England v Australian Edgbaston 1st Test match 5,6,7,8,9 July 2001 (5-day match)

Result: Australia won by and innings and 118 runs -

Umpires : SA Bucknor (WI) and G Sharp

Match Reports : Day 1; Day 2; Day 3; Day 4

Toss: Australia (elected to field)

Close of Play:

Day 1: England 294, Australia 133/2 (Slater 76*, ME Waugh 0*; 22 overs)

Day 2: Australia 332/4 (SR Waugh 101*, Martyn 34*; 81.2 overs)

Day 3: Australia 576, England 48/1 (Trescothick 21*, Butcher 15*; 13 overs)

First Day Report :

Steve Waugh won the toss at Edgbaston on day one of the first ashes Test and sent England in to bat. On a good batting wicket that offered some encouragement for the attacking bowlers, England struggled to come to terms with the new ball.

A mixture of first day nerves and help in the air from the hot and humid early morning conditions played into the visitors' hands. After a tight over by quickie McGrath, Gillespie opened from the other end, and on his second ball of his first over had Trescothick caught at first slip by Shane Warne, who took a catch low down to send the England opener packing without scoring. Quite ironic after a piece in the national papers by Tresco this morning saying that he would score a 100 in the Test match !

Butcher, recalled for test match came in at number three and looked uneasy. After edging one delivery, and narrowly missing being caught by Gilchrist, he settled down to play some attractive strokes and together with Michael Atherton they put on a century partnership.

McGrath looked out of sorts in the first session and was expensive compared to his norm, however one thing you can be certain of - he will return with ever increasing determination to improve his return and take wickets.

Steve Waugh brought Shane Warne on to bowl for the first time in the innings four minutes before lunch. It was to prove a stroke of genius when on his second ball of the over, the Victorian had Butcher caught bat/pad by Ponting the close in fielder. After lunch Warne continued to bowl and was getting an amazing amount of turn on such a young wicket. Gillespie fresh from the lunch interval took the prized wicket of ex England captain Michael Atherton for 57.

Mark Waugh took a brilliant catch at second slip to dismiss the Lancastrian. Current England captain Nasser Hussain had scored 13 runs when he offered no stroke against McGrath, Bucknor had no choice but to raise his finger and send the Essex man back to the dressing room. After period of ascendancy the England camp were now in deep trouble at 4 for 136, the last three wickets falling for only 30 runs. Ian Ward who had looked at ease at the crease, hitting Shane Warne for two fours in one over unfortunately played on off of McGrath's bowling just when he and Alec Stewart were fighting back in a see saw first day. Ward fell for 23 off 39 balls including 2 fours Debutant Afzaal managed to score four runs before he was clean bowled by Shane Warne playing all around a forward defensive stroke. In fairness to Afzaal, it would have beaten most top order batsmen.

Shane Warne had put a lot of effort into the delivery and it turned a clear two-foot off the pitch, the delight on the Victorian's face was a picture to behold! Craig White was Warne's next victim, also falling for only four runs, adjudged leg before wicket. The second session ended at tea, 27 overs were bowled, the Australian's had conceded 85 runs at 3.15 an over and had taken 5 wickets to leave England in all sorts of trouble. Shane Warne spun his magic in his first over after tea, Giles playing at a wide delivery and catching the bottom edge of his bat. The ball went through to Gilchrist and he took a good reflex catch to dismiss the spinner. Three balls later, Warne took his 5th wicket of the innings when he had Gough caught at backward square leg without scoring.

When the 9th wicket had fallen, Australia could have been excused of believing that all they had to do was deliver a ball to Andy Caddick and the wicket was theirs. How wrong could they be! Stewart and Caddick put on a 50 partnership in quick time in only 39 balls, most runs hit by Caddick. Uncharacteristic poor fielding from the Australians didn't help the situation as the pair took the England score past the 250 mark and England were back in the game. The pair continued to batter a sorry Australian fielding side, and in the process posted the best 10th wicket partnership in ashes history, beating a record of 81 held since 1902.

When Stewart was trapped leg before by a ball that kept low, England had taken the score to a respectable 294 all out, a total that Hussain would have taken at the start of play. One other note of interest, Andy Caddick scored his highest test score of 49, beating his previous score by one run (scored against South Africa in Joberg). The Australian openers Slater and Hayden set out with one thing in mind - to attack the English bowlers at all times, dealing out an array of attacking and punishing shots.

Slater was the most aggressive of the two, reaching his 50 with 11 fours in only 48 balls, it was his 21st 50 in international cricket. Hayden wasn't to be outdone has he hit Craig White for a massive 6 over square leg on his way to 35 before he was magnificently caught by White off Giles' bowling. When the first wicket fell for 98, the Australian run rate was well over 6.5 an over, incredible in Test cricket. Ponting was adjudged leg before by Bucknor with only three overs of the days play left, however replays clearly showed Darren Gough had overstepped the mark and yet another no ball wicket had slipped through the net.

The pitch has also begun to show signs of erratic bounce so who knows what the pitch will be like on the third day let alone the final one! Australia ended the day on 2 for 133, 161 runs behind England's total of 294 all out.

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