




2nd Test - Adelaide

Australia - 245 (Hussey 93, Haddin 56, Watson 51, Anderson 4/51)
England - 5 dec 620 (Pietersen 227, Cook 148, Trott 78, Bell 68 n.o)
Australia - 304 (Clarke 80, Watson 57, Hussey 52, Swann 5/91)

England won by An Innings and 71 runs
MotM - Kevin Pietersen (Eng)

England lead 5 Test series 1-0 after 2 Tests

Full Scorecard here.








3rd Test - Perth

Australia - 268 (Johnson 62, Hussey 61, Haddin 53, Anderson 3/61, Tremlett 3/63)
England - 187 (Bell 53, Strauss 52, Johnson 6/38, Harris 3/59)
Australia - 309 (Hussey 116, Watson 95, Tremlett 5/87)
England - 123 (Trott 31, Harris 6/47, Johnson 3/44)

Australia won by 267 runs
MotM - Mitchell Johnson (Aus)

5 Test series level 1-1 after 3 Tests

Full Scorecard here. 




4th Test - Melbourne

Australia - 98 (Clarke 20, Tremlett 4/26, Anderson 4/44)
England - 513 (Trott 168 n.o, Prior 85, Cook 82, Siddle 6/75)
Australia - 258 (Haddin 55 n.o, Watson 54, Siddle 40, Bresnan 4/50)

England won by an Innings and 157 runs
MotM - Jonathon Trott (Eng)

England lead 5 Test series 2-1 after 4 Tests (England retain the Ashes)


Full Scorecard here.




5th Test - Sydney

Australia - 280 (Johnson 53, Watson 45, Khawaja 37, Anderson 4/66)
England - 644 (Cook 189, Prior 118, Bell 115, Johnson 4/168)
Australia - 282 (Smith 54 n.o, Siddle 43, Clarke 41, Anderson 3/61, Tremlett 3/79)

England won by an Innins and 83 runs
MotM - Alastair Cook (Eng)

England win the 5 Test series 3-1
MotS - Alastair Cook (Eng)


Full Scorecard here.

FINAL REPORT: Cook and Trott ensure remarkable draw

Australia vs England, 1st Test - Day 5
Monday November 29 2010.

England - 260 (Bell 76, Cook 67, Siddle 6/54)
Australia - 481 (Hussey 195, Haddin 136, Finn 6/125)
England - 1 dec 519 (Cook 235 n.o, Trott 135 n.o, Strauss 110, North 1/47)
Australia - 1/101 (Ponting 51 n.o, Watson 41 n.o, Broad 1/18)


MATCH DRAWN

MotM - Alastair Cook (Eng)
5 Test series level 0-0 after 1 Test

Full scorecard here.

So the 1st Test of this summer's much anticipated Ashes series is complete, and the status quo is maintained. There was something distinctly anticlimactic about the last session on Monday as the match petered to an obvious draw, after weeks of hype and four days of high quality Test cricket. But nevertheless the status quo that the 0-0 scoreline claims to portray is far from how it feels, particularly as an Australian. The distressing manner of Australia's bowling meltdown resulting in the draw means the teams move to Adelaide for the 2nd test on Friday with a clear psychological field of play, England with the upper hand. The amazing feats throughout the first Test, combined with its eventual result after it all, mean this week feels almost like an extended hype and build up. Rather than a more down to earth feeling of 'OK the series has begun' leading to a 2nd Test, instead we remain in a pre-1st Test kind of agonizing limbo, but magnified a hundred times. It is still impossible to pick the outcome of this series. Spectacular highlights and glaring problems remain in both camps.

The 1st Test felt like a strange bastard child of the past three Ashes series, from the 2005esque spectacular drama and compellingness of contest, to Australia slowly but surely developing a 2006-07esque upper advantage at home. In the end, looking back at a Test littered with spectacular moments and feats from individuals, I am left with a 2009 reminiscent feeling that both these sides are far below the quality they should be and that The Ashes could be a case of who screws up the least over five tests.

Monday’s final day provided, as was feared, with more of the same following on from Day 4. Alastair Cook and Jonathon Trott, resuming at 1/309, continued to put Australia’s faltering bowlers to the sword as they quickly snuffed out any remote hopes of an Australia victory. Michael Clarke summed up Australia’s day with a truly atrocious dropped catch at first slip. That chance, as well as a late difficult grass from Ponting both came from the bowling of Shane Watson who looked easily the most threatening yet was barely used. Many arguments are made that Watson needs to be moved down the batting order so as to free up more bowling duties, but I wonder if such a move is necessary and if we, or more importantly Ponting, underestimate his fitness and ability to back up. Although the game was never realistically winnable, England nevertheless were always going to declare at some point, in order to get a thoroughly demoralised Australia back in grudgingly and cause more damage. By the time this call came from Strauss England was an astonishing and rather nightmarish 1 wicket for 519.

