Biggles of 266
1st Level Red Feather
- Joined
- Apr 26, 2001
- Messages
- 1,126
- Points
- 36
all together now: AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE! OI OI OI! It's always a shame when the Old Country is reduced to stealing Welsh players who end up taking half their wickets (one from two), and then still collapse like the proverbial house of cards. The papers here are frankly surprised that All The Queen's Men have lasted this long, and haven't found a way to cock it up entirely on the first day.
Biggles
If things could have gone worse for England's cricketers, it's hard to image how, writes Trevor Marshallsea at the Gabba.
In his English newspaper column previewing the start of the Ashes series at the Gabba, Nasser Hussain made a frank admission: "The worst nightmare," he wrote, "is reading the wicket and working out what to do after winning the toss and which bowlers to pick."
Last night, he might have reassessed. "Worst nightmare" will have seemed inadequate after the England captain's decision to send Australia in exploded in stunning style, setting the tone for what seems certain to be another one-sided Ashes series.
On an opening day as perfect for Australia as it was miserable for England, Matthew Hayden and Ricky Ponting seized upon Hussain's offer in merciless fashion to lead Australia to a mammoth 2-364 by stumps.
The remarkable Hayden, who now has five centuries in his past seven home Tests, will resume today on 186, needing only 41 more to put his stamp on his home stadium by breaking Don Bradman's ground-record Test score of 226. Only Bradman has scored more in a day of a Test here, making 200 against South Africa in 1931-32.
Ponting was at times breathtaking in his 123 - his fourth hundred in six Tests - as he and Hayden put on the second-highest Test partnership for any wicket at the Gabba, 272 in just 253 minutes, shaded only by the 276 made by Bradman and Lindsay Hassett for the third wicket against England in 1946-47.
Hayden played many majestic strokes in his 255-ball innings of 20 fours and two sixes. He needed an energy boost from confectionary snakes after reaching his 10th Test hundred, and was also helped by being dropped on no fewer than three occasions.
It was hard to know where to start in assessing the humiliation of England as they set out shambolically after their first Ashes win in 16 years - the fielding, the bowling, more injury woes, or the batting of the Australians.
Most considerations will start, however, with Hussain's decision to send in the world's best team at a ground where sides batting first have averaged 395 in the first innings of the past eight Tests.
Sides bowling first have won only 17 of the 44 Tests played there. Of the winning captains, 10 have put the opposition in, but most had a far better attack to deploy than Hussain, whose key weapons seem to be openers Michael Vaughan and Marcus Trescothick.
From only the second ball - when Michael Vaughan misfielded at point off Justin Langer - the signs were bad for England. The pitch started to dry, and Hayden and Langer raced to 50 in 11 overs. There was some joy for England when Langer edged a catch behind from Simon Jones on 32, but from there it was all misery for the visitors.
Much of it involved poor Jones. The Welsh paceman looked cruelled by the laws of cricket when he caught Hayden on 40, only to have the effort disallowed. Then in the fourth over after lunch and on the same patch of grass, he wrenched his knee and was carried out of the ground and out of the series after what England physio Kirk Russell said was the "perfect" way to rupture a cruciate ligament.
After the gallant Jones left, some pedestrian bowling, abject fielding and merciless batting from Hayden and Ponting condemned England.
Hayden could not hide his delight on raising three figures before a record first-day Gabba crowd of 28,348. He could not hide his disbelief on being dropped three times - woefully by Matthew Hoggard when 102, astonishingly by the hapless Vaughan when 138, and narrowly by Rob Key when 149.
Hayden described his day as "great" though "lucky", and said England's decision to field was not helped by their bowlers.
"It was a wicket that looked like it was going to offer a lot more than it did. They tended to bowl a little bit in the wrong areas, wrong lengths," said Hayden, who admitted that "due to the excitement" of playing in his first Gabba Ashes Test, he might have forgotten to eat enough at lunch and it had cost him after reaching his hundred. "I had a pretty rough patch for half an hour. I don't think I had enough to eat. My vision was ordinary, my concentration terrible. I had some snakes and a power drink. Right now I feel pretty good."
Ponting said he was "a little surprised" England bowled first, saying "generally up here they are pretty good batting wickets".
"There weren't too many things that went wrong," he said. "We had a bit of luck with a few dropped catches and a lot of misfields, so it was a perfect day as far as Australia was concerned."
England coach Duncan Fletcher said the joint decision between himself and Hussain to field first had been "very difficult" to make. "We thought it looked a bit green and there might be something in it for our inexperienced bowling. The wicket did do less than we hoped. It didn't really seam that much," he said. "It will be difficult to regroup for a second day. We've got to make sure we bat very well. Hopefully the wicket will stay the same."
