Day 1 belonged to Australia. When Straussy got out, I thought Cooky would score because usually he does if Strauss goes before him. I fell asleep at lunch and woke up after about 2 and a half hours only to find Bell and Cook batting. I had seen KP reach 23 and heard he went for 43 and was in a good flow. Belly and Cooky looked good at the crease. Cook played patiently and his pulls were as good as ever. Until Cook got out, things were looking good for England. Siddle changed the course of the game by taking a hat-trick - Cook, Prior, Broad. Bell was looking to score big but was running out of partners, ended up landing a catch to Watson. Doherty got his first wicket in Test cricket as Ian Bell and his dad was rather overjoyed, he must have been waiting for this moment. Jimmy Anderson didn't show any faith in No.11 Steven Finn which I didn't appreciate. He played sweeps and reverse sweeps and got out for 11, 4 balls after Ian Bell went. Siddle, the birthday boy, was the man of the day, taking 6 wickets. If Australia wins, lots of credit goes to him.

England didn't do much with the ball. James Anderson and Stuart Broad shared the new ball while Steven Finn waited on the boundary, but wasn't given a chance. Whenever I had thought about how good England would be down under, I worried about Jimmy Anderson who may bring back memories of Ashes 2006. His 3 overs went for only 5 runs but the bowling wasn't impressive and obviously, Australia wasn't thinking about banging Jim straight up, they were just looking to survive the remaining overs of the day. Stuart Broad did have 1 or 2 chances of taking a wicket but as expected, most of his deliveries were short. I don't except Aussies to fall in his trap, being so predictable won't work . And if you don't ball at stumps, you take out 2 ways of taking a wicket - bowled and lbw. Swanny bowled the last over and this time, he couldn't get a wicket first up. I'd say they must have tried Finn. He is awesome and the Australians have never faced him. He is attacking, doesn't rely on swing like Jimmy Anderson and doesn't bowl short like Stuart Broad. True, it would have been risky, but then, playing him in Australia is risky enough. If you give someone the chance to play for England, you also have to give him enough chances to excel.

Being bowled out for 260 wasn't exactly the start England was hoping for, but the Aussie batsmen aren't in their best form. So England stand a chance, given Jimmy doesn't bowl crap and Finn is supported enough. When I had heard the probable Aussie squad many days ago, I was surprised to hear that Siddle might not play. Both Hilfenhaus and Siddle bowled well in Ashes 2009 and Siddle proved his mettle today.

Brief scores:

• Eng 260 in 76.5 overs (Bell 76, Cook 67, Pietersen 43, Siddle 6/54, Doherty 2/41)
• Aus 25/0 in 7 overs

Other posts:

• England fights back on Day 2: The game is on! (1st Ashes Test, 2010)
• England on top as Ashes about to roll
• In The Name Of Sportsmanship 
• Stuart Broad Wallpaper 
• England cricketers off the field