Alastair Cook finished with an epic unbeaten 235. Cook is a batsman free of large flourish who seems to be nothing but walking technique, and whose technique considering that is rather flawed, yet somehow he now has 14 test hundreds before the age of 26. England’s top 6 consists of Strauss, Pietersen, Collingwood and Bell, all vastly experienced and proven class acts (albeit less so against Australia for Bell). Before the series Australia surely spoke of two batsmen as potential strike zones. Firstly: Cook, the weak link with questionable technique and questionable precedent in Australian conditions. Secondly: Trott, the debut tourist with little Test experience. Yet it was these two who put on a mammoth and unbeaten partnership of 321, duly passing Michael Hussey and Brad Haddin’s two day old record for the biggest Test partnership at Brisbane. TrottAustralia with 135 not out. Thankfully Shane Watson and Ricky Ponting prevented further psychological haemorrhaging by overcoming the early loss of Simon Katich for 4 and batting solidly until stumps. Ponting looked fantastic in an unbeaten 51 at faster than a run a ball and fairly quickly broke apart the plans of the English quicks. But their late efforts couldn’t mask the disappointment and overall trepidation looking at the rest of the series. One for 517, as much as it may prove to be a freak one-off, nevertheless is not acceptable by any standard. For their part the selectors have taken the positive step of adding fast bowlers Doug Bollinger and Ryan Harris to the 2^nd test squad.

I only hope we don’t end up with a 0-0 series draw because neither team can take 20 wickets. This is an exaggeration but not by much, both bowling units look thoroughly unconvincing (thanks to Graeme Swann’s lack of substance in Brisbane). The Ashes may very easily be won and lost, just like in 2009, by the odd individual bowling brilliance. Andrew Flintoff at Lords and Stuart Broad at The Oval provided these in 2009 and coincidentally there were England’s only two wins of the series. Peter Siddle provided this time around and Australia weren’t able to capitalise. More to the point, in this landscape the Ashes may come down to which batting line-up avoids inexplicable collapses. It is through this criteria that I express frustration at Marcus North being retained in the squad, and continued annoyance at Michael Clarke’s soap opera. Australia only needs to bat solidly throughout the series and it could easily be winnable, especially as England showed a penchant for collapse in the first innings. There won’t always be a Hussey/Haddin partnership to save the day.



Highlights
*** - Ricky Ponting. Although it was to be fair, a completely inconsequential innings, Ponting's quick fire 51 not out to end the match did look suspiciously like his best form so hopefully, while I think he will still continue to fail on occasions, on those times he doesn't we might still get 2 or 3 vintage Ponting classics this summer.

** - Shane Watson. Although 41 runs and no wickets is hardly a memorable day. Watson again showed today that he is vastly underrated with the ball then backed it up with another solid looking stint with the bat. Ponting really must have faith in the man and bowl him a great deal more.

* - Alastair Cook. Shocking though it may seem I am in fact paying tribute to an Englishmen. As painful as it was to watch him bat for the best part of 11 hours, it was a wonderfully grandiose innings, one of those rare gems. Cook also unknowingly broke another of Bradman's precious records, namely taking the highest Test score at the Gabba from the Don.


Lowlights
*** - 1/517. I don't really know who I'm conclusively blaming but that score is quite absurd. Even in this new age of rebuilding and being No.5 in the world rankings, Australia have no right allowing oppositions to so thoroughly destroy us like that.


** - Surprise surprise it's Mitchell Johnson. He completed his wonderfully inadequate match by finishing with the inauspicious figures of 0/108. Rumours are that the selectors have bitten the bullet and sacked him for Adelaide. Although I wish him well and desperately hope for classic Johnson to win Test matches for Australia in the future, this man currently in the team is not the same man. Johnson must not play in Adelaide, I may not watch if he does. 


