BRISBANE: Peter Siddle celebrated a hat-trick and career-best Test figures on his birthday to bowl Australia into a commanding position against England after the opening day of the first Ashes Test at the Gabba Thursday.
The stout-hearted Victorian paceman sent England reeling with the first Ashes hat-trick in 11 years, as he captured six for 54 to help dismiss the tourists for 260.
At the close, Australia had negotiated seven overs in fading light to be 25 without loss and trail England by 235 runs, with Shane Watson on nine and Simon Katich not out 15.
The Test match exploded into life in Siddle’s 12th over late in the day when he dismissed Alastair Cook, Matt Prior and Stuart Broad with consecutive deliveries to rip the heart out of the England innings after skipper Andrew Strauss had won the toss.
It was the 11th time an Australian bowler has captured a Test hat-trick and the first in an Ashes encounter by either side since English bowler Darren Gough struck in Sydney in 1999, and came as Siddle marked his 26th birthday.
“We’re very confident and we’ve done everything we wanted to do,” Siddle said.
“That’s how we wanted to start the Test match, get that early breakthrough and go from there and finish the day the way we did. Siddle more than justified his selection ahead of Doug Bollinger when he followed up the significant scalps of Kevin Pietersen and Paul Collingwood in the space of nine balls in the middle session with four wickets in the post-tea period. The England innings collapsed spectacularly with the Siddle show, sending them spinning from 197 for four to 197 for seven in the space of three spell-binding deliveries.
Siddle brought the crowd roaring to its feet when he dismissed Broad leg before wicket to bring up his hat-trick after having Cook caught by Watson at first slip and bowling wicketkeeper Prior. It was an electric atmosphere as Siddle charged in on the hat-trick ball and hit Broad directly on his boot in front of leg-stump, prompting umpire Aleem Dar to raise his finger to send the ground into uproar.
Bell followed up his 192 against Australia A last weekend with another fighting display of 76 off 131 balls, sticking it out while wickets clattered around him. Cook occupied the crease for nearly five hours for his 67 off 168 balls with six fours, while the dangerous Pietersen got another start only to throw it away on 43.
