Australia were dismissed for 245, thanks largely to a stunning 4-51 by one Jimmy Anderson who was singing like a Kookaburra from the very first ball. Last night, through a foggy sleepy haze, I read that Katich had gone out for a 'diamond duck' and Ponting for a 'golden duck'. I have just been feverishly looking these terms up and have discovered that a 'diamond duck' either refers to a player being dismissed without facing a ball (usually run out), as was the case for Katich, thanks to a magnificent throw by Jonathon Trott, or going out to the first ball of a match. A 'golden duck' is assigned to a player being dismissed by his first ball. Phew, now we've got that sorted.
Anderson's blistering start, which saw Australia 2-3 after only 15 minutes of play, set the tone for much of the first day. Hussey, once again Australia's best player, hit an impressive 93 but could hardly expect to have done better than that as his support was quickly dwindling. The tail-end of the Aussie batting order is none too good.
So a strong, sensible and intelligent bowling and fielding display by England. This bodes very well indeed. If England can capitalise on their early advantage in Adelaide this could be an all-important Test for them. A win here would set them in very good stead indeed for the rest of the Ashes series.
Cannot wait for Day 2.
I'll keep you blogged...
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