* - The Brisbane people. To be fair it was Day 5 of a Test match almost foregone to be a draw, on a working Monday. But I'm from Sydney and tend to enjoy slandering Queenslanders so I'll take this time to admonish the crowd on Monday, or lack thereof. While I too appreciate the general unimportance of a draw-headed last day, this is the Ashes and with the Barmy Army always out in force, if Aussie supporter numbers slip too low they can be usurped by English numbers. This got very close to being the case on Monday and there is a psychological principle of basic home country ethics to deal with. This is Australia, the dreaded doom land English cricket comes to die. It is insultingly unspeakable that they can play a single day of cricket in Australia in a partisan pro-English atmosphere.

Strauss and Cook turn the tide

Australia vs England, 1st Test - Day 4
Sunday November 28 2010.


England - 260 (Bell 76, Cook 67, Siddle 6/54)
Australia - 481 (Hussey 195, Haddin 136, Finn 6/125)
England - 1/309 (Cook 132 n.o, Strauss 110, Trott 52 n.o, North 1/22)

Full scorecard here.




The first two days of this opening Ashes test at the Gabba featured captivating to and fro Test cricket. The unfailing curatorial genius of Kevin Mitchell Jr has produced another sensational pitch in keeping with Brisbane's reputation as having the best pitches in the country. The balance between bat and ball had set up a fairly even contest before yesterday, Michael Hussey and Brad Haddin blasted away any lingering thought that the pitch was anything other than flat and true for a well set batsman.

To the despairing chagrin of Australia, England openers Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook vehemently reinforced this fact today. Cook is a strange case, going about his business quietly and usually at a slow pace and rarely being talked of with the sort of respect afforded to many players far less deserving. Here is a 25 year old man who has just achieved his 14th Test hundred. Few of even the greatest all time players can lay claim to such a tally at that early age. Today saw if not his greatest innings, certainly his most important. Cook batted through the entire day, starting slowly but ending unbeaten on a near chanceless 132.

Captain Andrew Strauss played the more exciting but also more danger-fraught innings. While Cook battled along, Strauss, after a slow start, surged past 50 and onwards on the back of devastating cuts and drives through the off side field. Ricky Ponting did his best to help the English cause, with some astonishingly petulant captaincy, at times changing his field after every ball to combat the latest inevitable English boundary. Australia's bowling was too short at times and inconsistency but, similar to England yesterday, not all that bad. Even Johnson looked better although he remains frustratingly short of spectacular best. Strauss and Cook were merely too good. Strauss brought up his hundred with a sublime cut for 4 off Xavier Doherty, who again bowled tidily and consistently but was slightly too full and fast to be truly effective on the unique Gabba surface. Marcus North, who bowled impressively for 12 overs, showed the more appropriate line and length with good flighted off spin. It was North who got the eventual breakthrough, ending the opening partnership on 188 when Strauss skipped down the wicket in a rather ungainly fashion, missed the ball as it spun away, and was calmly stumped by Haddin for 110.

This was only the beginnings of Australia's woes however, with new batsman Jonathan Trott immediately on the attack, just as Cook upped the ante and increased his scoring rate. 121 more runs came by the end of what was all in all a thoroughly depressing day to be an Australian. England go into the final day leading by 88 runs with 9 wickets in hand, with a draw now looking the most likely result.

Highlights
*** - The wicket. It is a testament to what a terrible day for Australia this was that this is the best I can do for a three star highlight. It was a sublime piece of bowling from a supposed part timer though.

** - For all my unabashed patriotism, kudos must go to England's 3 batsmen who played with great patience and judgement on a pitch that still has a bit in it, and whose cracks are really starting to show.

* - Ben Hilfenhaus. Hilfenhaus for mine was the best of the Australia bowlers, and the only one to consistently get his length right. Like James Anderson yesterday he toiled all day without luck.

Lowlights
*** - Where to begin. Although it is acutely mainstream and boring to always berate poor Ponting for his captaincy, it is with reason today, not so much for specific tactics as for his general lack of self assurance.

** - Mitchell Johnson. Poor Mitch. It's just not his Test match. First an average first innings bowling effort than making a duck. He bowled a lot better today but had the misfortune of dropping a catch off Strauss when he had 69. It wasn't an easy chance, above the head at mid-off, but it was one that should have been held.

* - This may be a bizarre point to make, and of course remaining positive is the most obvious way to keep yourself from feeling stressed and under pressure and therefore playing worse, but I was frustrated today by the happiness of the Australians, as strange as that sounds. While England smashed them to all parts of the ground, many of the Australian players, particularly Ponting, Clarke, North and Siddle seemed to be having a great laugh a great deal of the time. I admire that the Australians, for all their history of being over-intense sledgers, are showing that they can enjoy their cricket and have fun regardless of the situation. It is good to play in the spirit of the game like this but Jesus, when the opposition is 1/300 there needs to be more anger, the kind of anger that leads to a steely Aussie determination to win games of Cricket.

