Hussey catch gives Australia breakthrough

Left-hander Cook became the first victim of the npower series in the eighth over when a forcing stroke away from his body was superbly clung to by a diving Michael Hussey in the gully.

The breakthrough came from nowhere, after the hosts won the toss, and put a spring in the step of a young Australia attack. It brought Ravi Bopara to the crease on the back of three hundreds in his last three Test innings and he immediately felt the heat despite the slowness of the pitch.

Short deliveries from Peter Siddle caused his discomfort, particularly when one got so big on him he had no option but to take a blow in the throat.

Another ball reared into his inner thigh off the inside edge and Bopara's nervous start also included an inside edge for four to get off the mark. Ben Hilfenhaus justified his selection with the initial success - as England crawled to 39 for one after 15 overs - and by swinging the ball at pace.

The opening overs of the past two series were memorable for contrasting reasons with Steve Harmison roughing the Australians up four years ago and then beginning with a wide in Brisbane in 2006-07.

This time it was left-armer Mitchell Johnson who was given the responsibility of getting things under way and he sent down a rather tame first six balls.

The first two were left outside the off-stump by Strauss and, after he leg-glanced the fourth delivery for a single, Cook got off the mark straight away with a pull to fine leg.

The first boundary of the contest was struck from the final ball of the third over when Strauss worked a delivery from Johnson off the stumps through midwicket. Tasmania's Hilfenhaus took the new ball ahead of Siddle and extracted some aerial movement from the off.

He looked the most obvious source of a wicket and claimed it in a wicket maiden through Hussey's screamer of a catch.