Cricket technology intervened to give the World XI two crucial Australian wickets on a history-making opening day of the Super Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Friday.
Michael Clarke became the first batsman given out in Test cricket by the video umpire Darrell Hair midway through the afternoon session to a bat-pad catch off spinner Daniel Vettori for 39.
Clarke was joined in the pavilion 10 minutes later by Simon Katich, who was given run out by the third umpire after he was found to not have grounded his bat over the crease when Graeme Smith’s throw from deep mid-on hit the stumps.
Katich looked unfortunate to be given out for a duck after a collision with bowler Muttiah Muralitharan forced his bat off the ground and led to his dismissal under the laws of the game.
The two technology-assisted dismissals, made possible under the special match conditions of the Super Test, rocked the home side who had been recovering after the loss of Justin Langer (0) and skipper Ricky Ponting (46) in the morning session.
At tea, the Australians, after winning the toss, were 209 for four with Matthew Hayden unconquered on 86 and Adam Gilchrist 29 off 33 balls.
Hayden, who saved his immediate Test career with a fighting 138 against England in the fifth Ashes Test at The Oval, was steadily working towards his second consecutive Test century and had batted patiently for almost four hours and faced 150 balls up to tea.
Television replays showed Clarke stretching forward to the Vettori delivery, and the ball skidding off his pad, off his wrist and caught by a diving Virender Sehwag at silly point.
But Koertzen signalled the dismissal on Hair’s adjudication after three minutes’ deliberation.
Clarke left the arena shaking his head in disappointment with the decision.
England bowlers Steve Harmison and Andrew Flintoff conjured Ashes memories with the wickets of Langer and Ponting before lunch.
Harmison struck with a pearler on the third ball of the Test knocking over Langer’s off-stump for a duck and Flintoff had Ponting caught at wide slip.
Australia were playing their first Test match since the agony of losing the Ashes in a 2-1 series defeat to England last month.
Harmison, who only took Langer’s wicket once in the recent Ashes series — bowling him for 105 in the fifth Test at The Oval — had unbalanced the Australian left-hander with a yorker with his previous delivery.
Ponting played a poor shot, dabbing at a short-pitched Flintoff delivery in the 23rd over to offer a diving catch to Jacques Kallis.
The Australian skipper hit six boundaries and a six in his 97-minute knock and left the home side at 73 for 2 some 20 minutes before lunch.
Muralitharan came into the attack in the 16th over and immediately was taunted by calls of ‘no ball’ by sections of the Australian crowd.
The Sri Lankan has often been heckled by Australian crowds since being no-balled here seven times for an illegal delivery by Australian umpire Hair in a Melbourne Test match in 1995. – AFP
