Day five (close)
England 260 [Bell 76, Cook 67; Siddle 6-54] & 517-1d [Cook 235*, Trott 135*, Strauss 110] drew with Australia 481 [Hussey 195, Haddin 136, Katich 50; Finn 6-125] & 107-1 [Ponting 51]
ALASTAIR COOK hit the highest score at the Gabba of any player in Test history as England easily secured a draw on the final day of the first Test in Brisbane.
Cook scored an unbeaten 235 to beat Sir Don Bradman's previous record of 226 as England declared their second innings on an extraordinary score of 517-1 shortly before tea.
The Essex left-hander had been assisted for more than a day of playing time by Jonathan Trott who was also not out on 135.
Earlier, Cook had put on 188 runs for the first wicket with captain Andrew Strauss to ease England from their predicament, having gone into day four on 19-0, still 202 runs behind.
That deficit had been overturned by tea on day four for the loss of just Strauss' wicket, and by the time England declared on day five, the tourists' own lead was 296.
Thoughts of completing an amazing comeback victory were briefly on the cards when Stuart Broad claimed his first wicket of this Ashes series.
Simon Katich, understandably tired from spending almost two days to the field, prodded Broad's ball to Strauss at slip for 4, leaving Australia 11-1 when tea was taken.
England could have had their second wicket shortly after the interval but Paul Collingwood dropped a simple catch from Shane Watson's misjudgement of Graeme Swann's spin.
But, from then on, Australia reasserted themselves and their brief moment of panic was over.
Skipper Ricky Ponting hit an unbeaten 51 while Watson finished on 41 not out as the draw was agreed with Australia on 107-1.
The record books will show this contest as a high-scoring match from which the draw was inevitable but that was not actually the case.
Having won the toss and elected to bat, England were all out for 260 as Aussie fast-bowler Peter Siddle took a hat-trick on his 26th birthday.
Australia reached 96-1 at lunch on day two but suffered a minor wobble, losing four wickets shortly after the interval including Ponting for 10, two balls after the break.
However, once Mike Hussey was joined at the crease by Brad Haddin, the match turned inexorably in the Aussies' favour.
Hussey scored 195 and Haddin hit 136 in a sixth-wicket partnership of 307. At that point, it was the highest-ever partnership for any wicket at the Gabba.
But, after toiling for more than a day in the field, Steven Finn took four of the final five Aussie wickets and Graeme Swann the other, as tail failed to wag and Australia were all out for 481.
That was still a first innings lead of 221, and pessimists like myself feared an England collapse under pressure and an embarrassing innings defeat.
After all, Australia are unbeaten in Tests at their Brisbane fortress over the last 22 years, a sequence of 21 previous matches, of which 16 ended in an Australia victory.
Surely, given that record, Ricky Ponting's men would not let such a dominant position in this Test slip from their grasp.
Of course, we now know that they did - but, in fairness to them, there was little which they could have done about it.
Bowling on a placid surface which offered nothing, Australia's best chance of winning the game relied on England panicking given their huge first innings deficit.
However, Cook and Strauss, and then Cook and Trott, were a model of calmness in the middle, turning the tide totally in England's favour.
Cook and Strauss, now with an aggregate of 3,415 runs and counting, surpassed the record of 3,249 set by Jack Hobbs and Herbert Sutcliffe to become England's highest-scoring opening pair in history.
Then Cook and Trott immediately took Hussey and Haddin's partnership record at the Gabba off them, scoring an unbeaten 329.
Other notable achievements by England include the fact that this was the first time in their Test history that they had gone past 500 for the loss of just one wicket.
And it was only the second time that the top three batsmen each scored at least a century in the same innings.
On a similar note, Cook and Strauss became the first England opening pair to both score at least a century in the same innings of an Ashes Test since Len Hutton and Charlie Barnett at Trent Bridge in 1938.
Meanwhile, on a personal level, Cook became only the fourth Englishman to score an Ashes double century in Australia, and he batted for 630 minutes, longer than any of his countrymen in a Test down under.
With the series still at 0-0, Strauss was able to claim a moral victory in Brisbane. Having turned this match around after the first innings, the tourists will travel to Adelaide in high spirits.
Indeed, England's ludicrous second innings score has driven home Australian concerns about the strength of their bowling attack.
Strike bowler Mitchell Johnson returned awful match figures of 0-170 while debutant spinner Xavier Doherty struggled in that second innings with figures of 0-107 from 35 overs. Both may be replaced in a seemingly unsettled line-up.
By contrast, England will expect to field the same XI but there also remain major doubts about their ability to take 20 Aussie wickets, especially on as flat a surface as Adelaide.
