Overview

Australia closed on 4/134 at the end of a rain-interrupted first day's play of the Fifth Ashes Test in Sydney.

Michael Clarke won his first toss as the 43rd Australian Test captain and surprisingly decided to bat in overcast conditions on a sporting wicket.

The conditions throughout the day and the discipline of England's attack meant that no batsman ever looked properly set and each run would have to be well and truly earned. What ensued was a tough, old-fashioned day of Test cricket with lots of playing and missing and plenty of wry smiles between batsman and bowler.

The game demanded more big heart than Big Bash.

Both openers understood this and worked hard. Philip Hughes in particular looked to be fighting his natural instinct and anchor his rebellious back leg.

The new ball did not swing much in the air but nipped around off the seam with alarming spite. To negate the degree of movement, both batsmen tried sensibly to get as far forward as possible.

The outcome was a morning session of barely 50 runs but one that began to show the mettle of a relatively inexperienced opening pair. That is until the final over before the break when Hughes' demons wrestled control. The New South Welshman leapt like he'd stood on a leftover New Year's firework and flinched in mid-air at a Chris Tremlett delivery that needn't have concerned him as much as it did. Without control, Hughes poked at where the ball might have been, only to send a catch to Paul Collingwood in the slips. Hughes' 31 showed that he is more than flashy cuts and aggressive drives but once again he failed to assert himself at the top of a brittle order.

The wicket meant that debutant Usman Khawaja would stride out to the crease immediately after lunch and he wasted little time announcing himself on the Test arena. A brutal second-ball pull drew gasps from his home crowd and indicated there may be life at number three after Ricky Ponting after all.

Thereafter the young leftie rode his luck with a combination of soft hands and a cool head. Khawaja never looked phased despite numerous deliveries seaming past his outside edge. The same could not be said for his mother who looked far more uncertain of her son's ability up in the stands.

Bad light stopped play on 1/92 and once the floodlights came on to restart the game England took the ascendency.

Shane Watson's watchful 45 ended when he propped forward to a Tim Bresnan seamer that kissed his outside edge and was pouched by Andrew Strauss at first slip.

A second break followed, this time with rain but not long after the game restarted, captain Clarke cut Bresnan unerringly to James Anderson in the gully. Clarke, clearly desperate to do well in his first Test as captain and on his home ground, simply picked the wrong ball to attack after allowing plenty to go through. Short and wide enough to cut, the delivery was not short or wide enough to control and Clarke trudged off in the gloom.

Mike Hussey could have gone to any of his first three deliveries; such was James Anderson's form at the point in the day. Hussey survived however and when England brought on Graeme Swann there was a sense that Australia had an opportunity to stabilise before England launched another assault.

It was sadly not be for Usman Khawaja though as in the first over of Swann's spell he top-edged a premeditated sweep to Jonathan Trott at square leg. A Disappointing finish to a promising first dig but 37 tough runs nonetheless.

The wicket was met with more rain and no further play was possible in the day. Hussey (12*) was yet to receive a partner at the crease but the indication is that Brad Haddin will bat at six, ahead of Steve Smith.

The view from Australia

The personnel might have changed but Australia's first-innings woes continue. Watson once more failed to bag the major score he looked set for, Hughes fell to his customary nervous poke behind the wicket and Mike Hussey and Brad Haddin will again be together with the score under 150.

Because of the rain it is too early to tell what effect the injection of youth has had on this Australian unit but if supporters were expecting a dead cat bounce from the final match of a torrid summer they will have to wait until tomorrow for any evidence.

The real test will come when Australia fields. It is then that Clarke's leadership, tactical awareness and presence will be scrutinised. With two inexperienced spinners in an attack shorn of Ryan Harris; Pup will have his work cut out.

The view from England

If proof was needed that this is no ordinary England outfit, today was it. The Ashes secured, England could easily have taken its foot off the gas and strolled through a valedictory Test. Its performance however was disciplined, energetic and showed how much an outright series victory means for this group.

The performances of Tim Bresnan and in particular Chris Tremlett also highlight the value of players playing for their positions in a strong squad.

With the possible exception of Paul Collingwood, England has carried no passengers this Ashes series. Injury and fatigue may have sidelined two of its starting attack but the understudies have approached their duties with confidence and intent. By not allowing Australia an inch, even in a close to dead rubber, England has beaten its hosts at its own game.

Hero

Usman Khawaja. Khawaja's debut 37 is unlikely to be the best innings of what is sure to be a long Test career but the manner in which he accumulated his runs was extremely promising.

The overcast conditions, the bad light and the rain breaks meant for a disjointed day full of plays and misses, ifs, buts and maybes. Despite the distractions, Khawaja looked nonplussed and faced every ball with the same uncluttered approach.

Jack Nicklaus credited much of his peerless success to his ability to shut out the destabilising effect of a bad shot. Regardless of how poorly he had played his previous stroke, he would approach each ball with a clear mind and expect to hit it to the best of his ability.

It is this temperament that has been missing from most of Australia's batsmen this summer (Michael Hussey excluded).

It will be interesting to see what such a convincing debut means for the career of Ricky Ponting.

Villain

Shane Watson. Today's innings was an abridged version of Watson's summer, year and career. The story begins with plenty of hard work and concentration to see off the new ball. It is punctuated with robust forward defences and elegant straight drives. And it ends in anticlimax, long before the big hundred the preparation warranted.

Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke have been lampooned this summer for their lack of form. Form troughs are an occupational hazard for batsmen to endure but both captains have earned favour because of how heavily they have scored when in good touch. Watson has been in top form for around 18 months now and simply hasn't cashed in often enough. 40s and 50s look good now, especially considering the other numbers on the scorecard but Watson's good nick won't last forever.

I'm not sure anyone else noticed but...

It might have been a good idea to look at a weather forecast before deciding to bat first.

What's next?

With showers forecast over the next three days the match may not progress into the typical SCG Bunsen Burner.

The Hussey / Haddin partnership is key for Australia. If England strikes early tomorrow they will expect to have Australia all-out shortly after lunch for no more than 250. If Australia's most productive partnership of the summer can survive until lunch it will be in with a chance of 300+ and an opportunity to put pressure on an English line-up that hasn't had to chase a big first-innings score since Brisbane.

TAB Sportsbet Odds:

Australia $4.25 Draw $2.40 England $2.30

Day 1

Australia 4/134 - Hussey 12*