Overwhelmingly underwhelming

Ashes 2009 First test, Day 1 from Sophia Gardens in Cardiff. England 7 for 336 (Pietersen 69, Collingwood 64, Prior 56, Hilfenhaus 2-63)

After all of the prognostications and pontifications, the build-up and the hype, day one of the 2009 Ashes series was overwhelmingly . . . underwhelming.

If you recall day one 2005, in front of a packed house at Lords, 17 wickets fell in an afternoon of carnage. Steve Harmison spilt blood, and claimed five scalps, before Glenn McGrath claimed his 500th and scattered stumps.

Day one 2006 in Brisbane was equally as eye-catching because an emphatic statement was made. Ricky Ponting, the maligned Australian captain and the first antipodean leader asked to regain the Ashes in two decades, thumped 137 unconquered to crush English ambition in no less than six hours.

But today, Cardiff, the Welsh not English capital, was underwhelming in so many ways. First of all, the venue failed to fire. Sophia Gardens had a festival game atmosphere as opposed to the cauldron of the Gabba or the buzz of Lords. It is essentially the equivalent of moving the first Ashes test in Australia to the Basin Reserve in Wellington.

Secondly, the wicket was not conducive to exciting cricket. So many had predicted a raging turner, indeed both captain’s did considering three specialist spinners were named but in the end it was a Cardiff-con job. It was an English pudding, typical of a county ground anywhere in the country. It was low, slow, and what odd-turn there was was so slow it failed to deceive.

Australia’s selection, rather than bold was baffling. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but Stuart Clark, a man with 26 Ashes wickets costing 17 apiece, including Alistair Cook and Andrew Strauss four times each, was left to read his name in every possible XI published in the papers but not on the scoreboard as the players took the field.

Australia in his place picked the specialist spinner in Nathan Hauritz. Hauritz had been hammered in the warm-up games and whilst he was admirable in delivering 19 overs for 67 and claiming the prized scalp of Kevin Pietersen, he bowled with an exceptionally defensive field and hardly troubled Pietersen and Paul Collingwood during the middle session. Given Australia had Marcus North in their line-up, a man who has more first-class wickets than Hauritz, at a better average with a five-wicket haul which Hauritz lacks, it made little sense to see the New South Welshman play when North could have filled the same role with the same effectiveness and Clark could have played as he would have undoubtedly unsettled an England line-up who he tormented in 2006-7 with his unwavering accuracy.

The Australian quicks failed to inspire on a wicket that gave them little help. Admittedly it was the most inexperienced Australian Ashes attack since the World Series schism in 1978 but given the performance of this trio in South Africa the expectations weren’t overblown. Mitchell Johnson was nowhere near his best as Cook and Strauss cruised through the first ten overs untroubled. A mistake from Cook gifted Hilfenhaus with his first Ashes scalp thanks to an outstanding snare from Michael Hussey in the gully.

Hussey’s horizontal heroics ignited the Australians. Peter Siddle’s introduction was impressive. He literally tickled Ravi Bopara’s throat and unsettled England’s new number three. Johnson returned to replace Hilfenhaus and, despite an underwhelming first spell, lifted a cog. He found an extra gear to surprise the England Captain who gloved a sharp bouncer to slip. He then deceived Bopara with an outstanding slower ball to end arguably the most bizarre Ashes debut innings in recent memory.

Pietersen and Collingwood were the key. But you would not have known it.

They returned from lunch 6 and 5 respectively, and Ponting only gave two overs each to Hilfenhaus and Siddle before turning to Hauritz. The off-spinner bowled to a field flung far and wide and let the England pair cruise along at four per over. It reminded you of day one in Adelaide in 2006. On that occasion Collingwood ended up making 206 and Pietersen 158, ironically the man to break the partnership that day was of course Stuart Clark, but in his absence England’s two middle order pillars meandered along at ease.

It was an atypical Pietersen. His 69, which took 141 balls with just four boundaries, seemed even to bore him. In the end he outsmarted himself with the most ambitious of paddle sweeps. But while “Fleet Street” will all but stone him for his dismissal in reality he was extremely lucky to survive an LBW appeal from Hilfenhaus on 61.

Hilfenhaus was the pick of the Australian bowlers. His swerve and consistency was impressive. He removed Collingwood and could have had a couple more.

The Australians were a little lacklustre after that as Matt Prior produced the innings of the day. Andrew Flintoff supported him well albeit perhaps not as convincing as English pundits would suggest. Flintoff was unlucky to fall to Siddle, who continues to impress with his sustained energy and fire. His last spell was every bit as good as his first, and he was rewarded with a second scalp when he swung one through Prior’s gate.

The day was summed up by Strauss sending in a night-watchman in Jimmy Anderson to protect number eight Stuart Broad.

England fans will feel England claimed the opening day, Australian fans vice versa. The reality is there were no winners on day one. But as overwhelmingly underwhelming a day it was it makes today’s viewing compellingly compulsive.