Of course, Adelaide was the scene of England's nightmare four years ago when, having made 551-6d in their first innings, they went on to lose by six wickets.
But it would be a surprise if something similar occurred this time.
For, while England did not exactly storm the citadel that is the Gabba after their poor first innings effort, much heart will be taken from the fact that they emerged unscathed and indeed enhanced.
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EARLIER REPORTS (*note: no day four report)
Day four:
(close) England 260 [Bell 76, Cook 67; Siddle 6-54] & 309-1 [Strauss 110, Cook 132*, Trott 54*] v Australia 481 [Hussey 195, Haddin 136, Katich 50; Finn 6-125]
Day three: Hussey and Haddin build huge Australia lead
(close) England 260 [Bell 76, Cook 67; Siddle 6-54] & 19-0 v
Australia 481 [Hussey 195, Haddin 136, Katich 50; Finn 6-125]
MIKE HUSSEY and Brad Haddin both hit big centuries as Australia built up a huge lead over England in the first Test of the Ashes in Brisbane.
The pair batted through the first two sessions of the day, compiling a sixth-wicket partnership worth 307, a record stand for any wicket at the Gabba.
By batting beyond tea, they effectively killed off any chance England had of winning this game even though there was a clatter of wickets in the final session.
Australia's tail did not really wag - only debutant Xavier Doherty reached double figures - but then it did not have to do so. Hussey and Haddin look to have done more than enough.
Resuming on 220-5, the Aussies knew England would come out firing in an attempt to finish them off before too much of a lead could be built up.
England delivered on that front but they were dreadfully unlucky throughout the elongated two-and-a-half hours until lunch.
James Anderson, in particular, must have broken a few mirrors or walked under a few ladders before the day's play, having had two good early lbw shouts to Hussey turned down in a brilliant eight-over spell.
The first had been given out by umpire Aleem Dar but Hussey called for the video referee who found that the ball had pitched millimetres outside the line of leg stump.
Anderson's second lbw chance exposed England's failure to use the referral system well, having already run out of referrals for the innings on day two.
Umpire Dar heard two sounds, assuming Hussey had got an inside edge, when actually the two sounds were the ball hitting both pads.
Hussey was plumb and would have been out if England had any referrals left.
But, having survived the early storm, Hussey and Haddin then thrived. Haddin, in particular, opened up, taking 111 balls for his first 25 runs but just 23 further balls to reach his 50.
Hussey reached three-figures before lunch and it was already starting to look a little ominous for England.
Then, one last opening in the session presented itself to England as Haddin lofted a Paul Collingwood high into the off-side...
It was a tough chance for Alastair Cook and he dropped it, a microcosm of England's frustrating morning. Australia reached lunch on 329-5, a lead already of 69 runs.
If the first session had not quite decided the direction of this match, then the second session certainly did as Hussey and Haddin increased Australia's lead to 176.
And, while Australia reeled off the milestones and records, England looked increasingly punch-drunk, desperate and perhaps a little sorry for themselves after that opening session.
England's great spin hope Graeme Swann was struggling in particular, and the Aussie batsmen took great pleasure in hitting him around the ground as he struggled to find his length.
Meanwhile, the bowlers generally were suffering from the lack of a proper fifth option in the attack.
Collingwood ended up bowling 12 overs in the innings but that still meant Swann bowled 43 overs, Anderson bowled 37 overs, Steven Finn 34 overs and Stuart Broad 33.
It was an exhausting, utterly dispiriting day in the field for England and it showed.
Several untidy mis-fields simply increased the bowlers' frustrations and Anderson dropped another catch.
It was a tough chance for Anderson who had to run back from mid-on to get underneath another lofted shot from Haddin.
Anderson is probably England's best out-fielder but he could not position himself quickly enough and the ball fell to the ground without him even laying a finger-tip on it.
Broad, who remained wicket-less throughout, went a red with embarrassment; Strauss rubbed his forehead with his hand. It had been that sort of day for England, the very worst kind.
Strauss had not helped his bowlers in the afternoon heat, asking that they bowl negatively and hang the ball outside of off-stump waiting for a mistake.
These were truly awful tactics from the England captain which were rightly bemoaned by Sir Ian Botham in the commentary box.
Having looked so threatening with the new ball before lunch, England now looked clueless and Strauss, who was out for a third-ball duck in the England innings, has had one of his worst all-round games as captain.
Even at lunch, after a desperately unlucky morning, Australia were not out of reach but the negative tactics after the interval means that England's chances of winning this match have now sailed.
That should not take away from the performance of Hussey and Haddin. As they took Australia's score beyond 400, they also took their partnership to 262, more runs than the whole of England team managed.
