It's not often that the turning point of the day's play comes in the first over. But today at the MCG Andy Caddick bounced his third ball ofBoxing Day at Matthew Hayden. It was the first ball Hayden had faced, but he flapped a meaty hook towards the long-leg fence.

Grazing down there, probably contemplating his own first over, was Steve Harmison. Looking like an elongated version of Mike Hendrick, with a coat-hanger still in his shirt, Harmison had wandered a few yards in from the boundary rope. It was fatal. The ball arced over Harmison's head for a one-bounce four, and Hayden was off. And running. And he kept running.

That was the nearest England came to hampering Hayden before he reached his 12th Test century. On the way he zoomed past 3000 Test runs. Twice he lofted Craig White into the crowd, and once swatted Harmison over the cover fence as well, like Babe Ruth (another chunky left-hander) blasting a homer at the Yankee Stadium. For a while Hayden and Justin Langer made it look more like the Father's Match than an Ashes Test. In a hectic hour after lunch they piled on 99 runs in only 14 overs.

It was over-confidence that cost Hayden in the end. He launched another booming drive, but this time his vertical hold was awry and it went straight up. At Brisbane he'd got away with one of those, but this time a grateful England fielder clung on.

Alec Stewart's injury forced England to reshuffle their team and go in with only four regular bowlers. If Michael Vaughan wasn't carrying an injured shoulder then Matthew Hoggard might have played too with Vaughan filling in some offspin, but as it was they stuck to their task,apart from those happy-hour high-jinks.

The trouble was that the not-so-fab foursome weren't really up to that task. Caddick was more controlled than in many a recent first innings, but rarely threatened. Harmison loped in enthusiastically, and at least White wasn't fazed by Hayden's harsh treatment or Nasser Hussain's continued reluctance to give him a third man. Only Richard Dawson was caned, and even he didn't exactly bowl badly. Overall England weren't just a bowler short - they were about three Test-class bowlers short.

The entry of Steve Waugh ratcheted up the tension that had been lacking earlier as Australia gambolled towards 200. Applauded to the crease by a full house, Waugh was fidgety at first. He was almost cut in half by Harmison before stepping away to slap him over the covers for a four that wouldn't have been out of place in the last over of a one-dayer. But you could imagine each succeeding boundary being accompanied by mental V-signs to the Aussie media - and the selectors, who have been strangely apathetic towards their captain.

England stuck at it well enough, but it was a familiar tale by the end of the day. Australia scoring at four an over, one of the openers camped at the crease ... and that man Waugh, on his own personal crusade, slapping a half-century at better than a run a ball, with ten clunking fours. He can start looking at those Caribbean tour brochures now.

Apparently it isn't going to rain for a week or so (although you can never be sure in Melbourne). It already looks as if someone is going to have to bat very, very well indeed for England to prevent the 4-0 scoreline almost everyone is predicting.

Steven Lynch is editor of Wisden.com.

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