Heroic partnership gives Australia command

Australia vs England, 1st Test - Day 3
Saturday November 27 2010.


England - 260 (Bell 76, Cook 67, Siddle 6/54)
Australia - 481 (Hussey 195, Haddin 136, Finn 6/125)
England - 0/19 (Strauss 11 n.o, Cook 6 n.o)

Full scorecard here.

Australia resumed on Day 3 of the 1st Ashes test at 5/220, 40 runs in arrears of England's first innings effort. With exactly 80s overs bowled Jimmy Anderson would start the day with a brand new ball in hand. There was a sense of tension, that the game was at a vital crossroads. If England bowled sufficiently well they could take early wickets and restrict Australia to a score close to, may be even below 260. As it proved they bowled extremely well, and did take an early wicket, and yet the day was so utterly and convincingly Australia's. Only one run into the day Michael Hussey was plum LBW to Anderson for 82. Hussey logically reviewed the decision, his wicket at this time was too vital not too. The ball was straight, low, hit him line and clearly careening into the stumps. But it also had pitched marginally outside leg stump, and so Hussey was saved. 82 had become 83 when Hussey was struck on the pad again. This one was completely out in every way but in his first blemish of the game, umpire Aleem Dar did not raise his finger and with Andrew Strauss' having wasted England's two reviews wastefully on 50/50 calls, nothing could be done. So it was that the newest tactical consideration in international cricket, a captain's Decision Review strategy, defined a day's play.

None of this early fortune can detract from the partnership of Michael Hussey and Brad Haddin however. They came together at a precarious 5/143 on the 2nd afternoon, pushed through to stumps adding 77 runs came out this morning with the game potentially in the balance. England's quicks, particularly the luckless Anderson bowled fabulously in the early overs, according to Haddin it was "the hardest bowling of [my] career." But they saw this period through and remained together. Lunch and Tea would come and go before they would be parted with the score at 450. The pair added 307 runs, the first ever triple century Test stand in Brisbane and the 2nd highest Australia 6th wicket stand of all time behind the legendary 346 of Jack Fingleton and Sir Donald Bradman in 1937.

Hussey's innings was a masterpiece, potentially the greatest of his career even with lady luck's early help. The emotion he poured out upon reaching his 12th century spoke of the stress and frustration of his extended lean patch and the questions over his place in the team. But he wasn't finished, moving effortlessly for 195 before falling sadly short of a maiden double hundred when a rash pull shot from Steven Finn was caught by Cook in the outfield. Haddin's contribution hopefully will not be forgotten amidst the magic of Hussey. After an excruciatingly lethargic start, Haddin took off once he reached 25 and easily outscored Hussey. As he sat on 94 with Graeme Swann tossing the ball up enticingly, no-one was surprised when he brought up his hundred with a devastating straight six. Haddin went on to 436 before finally becoming the first wicket of the day when he edged Swann to Paul Collingwood who took a pearler in the slips.

Australia's tail showed a slightly worrying lack of resistance. When 307 of 481 runs comes from one partnership the nation can't rest easily. Mitchell Johnson lumbered for half an hour without a run then was promptly bowled. Peter Siddle made 6 before a Finn bouncer fired off the back of his bat to Swann at slip. Xavier Doherty on the other hand looked very solid and continued a good trot with the bat for Tasmania by moving quite gracefully to 16 before hitting out and being caught. All these wickets fell to Ashes debutant Finn, the 21 year old taking a rather unexpected but still deserved six wicket haul.

England, with a demoralising 221 run deficit, at least managed to survive scratchily to stumps at 0/19 from 15 overs, although Strauss tried his best not to, leaving the first ball of the innings only to see it straighten into his pads. Had it been a few centimetres fuller Strauss would be going to Adelaide next week on the back of two ducks.

Highlights
*** - Michael Hussey. If Australia win this Test match, and go on to win the Ashes on the back of it, Hussey's 195 may go down in Australian cricketing folklore. As such it is already probably the best innings of his career. Hussey has been fundamentally struggling in his mind, irrespective of fluctuating performances, for the best part of two years. He has made hundreds in that time but few in the first innings and none with the kind of vibrant panache showed today. His potentially career-saving Sheffield Shield hundred for Western Australia last week looks to have profoundly shaken him out of what was starting to look worryingly like a permanent psychological rut.  