A short while later, the Aussie pair had taken their stand to 278, the highest partnership for any wicket at the Gabba, beating Lindsay Hassett and Don Bradman's 276 in 1946.
And, at tea, Australia were on 436-5, a lead of 176; the partnership was worth 293.
Shortly after tea, the stand was finally broken having long ensured its place in the annals of Ashes history.
Haddin lunged forward to a Swann delivery, nicked an edge to produce a brilliant low catch from Collingwood at slip.
The New South Wales wicketkeeper departed for 136 off 287 balls, including 16 fours and a six.
It had been over a day since England had taken their last wicket, that of Marcus North. That also came through a Collingwood catch from a Swann ball but the similarity in the match situation ended there.
With Haddin gone, Hussey was left with the tail, still 15 short of his double-ton.
And, like Matthew Hayden and Ricky Ponting in the last two Ashes matches at Brisbane, he failed in the 190s, out for 195, pulling Finn and sending a catch straight to Cook in the deep.
Finn then finished off the tail, taking the wickets of Mitchell Johnson, Doherty and Australia's first day hat-trick hero Peter Siddle to end up with a six-for on his Ashes debut.
Johnson's wicket was the first of the tail to fall without the Queenslander scoring, attempting to drive but succeeding only in pulling the ball onto the stumps via his pads.
Siddle succumbed in Finn's next over on six, trying a pull shot but gloving a simple catch to Swann in the slips.
And Australia were finally all out for 481 when Doherty holed out to Cook at mid-wicket. Now, if only England had batted like that in their first innings...
Of course, there lies the crux of the matter. England's four-pronged bowling attack, effectively one man short, did not have enough to defend in the first place.
Since then, a combination of poor referral decision, not a jot of luck before lunch and negative field settings after lunch have left England in a hole from which they are unlikely to escape.
Strauss and Cook guided England to 19-0 at the close, the only surprise there coming in the fact that neither of these men - exhausted all day in the field - gave away his wicket.
England will begin day four trailing Australia by 202 runs. They will have to bat for a day and a half to prevent an Aussie run-chase and secure the draw.
However, an innings defeat looms large and a more realistic aim would be simply for England to make Australia bat again - it's a depressing reality.
Day two: Hussey holds up England comeback
(close) Australia 220-5 [Hussey 81*, Katich 50] v England 260 [Cook 67, Bell 76; Siddle 6-54]
MIKE HUSSEY hit an unbeaten 81 as Australia held off an England fight back on the second day of the first Test at the Gabba in Brisbane.
Hussey calmed Australian nerves by sharing an unbeaten stand of 77 for the sixth wicket after England finally found their form to take four wickets in the afternoon session.
The day began with Australia in control of the match, having bowled out England for 260 and reached 25-0 at the close.
The respective position of the two teams showed as the Aussies batted throughout the morning with confidence to reach 96-1 at lunch, a deficit of just 164.
By contrast, England's bowling attack toiled in the morning and the form of James Anderson was particularly worrying as he struggled to find any swing.
Nevertheless, the breakthrough was made shortly before lunch by Anderson as Watson, on 36, nicked a good length ball to Andrew Strauss in the slips.
And the Burnley Express clearly took heart from England's first Ashes wicket of the 2010-11 series, bowling with greater intensity in the afternoon.
Anderson was rewarded straight after lunch as Aussie skipper Ricky Ponting feathered a ball going down the leg-side behind to wicketkeeper Matt Prior for 10.
Ponting's wicket seemed to lift the whole of the England bowling attack and young Steven Finn was next to strike.
Despite standing 6ft 7 tall, the Middlesex man took a quick return catch off his own bowling to remove opener Simon Katich who had played well to score 50.
Australia had gone from a comfortable position at lunch to 100-3 but Katich's wicket brought Hussey to the crease.
The Western Australia man dominated the strike in his partnership with the talented Michael Clarke who was doubtful for this match with a back injury.
Clarke seemed unable to play his natural game and, having survived an appeal through a video replay earlier in his innings, he was out for just nine off 50 balls, caught behind by Prior off Finn.
One over later and the Aussies had lost another wicket as the out-of-touch Marcus North got a leading edge to Graeme Swann and Paul Collingwood caught in the slips.
Australia were now 143-5 and England's first innings total of 260 suddenly did not seem too bad.
Although there was still minimal swing for Anderson, he had upped his game, while Swann was finding plenty of turn in the Brisbane pitch.
But, at the third time of asking, Hussey found a partner in wicketkeeper Brad Haddin who was able to stick around, and the pair guided Australia to 168-5 at tea.
