Not for the first time, Steve Waugh is rescuing Australia from Test match embarassment. Australia finished the first day of the First Test at the Gabba, Brisbane on 246 for 5 after being 106/4. Poor fielding, dropped catches and a farcical botched runout helped the Australian cause.
The match began in fine conditions as Mark Taylor won the toss and elected to bat. Before the start of play, Taylor was the subject of a presentation in honour of his 100th Test match. The pre-match festivities also saw, for the first time in an Ashes game, the playing of both national anthems, international cricket finally observing some of the ceremony of other sports.
Scoring in the first session was slow. Michael Slater was first to go, caught in slips by Mark Butcher off the bowling of Alan Mullally for 16, after being earlier dropped by Hussain. Taylor and Langer advanced slowly against a tight English attack and at lunch Australia were 58/1.
Langer went shortly after lunch, trapped lbw by Darren Gough for 8. Mark Waugh joined his captain and played a bright innings before Stewart took an inside edge millimetres off the ground. Waugh scored 31 from 50 balls. Taylor went for no further addition to the total, caught in slips by Hussain off Cork for 46. Ricky Ponting joined Steve Waugh and advanced the score to 141 for 4 at tea.
Five minutes after the break, a farcical situation occurred as players were taken off the field for bad light. Despite the availability of floodlights at the Gabba, and revised ICC playing conditions permitting their use, the England tour management refused to agree to the use of lights on this tour. England coach David Lloyd said on television that the reason was that ``we have never batted in a Test under lights.'' One wonders when they are going to start. Fortunately for the packed house and the millions of TV viewers expecting entertainment from these highly-paid performers, the natural light resumed and the match recommenced 35 minutes later.
Ricky Ponting did he chances of cementing his place in the Test eleven no good when he was dismissed for 21. Steve Waugh should have been out before him, being short of his ground when a throw from Alec Stewart to Alan Mullally was taken by the bowler in front of the stumps, blocking a direct hit which would have been a certain run out. Waugh received more lives late in the day from drops by Fraser and Hussain, but was unbeaten when bad light finally ended the day's play, Waugh on 69 and Healy on 46. Not an unaccustomed situation for that pair to be in for their country.