*** - Brad Haddin. It is amazing to think that today was only Haddin's 3rd test century. The years he spent waiting in the wilderness for Adam Gilchrist to retire have been followed by inconsistent performances by team overall, denying Haddin the potential conditions to make more runs. Then his 2010 was ruined by chronic tendinitis of the elbow. Today's 136 for Haddin was every bit the all time defining career milestone as Hussey's innings, the question is whether it will forever be his greatest innings, or if it will open the floodgates to more hundreds.

* - Mr Doherty. The mannerisms and general excitement of Xavier Doherty's father as he watches every ball of his son's overall rather impressive test debut have been a heartwarming quirk amidst the drama of the match. Today he showed extremely good humour and grace in dealing the thorough embarrassment of the Channel 9 cameras and commentators (whom he was listening to via the ground's cheap radio devices) when they saw fit to watch him in the stands with his wife more than actually follow the action on the ground.


Lowlights
*** - Although not a specific namedrop so much as a castigation of pretty much the entire batting order, people must remember to consider through all the hype surrounding Hussey and Haddin's mighty partnership that the entire team only scored 172 runs outside that partnership. Australia got away with bowling England out for a total lower than they are usually likely to make in the 1st innings. Our batting must be far improved to have any chance of regaining the Ashes.

** - Mitchell Johnson backed up his uninspiring bowling effort by steeling his resolve with the bat in hand. Boosted by a recent shield century Johnson is determined to show his worth as a genuine all-rounder, he needs to considering he could very soon be out of the team if his bowling is the only selection criteria. In this conscious attempt to be a serious batsmen Johnson showed a mature watchfulness in his innings which quickly descended into gratuitous pretentiousness. 33 minutes passed without a run before he was comprehensively bowled, his technique looking pretty much flawed throughout the innings in a fundamental way. Johnson needs to revert to the old idea of his carefree batting being a happy bonus for the team if he wants to score the kind of runs he did in 2008 and 2009.

* - Kevin Pietersen's moustache. Somehow in three days its awfulness has escaped by mention. But no more.

Brave Hussey leads tough fight

Australia vs England, 1st Test - Day 2
Friday November 26 2010.


England - 260 (Bell 76, Cook 67, Siddle 6/54)
Australia - 5/220 (Hussey 81 n.o, Katich 50, Anderson 2/40, Finn 2/61)

Full scorecard here.

Since day one (whenever that was, the end of last year's Ashes I guess), I have remained fervently in support of Michael Hussey's place in the team far more than that of Marcus North, despite no real ostensible difference in their performances. Hussey is Mr Cricket. He gives off a vibe of someone who when it really matters, at a defining crossroads in his career in the most important of cricketing contests, would rise to the occasion. Today he showed his true colours with a fine unbeaten 81 which has in all likelihood saved Australia's blushes.

Hussey's aggressive intent from ball 1, particularly on the back foot and against an oddly reticent Graeme Swann was a joy to watch. He came to the crease at the most highly charged and challenging of moments, with a fired up English attack having taken the double break through of Simon Katich and Ricky Ponting to bring the game back to an even keel. Aside from an edge just shot of first slip on the first ball he faced, Hussey looked totally in control. His crucially timed partnership of 77 with Brad Haddin, which will resume tomorrow, took Australia from the precarious position of 5 for 143 to a strong position at stumps.

The day started positively for Australia with Shane Watson and Simon Katich surviving a good spell of pressure bowling from England’s pace triumvirate. All the luck was on the openers’ side, including a reverse LBW decision when Katich was initially given out for 27. Watson soon took control, confusing the lengths of the English bowlers when he became the first person in the game to pick apart the full length he ironically had pioneered a day earlier. His ferocious drives down the wicket took him past Katich to 36 before Anderson had him caught at slip by the captain Strauss, the very next ball after an unsuccessful review of a not-out LBW decision.

