5th Test - Day One

After all the postulation since England's thumping at the hands of a rejuvenated Australia ten days ago at Headingley, both sides took conservative approaches to team selection. Ponting's men remained unchanged, despite a dry looking track and Hauritz's had to content himself with some handy wickets earlier in the series. It was the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" mentality so ingrained in the Aussie psychi which prevailed. England made two changes - one driven by form and the by sheer desperate need. Trott for Bopara was the form change which should have been made at Headingley. Flintoff came in for Onions in the end. Flintoff had to play and should have done so last Test but Onions can feel he has been excluded on the hope that Steve Harmison can continue to bowl well on The Oval. His record says he will. He better!

Cook was gone early enough, going across his stumps if anywhere, and steering a straight one from The Joker - Peter Siddle - comfortably to Ponting at second slip. It was a poor shot and very much the large technical flaw that England's future captain had better set about fixing.

The Joker? Seriously, just look at the lad when he's excited. With zinc in place, Mo Macaki style, he looks as though he's ready to audition for a role left vacant for a want of a sensible approach to medication drugs.

Bell came in and in the commentary box Warne was throwing his usual pointless barbs which had little to do with cricket. On the pitch, Bell was quiet, then uncertain and then quite uncertain. He was jumping at the crease but a nicely guided four down through the gully and four pushed through mid on raised his confidence. In fact, as the morning went on, he played a mixture of Jekyl and Hyde shots for four, often upish through, past or over fieldsmen but such is his way. It has to be said, many of them were very good cricket shots.

For a short spell, when Johnson was introduced at second change, Bell had no idea of what to do with a barrage of short stuff from the left arm quick. Jumping about, he played the ball in the air from the glove, the handle and even the blade and none of them under his control.

The Australians came and went, Hilfenhaus and Siddle having two spells and looking the most likely to snare wickets. Clark bowled a great line and was his usual Uncle Scrooge and even if this pitch spins, Clark will use the pitch well. Remember McGrath on the last day of Tests whilst Warne spun away at the other end?

Through it all, Strauss was completely solid and jumped on anything loose with four 4's from Siddle and three off a wayward Johnson.

The second session was another good one England, despite a setback early in the session when first Billy Bowden and then Andrew Strauss stayed a little longer at lunch and the English captain was on his way. Bowden missed a blatant no ball from Hilfenhaus which Strauss somehow managed to touch through to Haddin. Neither were paying attention.

Collingwood, in at what should be his best position and a spot for him to exert his seniority and responsibility, set his jaw and his bat to building a partnership with Bell. The flow of runs before lunch was now a constipated trickle as Hilfenhaus and Clark tightened the game through bowling a good line. Bell was playing with increased confidence and more patience than we have seen in this series.

Johnson took over from Clark and his four overs were ordinary, providing 21 runs, no swing and an inconsistent line. This was a Johnson closer to the bowler of the 1st and 2nd Test rather than the 4th.

Meanwhile, Hilfenhaus kept going at the other end, on and just outside off stump to Collingwood and off and middle to Bell. He is such an improved bowler and should have been rewarded when he found Collingwood's edge with a feather so light it didn't register on the infared camera. Bowden didn't hear it and ignored the Australians rather than answer their appeal. Little wonder he is disliked by players for his arrogance. In his defence, it was a very faint touch but good umpiring judges such things more accurately, more consistently.

The worrying aspect of this incident was the reaction of Ponting, who until then, had been showing some his best captaincy - using bowlers well, setting tight fields and encouraging his men to discipline. In the second hour, after the Bowden incident, Ponting lost the plot. He sulked for overs and missed some opportunities. How else could you explain a debutant arriving at the crease and being allowed to face a part time bowler?

Siddle started farming the field Johnson had left fallow and after three overs of a very controlled line close to off stump against Collingwood, he sent one a little wider to the Englishman and he lost patience, slashing the ball to a jubilant Hussey in the gully. It has been a poorer series for Collingwood than Bell, if you look at where and when they have scored their runs. Even though he added 62 with Bell, his contribution to England's need wasn't enough.

Jonathon Trott debuted against Siddle, who had successfully tightened knots around the batsmen and the part time off spin of Marcus North, who was harmless but an effective foil. After twelve balls, a push to leg got him his first Test run.

