'Australia will be thinking we had a missed opportunity today'
Thursday 9 July 2015 11:13, UK
Nasser Hussain says England will be the happier of the two sides after day one of the first Investec Ashes Test at Cardiff.
England recovered from being precariously placed at 43-3 in the morning session to reach 343-7 at stumps, with Joe Root scoring a hundred, having been dropped by Brad Haddin second ball.
Hussain feels the fightback, and Mitchell Johnson finishing the first day wicketless, were significant victories for the hosts.
“You’d feel England are the happier side,” said Hussain. “Australia will be sitting there thinking 'we had a missed opportunity today'.
“On the first morning of the Ashes, they had England 43-3, and it could have been four down, with England’s star player Root gone, but they put the chance down.
“The other thing that’s very important is that Johnson has gone wicketless. He was the main man for Australia, with 37 wickets last time round.
“He has not hit his straps yet and that mental scarring has not resurfaced on day one. The last thing England needed today was Johnson ripping through them again.”
While Johnson struggled on the slow surface at the SWALEC Stadium in Cardiff, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood both bowled well at times, taking three wickets apiece, and Hussain was particularly impressed by Hazlewood’s Ashes debut.
“He was the most accurate,” Hussain added. “He has a repetitive action and is the sort of bowler Australia will use to not only get wickets, but dry up an end.
“He does lose a little bit of pace by the end of the day compared to the start but he kept going pretty well.
“He’s a very good line bowler, and as the pitches get quicker throughout the series, he’ll get a lot of wickets, as line bowling in England is very valuable.
“Starc got better as the day progressed. Before he left the field with a cramp or whatever he’s got, he looked like he was getting some rhythm back.
“But the pitch did not suit Johnson at all. He worked Gary Ballance over for a few overs, but there was no pace in the surface at all.
“But whoever you are, you need time to get into a series. So don’t judge the bowlers on day one. They will get better.
“Australia will get better as a whole, but you could just tell from Michael Clarke’s body language today, they weren’t quite sticking to the plans, they weren’t hitting areas consistently and they let England get away with it at times.”
Watch The Ashes live on Sky Sports, with continued coverage of the first Ashes Test on Sky Sports Ashes HD, while our Ashes Events Centre - the best of Sky Cricket's analysis at your fingertips - is available on our iPad app.