Watson’s dismissal left Australia at 1 for 78 but Katich and Ponting were able to survive to lunch and ensure their front running position at 1 for 96. After lunch all hell broke loose. With the 2^nd ball of the afternoon session James Anderson, who bowled with great probing discipline all day, had Ponting out for 10 caught behind flicking off his legs. Four runs later, after reaching a well compiled 50, Katich offered Steven Finn a return catch and his first Ashes wicket. With this two-pronged blow, Australia had Michael Clarke and Michael Hussey new to the crease. Clarke had yet to answer questions about his bad back while Hussey as ever was fighting for his place in the team. But you wouldn’t have thought so by the way he played, quickly going on the attack against Swann and moving to 20 in no time. Clarke did not have the same luxury of supreme confidence, to say the least. He looked jumpy, rhythmless and overall rather third rate in his 50 balls of struggle before inevitably getting out for 9. Speaking of inevitability, Marcus North then failed. North had just 1 when he made an amateurish lunge at a fairly innocuous traditional off spinner from Swann and edged straight to Paul ‘Eddie McGuire’ Collingwood at slip. At 5 for 143, England’s score of 260 was suddenly looking decidedly competitive. But Brad Haddin, playing with admirable restraint, supported Hussey through to tea and then onwards. Australia would probably have reached a lead by stumps had the umpires not gone off 18 overs early on a completely arbitrary bad light basis. In a frustrating quirk of irony, the heavens then opened and ensured the day’s play was complete.

The match remains very alive, but save for a big collapse tomorrow morning, Australia should be well on the way to a healthy first innings lead, including a vintage Hussey hundred with luck. Bear in mind that Australia must bat last on a pitch of questionable durability, so they optimally need to reach as close to 400 as possible tomorrow and then bowl very well in the 2^nd innings. Any 4^th innings target beyond about 150 will not be easy.

Highlights

*** -  Mike Hussey without a doubt. A quality score is never out of the question but the intent and style of his innings was tremendous, possibly his best knock since the vintage of 2005-07.

** - Shane Watson and Simon Katich. Australia's unlikeliest all time great opening pair continue to impress with another solid 78 runs today. Their foundation could prove key to an Ashes winning summer.

* - Movember. I should really have mentioned them yesterday seeing as Australia were bowling, but in all the excitement I scarcely had time to even think about them. But Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus' moustaches are truly fantastic. There is a very pleasing three musketeer quality about Johnson's pornstar look, Hilfenhaus' cut short handle bar hash job (thanks to Mr Hilfenhaus who vetoed the full handle bar) and Siddle's grub which inexplicably somehow completely suits his face. All for a worthy cause too.

Lowlights

*** - Michael Clarke. Yes above Marcus North. I know everyone's allowed a bad day but Clarke's was a particularly awful day today. The demons that kind of an innings can cause don't usually heal fast. A first ball duck would probably have been far less damaging to his confidence and Australia's overall Ashes chances. 

 
** - Marcus North. I feel quite sorry for North because he's an honest hard-working cricketer and I have a lot of respect for what he does. Once he gets in he can reach Rahul Dravid-like levels of concentration and immovability, usually without the pervasive boredom as well. But he hardly ever reaches double figures nowadays. If he doesn't do something big in the 2nd innings this could be his last test, but I would hope Australia don't find themselves in a last innings position sufficiently desperate to need such heroism.

* - Bad light delays. As the Channel Nine commentators alluded to, a review is badly needed of the archaic rules relating to bad light. Leaving the field if ambient light becomes insufficient was implemented before the time of helmets and door-sized under-clothes padding specifically as an option if the umpires deemed it a hazard to the physical health of the players to continue. This is hardly a problem nowadays and Bad Light calls have become inherently tactical, especially as traditionally an umpire will 'offer' the opportunity to leave the ground to the batsmen. Late afternoon periods of fading light will always be supremely tough to bat during and no mentally sane batsmen is going to decline a bad light offer. Think of the drama we'd get in Test matches with some nice juicy periods of play in the dusk.

Simple Siddle does the trick

Australia vs England, 1st Test - Day 1
Thursday November 25 2010.


England - 260 (Bell 76, Cook 67, Siddle 6/54)
Australia - 0/25 (Katich 15 n.o, Watson 9 n.o)

Full scorecard here.

The halcyon days of McGrath, Lee and Gillespie and Warne may seem like a distant memory for the Australian bowling unit, but there is life in the old dog yet. What’s more, the sources of this revival in hope and enthusiasm are far from what you’d expect.

For all the talk of an inconsistent, inexperienced attack and their presumed struggle at taking 20 English wickets, Australia has surprisingly healthy pace stocks. The core of Mitchell Johnson, Ben Hilfenhaus, Doug Bollinger, Peter Siddle and Ryan Harris are backed up by the promising young talent of Clint McKay, Mitchell Starc, Peter George, Josh Hazlewood, Trent Copland and Mark Cameron, just to name a few. Meanwhile on the spinning side of things, the plethora of been and gone candidates since the great one’s retirement, while hardly ideal, at least speaks to the depth of near-international quality spin bowling in a country not evolutionarily designed to support the art. But with the developments of the past 12 months, Johnson, Hilfenhaus, Bollinger and Hauritz locked in as incumbents and the vibrant young brigade being given their due, few would have picked Peter Siddle as Australia’s next great bowling hero, and surely none would have thought of Xavier Doherty as the man most likely to take the spin bowling chance and grasp it with both hands.

