November 08 Friday 2002
Things go downhill fast for Hussain's England

BRISBANE: It was a perfect start. The key to the Ashes, Nasser Hussain had stressed, was to set the right mood on the very first morning and England did just that, temporarily at least. 

Hussain won the toss. Then Andy Caddick bowled the first ball to Justin Langer and did not concede a run. 

Things went downhill from there. Rapidly. By the close, it was Australia's Ricky Ponting who was using words like "perfect" and "sensational". 

It would have been hard to script a worse possible scenario for the English, who appeared defensive in their thinking from the very off in opting to field. 

Ninety overs later Australia had made 364 for two, Matthew Hayden and Ponting clattered centuries, England fielded like myopic amateurs and fast bowler Simon Jones, following a promising start, was ruled out for the rest of the series after damaging his cruciate ligaments while fielding. 

Hussain's dressing room must have been morgue-like afterwards. "If the key battles are won, particularly in the first Test, there is no reason why we can't beat Australia and I expect everybody to be thinking like that," he had said before setting off for Australia in an attempt to end a run of seven successive Ashes series defeats. 

Few England supporters will be thinking like that now. Their team, knowing they needed to play above themselves to compete with the best side in the world, took little time to concede ground in those key battles on Thursday, Michael Vaughan missing a good chance to run Hayden out when he was on 15. 

Vaughan was also the guilty party when he dropped Hayden off the simplest of chances when he had reached 136.

Vaughan cupped his hands, Australian-style, to catch at head height and, English style, he let it slip inexplicably through his fingers. Hayden, already walking back to the pavilion, quickly regained his crease. Riding his luck, he ended on 186 not out. 

The left-hander, indeed, dropped three times and who was also caught by Jones only for him to step over the boundary rope, looked to the skies above the Gabba and crossed himself after one reprieve. He was sympathetic enough, though, not to laugh. 

Hussain had also said before the series: "For us to beat Australia, we need a few things to go well off the field including Darren Gough." 

Gough is off the field. His knee injury may keep him out of the entire series. The jinxed Jones, who has started two Tests and averages an injury in each, has already joined him, while fast bowler Steve Harmison has shin splints and all rounder Andrew Flintoff is not yet fully fit after a hernia operation. 

"It'll be difficult to regroup," coach Duncan Fletcher conceded on Thursday. The key now for England will be to focus on the positives. But there is only so much you can say about the toss and the first ball of the series.