The Ashes

England 215 Australia 75/4 End of Day 1

Scorecard

As you may or may not know, perhaps cricket's greatest rivalry kicked off today. England vs Australia. The Ashes. Today was the start of a journey that will take us through 5 Test matches in England this summer, and then another 5 in Australia at the end of the year. From Nottingham to London, from Brisbane to Sydney, The Ashes is sure to captivate the hearts and minds of every Englishman and Australian for the next 6 months, and quite a few others too.

Now to the action on the field. England won the toss and elected to bat first on a typical English summer's day, which means it was cloudy with a chance of rain. Alastair Cook, England's captain, said he wanted to bat first because the pitch was dry and he didn't want to bat last. The much-anticipated first ball of the series was bowled by Australian James Pattinson, and it was a wide, though not quite as shocking as this wide though. (England fans, look away.) England started alright on a slow pitch that the batsmen weren't really getting used to, and where it was hard to find timing. Pattinson got the first wicket of the day, that of Cook, with a full, wide delivery. Cook's wicket sort of set a precedent for England throughout the day: getting a start, but giving their wicket away. One person who did not obey that precedent was England's other opener and second wicket to fall, Joe Root. Peter Siddle, who had taken quite the beating in his first 3-over spell, bowled an excellent outswinging yorker which beat the outside edge of Root's bat and hit the stumps. England's batsmen then went about getting starts but failing to convert them into something substantial while giving their wickets away, against some Australian bowling that wasn't too special barring Siddle. England ended up with a score of 215 in 59 overs, which was considered below-par, especially for a team that had chosen to bat first. Therefore, England's bowlers would have to come out firing in the remaining 21 overs.

And come out firing they did. England's bowlers, led by the impressive James Anderson, made a good start against Australia's opening pair of Shane Watson and Chris Rogers. Steven Finn, England's other opening bowler, ended up getting Watson out for 13. And then something inexplicable happened. Ed Cowan, known for his temperament and his defensive nature as a batsman, had a wild swing at the first delivery he faced and ended up getting out. And then something more remarkable happened. Michael Clarke, Australia's captain and best batsman, who has scored 23 centuries in Test cricket, including a mammoth 329, faced his sixth ball and was yet to score a run. Anderson steamed in, and delivered perhaps the ball of the series on the first day. Hit that, Michael! Clarke was out for 0, and Australia were wobbling at 22/3. Steven Smith came in, and began to assert himself on the game, attempting some audacious shots, including a magnificent straight six against England's premier spin bowler, Graeme Swann. Although Australia lost Rogers, Smith ended the day with a well-made 38 from 51 deliveries faced, and Australia ended with 95 runs for the loss of 4 wickets.

Day 2 of the Ashes from Trent Bridge in Nottingham starts at 5 am tomorrow, so find a stream online and tune in!

For those of you that are cricket neophytes, her are some Wikipedia articles that will help to better explain in your terms what I've said in this post.
Cricket
Test cricket
The Ashes
Trent Bridge (the stadium where this game is being played)
Over
Wide
Bowling
Yorker
Century