1st Test: England v Australia

[Raj_Aryan]

Ponting getting runs at right time,1st test,1st inngs of Ashes,lets see how far both these batsman go from here,and how Eng make a come back here.

 

[Leverocks]

Great batting by Katich and Ponting, I thought Australia were in trouble for a moment..

 

[piriyanth]

Well Done to Ponting and Katich for their century.

 

[mattfb]

We bowled too short all the time. We didn't pitch the ball up and give it a chance to swing, what little swing there was. Well played today though, this has got all the hallmarks of a very close-fought series. We did well to get the total to 435 (not a total we usually get on the first day and a bit of an Ashes series) and now we need an equally good session tomorrow morning to get the momentum going our way again. This series is going to be fun...

I thought Swann wasn't short enough. Whenever he put it on a good length and spun it outside off to Katich he caused problems. No big problems, but minimal problems. Anderson was excellent early to Hughes, swinging it back into his hip which is where he had to be, but when he didn't get a wicket he got frustrated and dragged his length back and when he did that when Ponting was batting he got punished.

Great batting by Katich and Ponting, I thought Australia were in trouble for a moment..

Yeah England were looking good but Katich and Ponting were on a mission. Great work boys, both deserved your tons. What a way to start the 09 Ashes for those 2.

 

[OffCutters]

Great knock Katich and Punter. Shame Phil Hughes got o ut early

 

[Therbs]

Ponting seems to be taking this personally, much like he did in Brisbane in the last Ashes series. England obviously hoping for a draw now. Time to assert some authorita!

 

[IloveGilly]

I really enjoyed watching Katich bat. Was fantastic watching him persevere through some trouble early on but really paced his innings perfectly. Heroes!

 

[Cricketdude]

To me it's still in the balance. Our middleorder has failed on many occasions and tomorrow the pitch is going to start to crack a little.

 

[Howsie]

I knew Broad would be useless against the Aussie's. He might have some new found pace but he pretty much does nothing with the ball. Anderson was alright with the new ball, but when he came back on he was pretty bad. Like most people have said Swann bowled to full, I actually think he didn't try enough things, it was like watching Panesar bowl.

Katich and Ponting batted very well though, how often does Ponting crack a 100 at the start of a series. He is such a quality batsmen.

 

[mattfb]

To me it's still in the balance. Our middleorder has failed on many occasions and tomorrow the pitch is going to start to crack a little.

I dunno, it's a pretty slow pitch with a bit of moisture. It's not that hard so it probably won't crack to much imo. The rough is more of a worry, I think it will be dominated over the pitch by the last day.

 

[Howsie]

I didn't see the last hour again, but does anyone think Hauritz out bowled both Swann and Panesar?

 

[pcfan123]

I didn't see the last hour again, but does anyone think Hauritz out bowled both Swann and Panesar?

so far he has out bowled them both, and Panesar has out bowled Swann. So far that is

 

[Left_Hander]

A good day for Australia. Well done to Katich for scoring a century and for Ponting for passing 11,000 runs and making another Test hundred. Australia could possibly have the lead by tea which would be a big boost. Hopefully these two can continue on their big partnership.

 

[mattfb]

I didn't see the last hour again, but does anyone think Hauritz out bowled both Swann and Panesar?

Panesar was good at the end, good flight and drift and got a fair bit of spin. His line and length was good. He was better then Swann as Swann pushed it through to quick and couldn't get his length right as well as bowling the odd full toss.

 

[Cricketdude]

None of the spin bowlers did that well.