It is the variety of our quick men which makes them at once threatening and frustrating. The wild, unreliable and dangerous slinger Johnson. The McGrathesque (or maybe DamienFlemingesque would be more appropriate for his prodigious ability to swing the ball and his consistent if always varying spot of minimal facial hair) Ben Hilfenhaus. The left arm new ball specialist Doug Bollinger, with all the cult excitement he stirs up. Peter Siddle somehow appears to be the misnomer, the eggshell amongst broken glass. He is straight up and down, a hard-working, toiling, honest bowler with a mean 140something speed on his day. He’s not quite the gun slinging wild child that is Johnson or the ever-reliable Hilfenhaus. He inexplicably doesn’t even feel remotely like Bollinger, even though they both essentially fill that same intermediary role between Mitch and Hilfy. Siddle, and I mean no disrespect because he is a match for anybody in the world at being so, is one of those bowlers who seems to possess little variety in his arsenal. Invariably he bowls them straight, without prominent swing, at a consistently fast but not spectacular pace, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. While some may have doubted his natural ability, no-one I know has ever disliked Siddle. He is a man whose work ethic would be unmatched even in the most heinous Nazi concentration camp, and if that isn’t enough to miff any survivors of Auschwitz, the indecent joy and happiness with which he seems to do his work every day surely would. Now on perhaps the most important day of his short test career, he’s gotten all rewards he’s deserved for his years of passion, and then some.

A full decade has passed since an Australian last took a test hat-trick (Glenn McGrath against the West Indies in 2000). It is two years longer since the feat was achieved in an Ashes test, by Darren Gough in Sydney in January 1999, a match I was privileged enough to attend, my first as a spectator. Siddle’s hat-trick is reminiscent of Gough’s in that it was the most spectacularly pure and aesthetically pleasing that a hat-trick can get, with two shoe-splitting yorkers firing under Matthew Prior and Stuart Broad’s bats. The ball that got rid of the stubborn Alastair Cook to start the rout was a gem in itself, finally enticing the cautious opener to push ever so slightly outside off stump and edging to the slips.

Siddle’s 6/54 was the hallmark of engrossing day of test cricket at its absolute finest on a beautiful if somewhat sluggish pitch offering a little something to everybody, including the makers and sellers of sawdust. Australia fought hard to dismiss England for 260 by stumps. Simon and Shane Watson ensured Australia’s upper hand by lasting until stumps with the score on 25, Katich looking particularly confident in his aggressive welcoming of Graeme Swann to Ashes cricket at the Gabbatoir.

If the recent tradition of the nerve-jangling opening over providing a glimpse into coming fortunes is anything to go by, Australia are in very good shape. After the interminable pre-series hype and as the climax of the much anticipated first ball began to subside, England’s captain and most important batting stabilizer hit the third ball of the series straight to Michael Hussey. Short outside off stump is not what Ben Hilfenhaus had in mind for his first wicket of the series, but it was nevertheless an extremely clever delivery, deviating back at the left-handed Strauss just enough to cramp his cut shot, a sure fire way of getting yourself caught in the cordon. England 1 for 0. It was the kind of spectacular start that always seemed likely, and for a fleeting moment thoughts of England all out for 30 by lunch flashed through the mind. But a positive start from No.3 Jonathan Trott, and the typical uninspiring stoicism of Alastair Cook began what was a gripping contest all day.

Trott looked in fine touch and it needed a jaffa to remove him, Shane Watson seaming a full ball back in through the gap and disturbing his stumps. As ever Watson was penetrating and difficult to play, and it was Watson who recognised the need to be full and straight. With the slow pace and tinge of green in the wicket, a length bordering on the half volley becomes the new good length ball. So it proved as Watson removed Trott with the perfect ball for such conditions, and inspired Siddle when he returned to the attack after what had truthfully been a scratchy opening spell.