In his newspaper column, Hussain also revealed he did not sleep much during a Test match. With the possible nightmares inspired by day one, perhaps it is just as well.
Biggles
If things could have gone worse for England's cricketers, it's hard to image how, writes Trevor Marshallsea at the Gabba.
In his English newspaper column previewing the start of the Ashes series at the Gabba, Nasser Hussain made a frank admission: "The worst nightmare," he wrote, "is reading the wicket and working out what to do after winning the toss and which bowlers to pick."
Last night, he might have reassessed. "Worst nightmare" will have seemed inadequate after the England captain's decision to send Australia in exploded in stunning style, setting the tone for what seems certain to be another one-sided Ashes series.
On an opening day as perfect for Australia as it was miserable for England, Matthew Hayden and Ricky Ponting seized upon Hussain's offer in merciless fashion to lead Australia to a mammoth 2-364 by stumps.
The remarkable Hayden, who now has five centuries in his past seven home Tests, will resume today on 186, needing only 41 more to put his stamp on his home stadium by breaking Don Bradman's ground-record Test score of 226. Only Bradman has scored more in a day of a Test here, making 200 against South Africa in 1931-32.
Ponting was at times breathtaking in his 123 - his fourth hundred in six Tests - as he and Hayden put on the second-highest Test partnership for any wicket at the Gabba, 272 in just 253 minutes, shaded only by the 276 made by Bradman and Lindsay Hassett for the third wicket against England in 1946-47.
Hayden played many majestic strokes in his 255-ball innings of 20 fours and two sixes. He needed an energy boost from confectionary snakes after reaching his 10th Test hundred, and was also helped by being dropped on no fewer than three occasions.
It was hard to know where to start in assessing the humiliation of England as they set out shambolically after their first Ashes win in 16 years - the fielding, the bowling, more injury woes, or the batting of the Australians.
Most considerations will start, however, with Hussain's decision to send in the world's best team at a ground where sides batting first have averaged 395 in the first innings of the past eight Tests.
Sides bowling first have won only 17 of the 44 Tests played there. Of the winning captains, 10 have put the opposition in, but most had a far better attack to deploy than Hussain, whose key weapons seem to be openers Michael Vaughan and Marcus Trescothick.
From only the second ball - when Michael Vaughan misfielded at point off Justin Langer - the signs were bad for England. The pitch started to dry, and Hayden and Langer raced to 50 in 11 overs. There was some joy for England when Langer edged a catch behind from Simon Jones on 32, but from there it was all misery for the visitors.
Much of it involved poor Jones. The Welsh paceman looked cruelled by the laws of cricket when he caught Hayden on 40, only to have the effort disallowed. Then in the fourth over after lunch and on the same patch of grass, he wrenched his knee and was carried out of the ground and out of the series after what England physio Kirk Russell said was the "perfect" way to rupture a cruciate ligament.
After the gallant Jones left, some pedestrian bowling, abject fielding and merciless batting from Hayden and Ponting condemned England.
Hayden could not hide his delight on raising three figures before a record first-day Gabba crowd of 28,348. He could not hide his disbelief on being dropped three times - woefully by Matthew Hoggard when 102, astonishingly by the hapless Vaughan when 138, and narrowly by Rob Key when 149.
Hayden described his day as "great" though "lucky", and said England's decision to field was not helped by their bowlers.
"It was a wicket that looked like it was going to offer a lot more than it did. They tended to bowl a little bit in the wrong areas, wrong lengths," said Hayden, who admitted that "due to the excitement" of playing in his first Gabba Ashes Test, he might have forgotten to eat enough at lunch and it had cost him after reaching his hundred. "I had a pretty rough patch for half an hour. I don't think I had enough to eat. My vision was ordinary, my concentration terrible. I had some snakes and a power drink. Right now I feel pretty good."
Ponting said he was "a little surprised" England bowled first, saying "generally up here they are pretty good batting wickets".
"There weren't too many things that went wrong," he said. "We had a bit of luck with a few dropped catches and a lot of misfields, so it was a perfect day as far as Australia was concerned."
England coach Duncan Fletcher said the joint decision between himself and Hussain to field first had been "very difficult" to make. "We thought it looked a bit green and there might be something in it for our inexperienced bowling. The wicket did do less than we hoped. It didn't really seam that much," he said. "It will be difficult to regroup for a second day. We've got to make sure we bat very well. Hopefully the wicket will stay the same."
In his newspaper column, Hussain also revealed he did not sleep much during a Test match. With the possible nightmares inspired by day one, perhaps it is just as well.
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- what happens when i go outside lol
