England Crumble On Big Day

England stumbled to 307 for 8 on the first day of the fifth test at The Oval after winning the toss, and subsequently began by slowly but surely gifting Australia the initiative in this decisive final test.

On a pitch that is already beginning to disintegrate, Ian Bell was England’s top scorer with 72, and put on a 102 run partnership with captain Andrew Strauss who made 55.

The rest of England’s batting line-up yet again flattered to deceive with Paul Collingwood, Matt Prior and Andrew Flintoff all failing to surpass 30.

Debutant Jonathan Trott made 41 after being run out brilliantly by Simon Katich, in an impressive first test start.

Australia’s unusual decision to not choose a front-line spinner on an already crumbling pitch at The Oval would have been eased after taking eight England wickets on the first day.

Peter Siddle orchestrated the fight back after a morning session dominated by England, with four wickets, including the scalp of Alistair Cook who yet again failed with the bat.

The form of Cook in this series so far went slightly under the radar over the past week, but that’s probably down to the lack of competition around the county circuit.

Joe Denly who was recently called into the one-day squad for the up-coming series against Australia might get a chance to stake his claim.

England may also be rueing the decision not to pick an additional spinner on a pitch that looks like becoming more like a sandpit by day three.

Part-timer Marcus North excelled with the old ball after around 70 overs, and who knows what turmoil Graeme Swann, a front-line spinner, can cause.

Ponting decided to go unchanged into this final test so therefore declined to included Nathan Hauritz, a crafty move considering the shift in momentum in the series, but maybe a naïve one given the dryness of the batting surface.

Time will tell whether Ponting’s decision was a shrewd one or not, but England have given the Australian captain plenty of encouragement that he can proved right even after just a single day.