Siddle’s full deliveries outside off accounted for Kevin Pietersen on 43, just when he looked ready to take the match from Australia after showing a headache inducing streak of vintage form, and Paul Collingwood for just 4. At 4 for 125, the in form Ian Bell and the defiant Cook fought back, with a partnership of 72 before all hell broke loose. After Cook’s vigil ended on 67 in the waiting hands of Shane Watson, and Matt Prior was comprehensively bowled, Siddle had to wait an extra minute or two for confirmation of his hat-trick as Stuart Broad played the controversial Umpire Decision Review System (UDRS) card to challenge his palpably plum LBW decision. Broad was struck on the toe on the full, not going close to digging out the searing if rather fortuitous yorker Siddle ended up delivering.

Siddle’s 6th wicket was Graeme Swann for 10, another plum LBW and another pointlessly wasted decision review. Pietersen and Ian Bell were the only batsman who looked to have mastered the conditions, and the overall consistent (apart from Johnson arguably) Australia bowling. Bell played perhaps his best innings against Australia, attacking test debutant Xavier Doherty with particular gusto on his way to 76 before rather inevitably become Doherty’s first test wicket.

My judging standard may be particularly low after all the spin troubles we have had, but Xavier Doherty had to me an absolutely sensational debut innings with the ball. His surprise inclusion over Nathan Hauritz and Steve Smith, despite a frankly woeful first class bowling average of 48 over nearly a decade, was said to be the result of a certain big game quality the selectors saw in him. His four wickets on One Day International debut recently against Sri Lanka gave the earliest glimpses of this and rose to the occasion today. Doherty, a containing one-day bowler by trade really, bowled typically tightly and with great discipline, every bit the match of Hauritz’s cool temperament. More than this, for a supposedly straight up and down containing limited overs bowler he seemed to get a notable amount of purchase out of the wicket, turning the ball far more consistently and often considerably further than Hauritz usually managed. He remains unlikely to ever really run through a team and no doubt the pitch offered him an unusual amount of assistance for a Day 1 Aussie test pitch, but given the context of his meteoric rise and distinctly unimpressive average, his performance was nothing short of sensational. The only blemish on Doherty’s day was a tough but catchable chance he dropped from Cook at cover point earlier in the day.

It is easy to get caught up in the hype of what was really a magnificent day of test cricket, silencing the long form’s doubters. But the truth of the matter is that England’s 260, if their bowlers can do the job tomorrow, may not be that far off the mark. Australia has the disadvantage of batting last on a pitch that has shown signs of likely wear and tear as the game progresses. Australia’s performance was far from flawless either. Ponting’s tactics remain decidedly questionable and Mitchell Johnson showed little to suggest he won’t be carted around the country for the next six weeks, although he will surely have one of those inevitable destructive spells in there somewhere. England were in a fighting if not dominant position of 4/197 before Siddle’s hat-trick, and without the collapse could very easily have gone close to 400, an ominous score on such a economical pitch.

These are all petty details though on a day that was first and foremost, enthralling top level sporting competition, and most importantly for the partisan Aussie, overall a very successful and promising day. These Ashes aren’t a foregone conclusion yet for the Poms.

Highlights
*** Siddle’s enterprising fast bowling and sensational hat-trick. Fast bowling of the like has rarely been seen in Australia or the world for the matter for some years. The last comparable spell I remember is Mitchell Johnson’s destruction of South Africa in Perth two years ago.

** Doherty’s mighty mature performance, the perfect foil for Siddle’s heroics.

* Channel Nine reigning themselves back from the uncontained idiocy of the early summer games to present a focused and, unprecedented within the past few years, almost passing for acceptable commentary. Michael Slater is still annoying as a commentator though. And Mark Nicholas is still a pompous idiot.


Lowlights
*** Kevin Pietersen. While his batting at full flight is always a highlight visually, his form today was worrying. It is too early to make elaborate judgements from one innings of 43, but he’s showing every sign of another return to form just in time for the Australians.

** Mitchell Johnson. My constant criticism may seem overly harsh and he didn’t bowl particularly atrociously today, certainly not compared to the trash he can throw down. My concerns remain however. If we get to about the 3rd or 4th test and his consistency hasn’t improved and his devastating spell hasn’t come yet, it might be time to bring Dougie back for Mitch. Hilfenhaus/Siddle/Bollinger is as formidable a pace attack as any. I think I’m just biased against Mitch because a tattoo artist has made his arm look like a charcoaled log after a bushfire. He was so attractive too.

* Mitchell Johnson’s tattoo. There are other Australian problems to bring up but they are not yet sufficient as to cause grave concern. After such a good day of cricket it’s a fitting tribute to only have two genuine lowlights. Besides that tattoo really is bad.