Australia 0 for 25 (Katich 15*, Watson 9*) trail England 260 (Bell 76, Cook 67, Siddle 6-54) by 235 runs
Ashes history is littered with some extraordinary opening days and Brisbane produced another as Peter Siddle, a controversial selection for this match, gave himself a birthday to remember by claiming a hat-trick and a career-best 6 for 54, which removed England for 260.
Smart Stats
Peter Siddle's hat-trick was the tenth by an Australian bowler and the second at the Gabba after Courtney Walsh's hat-trick in 1988-89. It is also the first by an Australian bowler since Glenn McGrath's effort at Perth in 2000-01.
Siddle's 6 for 54 is his third five-wicket haul and best bowling performance after the 5 for 21 against England at Headingley in 2009.
In six Tests at the Gabba since 1990, England have passed 300 only twice in their first innings. While they made 325 and lost in 2002, they managed a draw in 1998 after scoring 375.Australia closed on 0 for 25.
Ian Bell's 76 is his fifth half-century in 11 innings in Australia and his ninth against Australia overall.
Kevin Pietersen has not scored a century since his 102 at Port of Spain in March 2009. Since March 7 2009, he has scored 904 runs at an average of 36.16 with six fifties. In contrast, till March 6 2009, he scored 4445 runs at an average of over 51 with 16 centuries and 14 fifties.
He also seemed intent on attacking Doherty during an intriguing mini-battle and Australia were relieved to end it when they did. Slightly surprisingly, Siddle was rested after a four-over burst, but his impact on the day was far from over.
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