2nd Test : Day One - Strauss Sublime in Order of Uncertainty

There is no present or future, only the past, happening over and over again, now.
- Eugene O'Neill, A Moon for the Misbegotten

England - 1st innings : 364 - 6 (day one, stumps).

History was alive in the sound of cricket yesterday. As the teams walked through The Long Room just before 11am, the fragile immutability of The Ashes was tangible. With Test cricket facing an uncertain future and discussions to eliminate the fifth day forever already underway, thoughts drifted to the once unprecedented prospect that this could be the last true Ashes test at Lord's and lent a rose tinted shine to proceedings. It is a truth universally acknowledged that Test cricket must be in want of makeover. But, the affected glitz and glamour of the modern game in its ever shorter forms, designed to lure the reluctant fan, cannot match the simplicity and grandeur of tradition. Test Cricket must be preserved. The anticipation before yesterday's play surpassed any tension engendered by England's Twenty20 World Cup Matches earlier this summer. A Test match is a test; Twenty20 is mere frippery in comparison.

MORNING SESSION: IS THIS ENGLAND?

I sat astride the sofa with renewed hope, the oft fatal yet essential ingredient to any morning of the first day of a test match. The atmosphere in the ground had effortlessly wafted through the television set into my living room and I was energised by the occasion, eager to watch us make amends for the calamities of Cardiff. Having won the toss and chosen to bat, our openers strode confidently to the crease. The look they shared as they passed through The Long Room was one of calm; they seemed set to relish the occasion as opposed to being overawed. The body language battle of the morning had been won. Australia had, unsurprisingly, selected an un-changed side and appeared uneasy in the field before play got underway. Just three of their players, Punter, his deputy The Pup and The Kat, had played at the ground before and nerves had clearly come into play. Our recent poor record in The Ashes at Lord's had been well documented throughout the week but, now the ghouls of our pasts had become ghosts, this seemed the perfect opportunity to rectify the situation. It was delightful to see Hilfenhaus opening the bowling rather than the recently retired Glenn McGrath, our old nemesis at The Home of Cricket. The first ball was a dot ball at only 78mph and, though it was the beginning of a maiden over, it was hardly the most vitriolic of openings.

The silence at Lord's is a unique backdrop to test cricket; "there is a quiet buzz, a quiet hum," whispered Athers reverentially and Brocket and Chef seemed to find solace in the peace. Armed with the new ball, the Aussie opening pairs were making few in-roads. After 20 minutes, our Lord cut away a short and wide delivery for four down the slope off Johnson and our captain quickly raced onto 16 from 20 deliveries. Cooky, at the other end, didn't settle quite as quickly. He flashed at a Hilfenhuas delivery and edged to third slip but Ponting had just moved a man to second gully and our choir-boy escaped. There after, both our batsmen began to purr along serenely. The Emo cricketer's bowling was gloriously wayward and just before the hour, after thirteen overs, our opening pair racked up their first fifty partnership of the series in some style. They were going along at over four runs an over and Bumble was quivering with excitement. This is a "sultry day" he exalted. Unfortunately, he went on to name-check Sid's parents to puncture his reverence. (Mr and Mrs Vicious had been a ubiquitous feature in commentary in Cardiff and I was hoping this would cease at Lord's. Sadly, they seem to have made quite an impression on dearest David...)

Just as I was pondering putting the television on mute - the combination of Bumble and Shayne's far from lurid revelations was all too much, Cook reached his maiden fifty of the series with his eleventh four of the day off Sid. Mitchell was really struggling and the boundaries were flowing. The batsmen soon secured their seventh century partnership and looked gloriously well set. Punter was bemused and his field settings became ever more defensive. The quicks had floundered and the Haur had been unleashed but to little success. We reached lunch at 126 - 0 after 29 overs, still averaging over four runs an over, with the Chef on 67 not out and the Skipper, closing in on his own half century, on 47 not out. I was in shock; such an imperious, positive and confident batting display was redolent of, and I type this reluctantly, the great Australians of yore. We Poms rarely bat with such ease. Were we Australia in disguise?

AFTERNOON SESSION : STRAUSS MARCHES ON

I was clearly not alone in needing to lie down and grab a stiff drink at the break to recover from our prowess. The crowd were slow to return after lunch. Hilfenhaus and the Haur opened the bowling in earnest but our batsmen remained in effortless control. Our Lord duly reached his half century and, half an hour into the session, we reached yet another milestone, a 150 partnership that didn't look like stopping for some time. The Haur was then injured attempting a caught and bowled capture off Brocket and had to leave the field with a suspected dislocated finger or two. The hapless one had endeared himself to England supporters yet again. The Aussies were in disarray. With their non-spinning spinner off the field and Johnson scatter-gunning, they effectively had only two bowlers at their disposal - Hilfenhaus and Siddle - other than their part-timers - North, The Pup and The Kat. Sloppiness was rife in the field and England continued to capitalise. An hour into the afternoon, Cooky was closing in on his century on 91 and Brocket was not too far behind on 75. They had surpassed the largest opening stand for England at Lord's in an Ashes test and a double century stand seemed imminent. But with the Baggy Green's toiling, their largest culprit Mr. Emo removed the Chef LBW for 95 just after the drinks break. Our peerless partnership had been broken on 196 and the Australian's had the breakthrough, at last.

