First at the batting crease and trying to stamp his influence on the match, Strauss was caught out for a duck by Michael Hussey (bowled by Ben Hilfenhauson) on the third ball of the day.
Jonathan Trott was only on 29 runs when he was bowled by Shane Watson, in his first over, not long after.
England had a lucky escape when Alistair Cook was dropped by Xavier Doherty. Cook and Kevin Pietersen then found their swing and forced the Australians onto the back foot. With a score of 2/82, England looked in control at the end of the first session.
After lunch …
Peter Siddle, proved his case for selection in the Australian team, taking out both Pietersen and Cook in the 37th and 38th overs respectively. He also bowled a hat-trick in the 65th over. He converted the scoreboard from 5 for 197 runs to 7 for 197, while taking out the middle-order batsmen in quick succession and propelling himself into the history books. Indeed, Siddle has become only the eighth Australian to achieve a Test hat-trick.
Until that point, England were looking comfortable, but eventually they were all-out for a total of 260 runs. This gave Australia a huge advantage due to the low target England set – mostly through Australia’s good use with the ball and Siddle’s six wickets for 54 runs.
England’s Bell gutsy
England’s batsmen Ian Bell looked to take aggressive swings at the ball, especially as wickets started to fall around him and he desperately looked for runs. Unfortunately, it proved his undoing and he went out for a gutsy 76 runs.
Not lasting the day with the bat—with a total of 260 runs from 76.5 overs at a rate of 3.38 runs an over—England did not perform to expectations placed on them by their fan-base and commentators.
Australia at bat
Australia started their batting innings late on Day 1 and scored 25 runs from their 7 overs without dropping a wicket, with Watson finishing on 9 runs and Simon Katich on 15, with an extra.
Day 2
Australia took the advantage gained from the first day into the second day and played aggressively, with both Watson and Katich scoring runs and attacking the bowlers—especially the English spinner Graeme Swann, who struggled to take wickets through the day.
Both Anderson and Steven Finn proved their worth to the England side as Australia’s wickets started to fall in quick succession.
Captain Ricky Ponting was caught behind for only 10 runs.
A spectacular bowl and catch by Steven Finn four overs later and Simon Katich was out for a hard earned 50 runs from 106 balls.
Australia’s woes only continued, as Michael Clarke was caught behind after attempting a pull shot for only 9 runs from 50 balls.
Marcus North was at the crease for just six minutes when he tried to deflect a ball from Graeme Swann, but mistimed it and knocked it to Paul Collingwood in the slips—he’d faced 8 balls for a paltry 1 run.
Australia in control
It wasn’t until the partnership between Hussey and Brad Haddin that Australia started to get back on its feet. With Hussey playing some of his finest international Test cricket in a long time, he silenced his critics in the process. His 81 not-out put Australia back into a competitive position.
Rain ended the game on the second day as Australia look to consolidate their batting and continue strongly into the third day. However, the rain softening the pitch throws another spanner into the works for Australian batters. The start of the day is typically one of the more–difficult times to bat. Returning tomorrow to a greener field, where the grass is juicier and the wicket has changed, makes them potentially more vulnerable.
Australia finished the day with 220 runs from 80 overs, trailing England by 40 runs, at a rate of 2.75 runs an over. So, despite the lower run-rate, the longer they can stay at the crease the greater the pressure grows for England to capture wickets.
Perhaps this strategy will tire the four English recognised bowlers in keeping with their possible weakness and Australia’s perceived strength.