The Australian tactic of tight lines and fielding positions to back them up and stifle the scoring, saw only 18 runs in the last eleven overs before tea and bought them the wicket of Collingwood. Siddle bowled a superb spell. As a result, only 72 runs in the session and 2 wickets lost. We'll call that even and forgive Ricky his little dummy spit.

As did Strauss after lunch, Bell was out immediately after the tea break and again to the Joker. Siddle made the ball move back towards Bell's off stump and the batsman's inside edge finished the job. It may sound strange but it was good to see anger bubbling out of Bell as he made a most disgruntled trek back to the pavilion. He really cared about giving his wicket away.

Prior joined Trott and was worked over by the strong man, Siddle. Either side of tea, Siddle bowled his best spell of the series, returning 2-11 from nine overs. Prior was careful over the next hour, stemming his natural exuberance and strokeplay in adding 48 with Trott. His contribution of 18 was not enough for a serious No 6 but then, he's a No 7 but no one will listen. After an hour of careful batting and with a Mitchell Johnson bouncer still ringing in his helmet, Prior was duped by a clever slower ball and spooned the catch to Watson at point.

At five o'clock on an English late summer's day, one of the greatest knights strode to the centre before a crowd who were here largely to offer their thanks and adulation. Flintoff, thanks to luck and bowler rotations to a plan rather than inspired captaincy from Ponting, had to confront Johnson. The obligatory short ball dropped at his feet, via his helmet. Soon after, Freddie squeezed a ball down through the slips to open his scoring with a controlled boundary. England sensed something special in the air but it must have been the aroma wafting from the kerbab stand because in Johnson's next over, the fairytale ended. Flintoff played a very poor, very human, ungodlike slash straight into the pain killer assisted hands of Brad Haddin.

It was a ragged spell from Johnson and included 6 no balls and 2 wides in 6-0-23-2. Some inspired moments separated by a good deal of dross.

Meanwhile, Jonathon Trott was managing the bowlers comfortably, especially for a man in his first dig. North frightened him with one that went through the surface and kept a smidgeon low and luckily ran of the face of his bat and into his pads. He drove in that elegant Tom Graveney fashion, obviously a student of the game who nad studied well in that popular London suburb of South Africa. He walks across the batting crease to open up the leg side to back foot drives and flicks to the boundary but if this was a fault, Ricky Ponting would not be a batting saint. Those who might question his temprement got their answers this afternoon. Micky Arthur, the Sarth Efrikan coach, might only be prepared to give him a game in that country's seconds, but he'll do for England ... but at 3.

In the midst of one of those "Ponting Periods" of the Australian game, when part timers bowl from both ends in order to soak up overs and therefore releasing the pressure off the batting side, Trott stroked a ball confidently off the front foot into the legside from North. Katich at short leg, snatched it in his left hand and threw down the stumps, leaving Trott in an unsuccessful inglorious dive in search of safety. It was a stunning piece of fielding to end such a composed beginning.

England 7-268 and danger signs for the latter days of the match. North was getting bounce and turn and was going through the top regularly. In the sheds, Hauritz was standing in front of the mirror practising how to say "I told you so" tactfully. North was bowling his 11th over at six o'clock on day one and Australia must bat last!

Extraordinary though it seems, the time for the new ball came and went and still Watson and North kept running up past the umpires. England were plucked and ready for the pot but Ponting fiddled over the garnish. Hilfenhaus hadn't bowled in the final session and Clark hadn't bowled for 90 minutes? Meanwhile, Broad was stroking fours and Swann was providing valuable support to take England beyond 300 for the day.

Finally, twenty minutes too late, The Joker was back to attack the tail with a new cherry. Swann, with half an hour of easy batting behind him, stroked a drive to the extra cover boundary. Broad played a maiden from Hilfenhaus but Swann couldn't resist a leg cutter in the last over from Siddle and the day ended. The last session yielded 127 runs and 5 wickets. Australia's session.

England 8-307 (Bell 72, Strauss 55, Trott 41, Broad 26x. Siddle 4-63) 36 sundries including 12 byes and 17 no balls.