Ravinder strutted to the crease and was off the mark with a four - our dominance looked set to continue. Our very own Pup played dashingly for 18 before he was out LBW to Hilfenhaus to an inswinger having been suckered into playing the shot after two outswinging deliveries. Da Haus had been the only Aussie in the house at Lord's and had finally gained his reward. The curse of the scoreboard had struck again and we were disconcertingly on 222-2. After such an impressive opening stand, our new number 3 had failed to deliver for the third time this series and KP was at the crease, allegedly out of form and most certainly under pressure. Coming up to the tea break, the Lord was itching towards his 100 on 96 and an even more hyperactive than usual Pietersen was feeling around for form on 3. There was a run out chance at 15.29 as KP's unease rendered his movement frenetic. We hoped, nevertheless, that the pair could ride out until the break. In the last over before tea, KP was almost caught on 22 off a Hilfenmeister bouncer. Even as Brocket, was on course to reach his century his predecessor was competing for the spotlight. In the penultimate ball before the break, Straussy hit three more runs, reached his 100 and celebrated in his very own effusively English style. Ashes centuries at Lord's are the pinnacle for any batsmen. We went into tea on 255-2 and very much on top.

EVENING SESSION : OLD HABITS DIE HARD

I couldn't recall better consecutive sessions for England for some considerable time. It all felt too good to be true. The Singing Spinner texted to corroborate my thoughts. "Crikey" was indeed all that could be said. Even the proudest of pessimists Holding conceded that we were in a "great position". Brocket and KP had completed some decent partnerships for England in the past and the first few minutes of the evening went very much according to plan. Kevin was scoring quickly with some sumptuous drives and the Aussies were reduced to opening with part-timer North. But, after almost a quarter of an hour, the Vicious one found some late swing and removed Kevin for a "brisk 32" [nice adjective, Shayne]. In marched, Hero of Cardiff Colly looking furtive, as ever. He finally got off the mark at 16.27 and we envisioned the ginger gem and the lord of the manor staying in until close. Just before the hour, however, The Nurder suicidally holed out to some time spinner Clarke and the Aussies sensed blood...

Our enthusiasm begun to waver and anxiety set in. We were 302-4 on a seemingly perfect batting pitch. If a good score was 450 - 500 and beyond, then losing no further wickets before the end of the day was paramount. "Australia are on the sniff," said Bumble stating the bleeding obvious. Prior, not one for the trenches, again inspired discomfort at the crease. He lasted until 17.12 when Johnson who had been unable to hit the stumps all day managed to bowl his off stump. He was out for just eight off ten deliveries. We were 317 - 5 and shaking. Freddie's arrival for his penultimate test innings at Lord's was greeted by a half ovation; it was clearly deemed improper by the members to give him the adulation he deserved at such a perilous time in our innings. Fred was off the mark with a boundary and looked to be eager to play the super-hero once again. There were ten overs of the day left and it seemed written in the stars that he would see us through. These were tense times and there was no better man to stave off a collapse. Or so we thought. With half an hour until respite, Freddie was out for just 4 edging to Punter off Hilfenhaus. There was not to a Fairytale for Freddie at The Home of Cricket just yet. We had collapsed from 222-1 to 333-6. A combination of loose batting and swing bowling had led to our downfall. Brocket and Boyband lasted out the new ball which was introduced with five overs of play remaining and our Lord reached his 150 and 5,000 test runs before the day was out but we were deflated. Our position of command had been shattered.

This was still our very own unreliable, infuriating, lovable rogue - the England cricket team. The natural order had been restored.

Quote of the Day: Bumble - a long overdue honour for the great man - "Have you ever played the Didgeridoo? It's all about puckered lips..."

Ornithological Count : Another barren day. The sunshine may have put them off... Bird-watching opportunities look bleak this series. Ornithology may have to be aborted in favour of another noble pursuit. Any suggestions readers?

Barminess Barometer : 80% - the dress-code at Lord's renders fancy dress impossible but I find the gold and red striped members even more curious. White hats were in fine supply - fedoras and trilbys were the order of the day - and the range of suit colours was typically dour - cream, beige and, from the brave, a radical hint of navy. The celebridage were out in force - Stephen Fry in a dapper olive green suit, 2 Dirty Lickers, Chris Tarrant, John Major (shudder...) plus some sporting 'greats' - from Mark Webber to cricketing comrades Gilchrist, Waugh, Gooch, Lehmann etc etc. Several old biddies were also out for the day - one woman in the crowd looked at least 80 and I feared that she would die whilst watching. It was certainly a surprise to learn that some of these old codgers had been queuing since 3am for the best seats... A man who looked like he had dressed up as a scarecrow was briefly on camera in honour of his fielding prowess. That is the problem with enforced suited and bootism - some of us still can't scrub up well...

Here's hoping the rain stays away. I do have a ticket for Monday's potential play at Lord's but I think we could make some statements today. Let's cling to the memory of those first two sessions where we bamboozled and frustrated The Baggy Green. We must aim to accrue 450 + runs and then unveil our much vaunted swing bowlers into action to exploit the seemingly advantageous conditions. I cling to the hope that we can challenge our history and produce with the bat this morning. The next few sessions could have a decisive impact on this match and the series at large.