AUSTRALIA is again sweating on Mike Hussey and Brad Haddin to come to the rescue after enduring one of its worst ever starts to a Test match this morning. The pair put on 307 runs at the Gabba last week and will need to be similarly effective today - and hopefully, for Australia's sake, tomorrow as well - after the home side squandered its opportunity to bat first in hot and sunny conditions at the Adelaide Oval.
Hussey has been at the heart of Australia's recovery after the home team slumped to 3-2 against England. He shared a 94-run partnership with Shane Watson and a 60-run partnership with Marcus North, before Watson departed for 51 in the second over of the middle session and North fell to a poor shot three overs before the end of the session. Australia was 5-159 at tea on the first day of the second Test, with Hussey on 71 and Haddin on 2. Earlier, Simon Katich, Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke fell within the first 13 deliveries of the day. Ponting and Clarke succumbed to superb English bowling, Katich to superb English fielding.
England struck on the fourth ball of the morning, although not initially as it had hoped to. Anderson's leg-before appeal against Watson was rejected as the right-hander played a ball in front of square-leg and ran. His partner Katich, however, was on his heels, and when he belatedly responded and ran he was caught short by a superb direct-hit from Jonathan Trott, who barely had more than one stump to aim at.
Anderson then, from the very next ball, caught the outside edge of new batsman Ponting. The chance was smartly taken by Anderson's great mate Graeme Swann, low to his left from second slip. While Clarke was called in at 2-0 he also had statistics in his favour, as he had averaged 102.40 in his preceding five Tests at the ground. The first signs the vice-captain may not be the man to rescue the home cause came in Stuart Broad's first over of the day. He played and missed outside off-stump to his first two deliveries to Broad, and later in the over awkwardly fended a sharp Broad bouncer to fine-leg. Back in the team ... Ryan Harris.
Those three unrewarded blows by Broad undoubtedly contributed to Anderson's dismissing Clarke with the first ball of his second over. Clarke drove hard - and, in retrospect, rashly - to a full delivery angled into him, and fired another catch off his outside-edge to Swann.
Two overs later Watson, on 7, survived a leg-before appeal by Anderson that England had sent upstairs for review. The decision to reject the appeal, by umpire Tony Hill, was endorsed by the Eagle-Eye replay which predicted the ball would have passed over the stumps.
After making a breakthrough in his first and second overs and almost having one in his third, Anderson then fumbled a tough return chance in his fourth, with Hussey on 3. Australia's score, instead of slumping to 4-11, remained and 3-11 - and then progressed steadily thereafter.
Australia's fightback was aided by the drop in intensity that came from the introduction of inexperienced pace Steve Finn into the attack. While the lanky right-armer claimed six wickets in Brisbane he was also expensive. In his first spell of four overs today he leaked 26 runs, including four boundaries.
By the end of the first session Australia's batsmen, despite the scoreboard, looked to be in control. The most emphatic example of that was Watson's dispatching Swann over the mid-wicket boundary, in the new Western Grandstand. He reached his assured half-century in the last over before lunch before departing immediately after it, giving Anderson his third wicket by square-driving to Kevin Pietersen at point.
North's solid innings ended meekly. He attempted to dab Finn through slips, with little foot movement, but gave wicketkeeper Matt Prior and easy catch behind.
The innings was, ironically, a personal best for North. It was the 13th innings he entered with the score under 150, and in the preceding 12 he had an average of 6.83 and a top score of 20.
Australia: Ricky Ponting (captain), Simon Katich, Shane Watson, Michael Clarke, Michael Hussey, Marcus North, Brad Haddin, Ryan Harris, Xavier Doherty, Peter Siddle, Doug Bollinger. 12th man: Ben Hilfenhaus.
England: Andrew Strauss (captain), Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, Ian Bell, Matt Prior, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, James Anderson, Steven Finn. 12th man: Chris Tremlett.