1st Test - Brisbane: Australia marks out of 10

Ricky Ponting cut a thoughtful figure after his powder-puff attack failed to get an English wicket on day five and the game petered out into a draw. Other than two Peter Siddle spells on day one and the occasional good ball from Ben Hilfenhaus, Australia's bowlers looked toothless. With Doug Bollinger and Ryan Harris added to the squad for the Adelaide Test, changes could well be afoot.

Here's how the Aussies rated at Brisbane.

Shane Watson - 6: Good with the ball on the first morning but poor thereafter. Looked assured enough with the bat as England tested his propensity to get caught trapped in front. Acrimonious battle with Anderson was absorbing.

Simon Katich - 6: A solid fifty in the 1st innings before falling to Finn's brilliant return catch, but will head on to Adelaide with a sore foot and a cheap dismissal second time around against Broad on his mind.

Ricky Ponting - 5: Followed the ball too much in the field on days 4 and 5, although he must feel like a platoon leader whose men have no ammunition such is the paucity of his bowling options. Followed his leg-side dismissal in the 1st innings to come out with all guns firing in his second knock to show that at least he has some bullets of his own.

Michael Clarke - 2: A game to forget. Scratched around for a pretty desperate 9 from 50 balls after being erroneously reprieved before he had scored by the Review System and then dropped two catches.

Michael Hussey - 9: Showed real character to emerge from the last chance saloon with his place in the side intact. Rode his luck - especially against Anderson - but deserved his good fortune and could now choose his own moment to enjoy his test swansong. 

Marcus North - 4: The best spinner on display in the match, but failed with the day job once again. Will play at Adelaide, but will he stay be there come the end of the series?

Brad Haddin - 8.5: Not the best keeper - as evidenced when dropping Anderson to deny Siddle a 7th wicket, but a high quality batsman. We doubt he'll ever play a better or more restrained innings than he did here.

Mitchell Johnson - 0: No wickets. No runs. No catches. No points. Bowled absolute filth throughout and the comedy moustache just added to the joke - see Zeroes: Mitchell Johnson.

Xavier Doherty - 4: Not a pitch to make your debut on as a bowler. Bowled tidily enough but looked what he is - a spinner with a first-class average of over 50.

Peter Siddle - 8: A Jekyll and Hyde performance from Siddle. Was brilliant in the 1st innings as he took a hat-trick and six wickets on his birthday, but poor and expensive second time around.

Ben Hilfenhaus - 5: Looked unplayable in the first over of each innings - well that's how Strauss made it look anyway. But thereafter looked down on pace and was played with relative ease.

Where next?

1st Test - Brisbane: England marks out 10

All-time Australian Ashes XI: The Openers, Number 3, 4 and 5, All-rounder, Wicketkeeper, Fast bowlers, Spin Kings

All-time England Ashes XI: The Openers, Number 3, 4 and 5, All-rounder, Wicketkeeper, Fast bowlers, Spin King

Comments

[Mick from Tempe]

Mate you need to learn something about cricket before you start writing these blogs. I mean I know the internet gives everyone the right to say what they think (including me) but your analysis is pissweak. Ponting was you'd grant unlucky to get out the way he did in the first innings. He got a brisk and attractive half century in the second innings. Remind me again... how many second innings wickets did either side get? And the England bowlers have worked Watson out, eh? So tell me how many did they get him for in the second innings? Clarke should not have played. Stupid decision to play half fit players when covering players are there. North needs to go. Johnson needs to go. Doherty out bowled Swan. We'll see if Swan can bounce back. Smart money says that like Murali he's going to cop a hiding here. Murali's average here in Oz was awful. Admittedly that was against a superior Australian team but finger spinners who don't drift the ball have a hard time here. I'd say Australia and England come out of this Test even. But Australia needs to win the Ashes not just draw.

[simon]

5 for Ponting might be a little harsh, perhaps, but otherwise this seems about right to me.

Mick - there's a chance you're right about the Murali/Swann comparison, but Swann *does* drift the ball as well as anyone in recent times, and poor though he was (by his own standards) I don't think Doherty out-bowled him.

I'm also a bit bemused at how you reckon the two sides come away from the Gabba even (except, perhaps, in the literal sense). As one kind of barometer, try reading the media (Australian or otherwise) and see which side's being talked about as needing to make changes for the next test.

[AB]

Yup, his first innings dismissal seemed a bit unlucky...just one of those things! I think Ricky is just frustrated that he doesn't have the bowlers of the old who get the job done. The batsmen still do a reasonably good job (2 400+ vs India and now 480 again). But you know what, full credit to him for still hanging on with this Australian team. I'm not in favor of the constant Barmy Army booing and the media bashing he gets (and I am a neutral supporter). A team without Ricky from 2006/7 with Clarke captaining seems all the more worse.

[The Reverse Sweep]

Mick,you may not agree with me but I can assure you that I know a reasonable amount about cricket - hence the blog.

On Ponting, I may be a Pom but I am a big fan of his batting - if not his captaincy. You are right in that he looked good second time around, but I still say his first innings dismissal after lunch was more a case of bad shot rather than bad luck.

Granted both sides only took 11 wickets in the match, but the Aussies had scoreboard pressure and England still managed to rack up 500 odd for 1. That is a pretty damning indictment of the Aussie bowlers. I'd agree with you on Johnson who looks like he could do with lying down in a dark room at the moment.

I wouldn't say that Doherty outbowled Swann - both were poor and North actually looked the most effective spinner on show.

As for the England bowling attack - you are right that Finn's figures flattered him, but credit to a man playing his first Ashes test for keeping running in. Anderson was unlucky and Broad was reasonably ok.
The series will be very close - I reckon England might shade it simply because they have the slightly better bowlers, but we shall see.