Headingley Test, Day 1
Thursday, August 16, 2001, 8pm If I'd won the toss I'd probably have batted, but I wasn't disappointed to lose it to be honest. I've known Gilly [Adam Gilchrist] for a while, we did some coaching together in Sydney a few years ago, but it was just another toss lost for me. I know what that is like now.

It turned out to be a very important toss to win, although I think we were below par today – again. I just don't feel that the bowlers got the ball in the right areas enough – and though our catching was OK, our ground fielding and throwing was below par too. I was, though, very, very impressed with Andy Caddick and the effort he gave me throughout the day.

You just have to stick at it when faced with someone like Ricky Ponting. I was a little bit disappointed that the ball didn't carry when he was on 0. You try and get the slips up when you can but it is a fine line with cricket. I know that's an old cliché, but an inch further in and Ponting would be sat on the balcony looking like he might be dropped. Instead he has a Test hundred and is on top of the world.

After those early nerves I thought he played really well, he is obviously a very fine player. If only we'd got that early catch.

We did have a plan to try and tie him up outside his off stump, but we didn't bowl in the right areas. I tried to have a 7-2 off-side field but the line and length was a bit off today – that happens.

Even in the middle of huge partnerships – like Mark Waugh and Ponting's – you have always got be trying to think of things you can do. There is always something you can try. You can't just stand there in the middle of a Test match looking dumb. We tried to have a go at Mark Waugh for a bit with some short stuff. It worked for a while – we hit him on the head a couple of times.

Robert Croft and Richard Johnson were both in the frame, otherwise they wouldn't have been up here, but I don't believe the wicket, which is dry at the ends, has a huge amount for the orthodox spinner. It promises more for the tall up-and-down hit-the-deck bowler or a wrist-spinner – though of course that wasn't an option for us.

The pitch did a little bit early on and then towards the end it started to get a little bit of uneven bounce, which is not a good sign for the next four days.

We've just got to get our heads down tomorrow and get some runs and stick at it. I was pleased with the way we came back in the final session – we got a couple of wickets in the last half-hour, which always gives the dressing-room a bit of a morale boost.

Now I feel very tired.

Nasser Hussain's column will appear every evening during the Tests on Wisden.com. He was talking to Tanya Aldred

© Wisden CricInfo Ltd