After the interval, England's bowlers reverted to making their earlier mistakes, bowling too short in particular to Hussey whose 81 runs included 13 fours and a six.
Haddin scored more cautiously, his 22 runs coming from 71 balls, but it is vital for England to remove both of these men early on day three.
Indeed, the first session on the third day is massively important for both teams - if Hussey and Haddin are able to see off the new ball and survive until lunch, the Aussies will look set for a handsome lead.
But, if early wickets fall, England could be considered favourites even if Australia manage to achieve a small first innings advantage.
After all, it will be the hosts who have to bat on the pitch as it deteriorates on the final two days when Swann's spin could decide the match.
Day one: Birthday boy Siddle demolishes England with hat-trick
(close) Australia 25-0 v England 260 [Cook 67, Bell 76; Siddle 6-54]
PETER SIDDLE celebrated his 26th birthday by taking a hat-trick to leave Australia well on top after the opening day of the first Test of the Ashes at the Gabba in Brisbane.
Siddle produced a ferocious spell of full-length bowling to take his Test-best figures of 6-54 as England disappointed with the bat to be bowled all out for 260.
England suffered a nightmare start to the day when captain Andrew Strauss, having won the toss and elected to bat, played a reckless cut shot to Mike Hussey off the Ben Hilfenhaus's third ball.
The rest of the first session was more even but England were never allowed to settle.
Jonathan Trott was bowled for a torturous 29, playing all around one from Shane Watson then Alastair Cook was dropped by debutant spinner Xavier Doherty while on 26.
Trott's dismissal brought Kevin Pietersen out to the middle and the new Surrey batsman looked intent on playing a measured innings.
The tourists reached lunch on 86-2 with Cook on 29 and Pietersen on 23 but hopes that this would be a match-winning partnership were dashed soon after the interval.
After an innocuous start to the afternoon, during which time England easily moved the score beyond 100, Australia sprung into life and Siddle removed Pietersen and Paul Collingwood in quick succession.
Pietersen was caught for 43 in the slips by Australia captain Ricky Ponting driving at a full delivery while Collingwood followed suit on just four.
Having driven a beautiful shot to mid-on for those four runs, Collingwood was out on the following ball, nicking an ugly drive behind to Marcus North in the slips.
All of a sudden, England had gone from 117-2 to 125-4 but Cook remained at his obdurate best and next man at the crease was the in-form Ian Bell.
Bell, who hit 192 in the warm-up match against Australia A, was indeed in fine form and it seemed that it would be this partnership which would take England up to a competitive score.
But for that to be the case, either - if not both - of the men would need to score a century, and both fell short of the mark after Siddle's reintroduction to the attack.
Having reached tea on 172-4 in an even contest, England knew that the third and final session would decide where the day's honours lay.
Again, the first half-an-hour of the session passed without any danger but Siddle was clearly a man on a mission.
The Victoria man fired in an over of full-length balls to remove Cook, Matt Prior and Stuart Broad in a clattering succession of wickets.
First, Cook edged Siddle to Watson in the slips for a score of 67 which had come off 168 balls in a typical gritty innings from the Essex man.
Then Prior was back in the hutch without scoring - a quick, full ball deflecting off his pads onto the stumps without him getting bat near it.
And finally, in this extraordinary passage of play, Siddle delivered the perfect hat-trick ball to Broad who was caught cold and trapped in front of the stumps.
Broad appealed the decision to give him out lbw, probably more in hope than expectation, but it was plumb. Siddle had turned the match inexorably in the Aussies' favour and England had gone from 197-4 to 197-7.
It was now Bell's job to squeeze as many runs out of the lower order as possible and, in fairness, the Warwickshire man did as best as he could, the final three wickets falling for 63.
Graeme Swann, who can be a dangerous batsmen at times, was next to fall to Siddle, out lbw for 10, with the addition of 31 runs to England's total.
But the coup de grace was applied by Doherty, the youngster removing Bell for England's top score of 76 and last man James Anderson in the same over.
Bell was caught out in the deep by Watson, attempting to loft England towards 300 and the tourists fell 40 short of that target when Anderson left his leg stump exposed.
Doherty will be overjoyed to have got off the mark on his Test debut but the day undoubtedly belonged to Siddle.
Siddle transformed what had been a largely even contest into advantage Australia in a single over and England must find some Ashes magic from somewhere to respond in kind on day two.
But Australia's openers Watson and Simon Katich looked comfortable in reaching 25-0 at the close.
The fact is that even an average batting performance will give the Aussies a first innings lead over England's sub-par score.
And, if the runs start to pile up for the hosts, England may just be looking to scramble a draw from as early as day three.
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