There is certainly nothing better in any sport than to see the underdog flex its muscles or spring a surprise or two. True, England had competed very well in the one -day series preceding the Ashes, they were underdogs by a distance. The ICC cricket ranking and ratings were realistically reflective of the dominance that the Aussies have enjoyed over the last decade or so. The English bowling certainly turned the tables on the Aussie batsmen on the first day of what promises to be a truly promising series in prospect.
The battle was symbolized by the blood dripping down Ponting's cheek (see photo) caused by a Harmison bouncer that evaded his bat and slipped through the visor of his helmet. Its been a while since Ponting and Co. have been pushed to the backfoot so comprehensively by any team. However, the champion side that they are the Aussies still managed to get to 190 and what happened after that was further testimony to the fact that the Aussie dominance just could continue through this series and there is one solid reason for that - Glenn McGrath.
Kevin Pieterson was standing amongst the ruins of the English innings at the end of the day. He will be eager to try out his hard-hitting stuff early on the second day in order to get England as close to 190 before he runs out of partners. There is one more thing that is to be noted about this English side compared to the sides of the recent past - the fighting qualities of the lower middle order as typified by Geraint Jones and Ashley Giles in this Test and Paul Collingwood in the one dayers. This fighting quality and the new found aggression in the pace attack have brought the English side so close to overcoming the Aussie dominance that has had a stranglehold over the cricket summit for quite some time now.
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