first test, day one

Giles - picked in England's side.

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1930: ...Well I stayed up through the night to watch day one of our bid to hang on to the Ashes at home - and am wishing I hadn't bothered.

A few minutes before midnight I was like a kid at Christmas with excitement buzzing around every bone in my body.

But after losing the toss and seeing a slump-shouldered Harmison spray his first ball to Freddie at second slip, the feeling was more like a New Year's Day hangover.

The vast majority of us will never know what it's like to play for our country and represent the thousands of fans who were watching both at the Gabba and around the world.

But Harmison was dragging his gangly frame back to his marker like a beaten man - and he just looked like he didn't care.

Flintoff, despite being his best mate, took him out of the attack after just two overs and only gave him another 10 during the entire day, so things are not looking good early doors.

One thing Michael Vaughan had on his side was he could fire a rocket up Harmison's backside every now and then - but I'd imagine Freddie will not have the same authority or impact as they are too close off the field.

So the Aussies piled on the runs with ease, England looked sharp in the field but failed to really trouble the home batsmen, until a little Flintoff magic prised out Hayden.

His eruption at snaring the first wicket displayed his anger at England's start to proceedings - and although he got his way and had Giles in the team ahead of Panesar, the slim-line King of Spain was arguably outdone by Pietersen in the spin department, which is a worry for the series.

We somehow knew Fletcher was always going to plump for Giles, but it was the wrong move as Monty is a wicket-taking spinner - and that is what matters, as being crap in the field and not too handy with the bat hasn't harmed Danesh Kaneria and Muttiah Muralitharan.

With Clarke, Gilchrist, Warne and Lee still to come if we ever get Ponting out you'd back the Aussies to pile up a mammoth total on this admittedly batsman-friendly pitch.

So England need to stand to toe with the revenge-seeking hosts on the batting front, as you can bet your bottom dollar McGrath's first ball won't find second slip. Simon Wilkes

1045: Think we should mention the moment it really did all start going wrong for England, and I don't mean Harmison bowling to Freddie on ball one. No, I'm talking national anthems and the way "God Save The Queen" was slaughtered during the preliminaries. Not only was it reproduced with an arrangement more at home in a nursery school Nativity play, but the poor girl couldn't hit a note. Reckon that's what really unnerved Harmison. Obviously he was still seething when he delivered that glorious opening delivery.

0732: It's been a wonderful first day for Australia, and their captain in particular.

Ponting has been magnificent and he's combined with Hussey to turn a strong position into one of total dominance.

For England, Flintoff bowled well but withough support, though Anderson was better than his expensive figures suggest.

Spinners Giles and Pietersen did okay, but the big concern will be Steve Harmison. He started with an outrageous wide and things got no better from there. He bowled just 12 overs in the day, and the contrast with the last Ashes series could hardly have been greater.

There's no reason to suppose things will be any easier for England on day two, and they are now going to have to bat out of their skins just to leave Brisbane all square. DT

0605: Ricky Ponting. Whatever his flaws as a captain, he's a cracking batsman. He's been magnificent today, and in this form there's no better batsman to watch.

England desperately need a breakthrough before the second new ball, but it doesn't look too likely at present. The pitch is a beauty to bat on, and England look like being in the field for a good while yet. DT

0444: I never doubted Giles, honest. Credit to the bloke though; six months ago his career looked over, but he's bowled pretty well here, keeping things tighter than all the seamers bar Flintoff, and picking up the wicket of Damien Martyn who was starting to look pretty good. It's been hard work for England, but they've stuck at it admirably. The fielding's been almost flawless, with only one blip from Matthew Hoggard on the boundary. All the bowlers have improved as the day goes on, and it's just a shame they started so nervously and wasted the new ball. DT

0208: The contrast between Harmison's contribution on the first morning last July at Lord's and this morning couldn't be greater. Flintoff has been the one bowler to offer real threat, but he's going to need better support from the rest of the guys if England are going to stay competitive.

It's vital to England's chances that the likes of Harmison and Anderson keep their heads up and come back firing after lunch. DT

0157: I think people are missing the point slightly in Duncan Fletcher's reasoning that Giles strengthens the lower order. It isn't that Giles will score significantly more runs than Panesar, it is that Giles is more likely to

stick around with any top/middle order players.

The scenario that Fletcher fears if Monty plays is that England wouldn't be

significantly better off at 6 down than they would be all out. Giles' purpose will be to stay out in the middle for long enough to allow Pietersen, Flintoff or god forbid Jones to score runs, and if he hits a few himself then all the better.

Look at the Oval Test in 2005. Giles came in with England on 199 and with 40-odd overs to go. He was out 136 runs later, having scored most of his 59 when the pressure was off but giving Pietersen the time to make the game

safe.

Having said all that, Monty should've been in the team - I just see Fletcher's point. Nick Miller

0135: It had to be, didn't it? It was always going to be Freddie who picked up the first wicket, and didn't England need it? We were only a few overs away from seeing Giles bowling negatively on the first morning. Now, one more before lunch, and England will have had a decent first session.DT

0026: Last summer, England made a really positive start with the ball. This time out, it's Australia setting the tone with a rapid start against a ragged looking England. Very early of course, but it's worrying for England.

0003: What a start from Harmison! Christ, let's hope he gets that out of his system quickly...DT

1155: Just five minutes until the action gets under way. And you guys are definitely unimpressed with Giles' selection. Magicdaps on our Mailbox says: "Cant believe we went with Giles , Monty is the better bowler by a long way and would get more wickets than the ageing Giles. Need early wickets to ruffle their feathers , day one will be by far the most important , if the Aussies get off to a flyer I fear we may struggle in the whole series."

1136: Australia have won the toss and will bat first.

1134: Reaction to England's line-up is already arriving in our Mailbox, and it's not too positive. mdrinkwater says: "so we now have Giles and Jones playing. Did anyone think Fletcher would do anything different in the end? He has become far too entrenched in his biases. I don't believe this will help England win the Ashes at all, and I rather hope this is the last series Fletcher presides over."

let us know your thoughts throughout the day, and we'll publish the best of them.

1114: It's a negative start to this much-hyped Ashes series, with England naming Ashley Giles ahead of Monty Panesar while Australia have picked Stuart Clark ahead of Mitchell Johnson.

Hard to decide which is the more disappointing decision, but at least Australia can attribute the change to injury problems.

For me, England have just bottled it. Geraint Jones and Giles better score some runs...Dave Tickner