As the Ashes finally kicked off with a bang, it was deja vu. For the past four Ashes series, Australia has batted first in Brisbane and had a mighty first today. On a day without sensation, I have just this to add: It is a treat to see two champion captains go directly head-to-head.

So often the captain of a cricket team is a batsman. It’s also so, that the captain is often the best batsman in the team. It is thus from the time boys pull on whites in prep school. Therefore, it is rare to see the two captains directly up against each other as witnessed today. I recall 1999 when Waugh and Lara faced off – Lara won the battle, the series was drawn and both stood as pillars of scoring. But neither had the ability to directly impact the others efforts (disputed catches aside).

Today, Flintoff levelled off at Ponting and Ponting won. They were both wonderful. Flintoff exceeded all expectations and was far and away the best bowler for England. Ponting was the best for Australia but he had some friends.

The signs are worrying for England. Pietersen was turning the ball square compared to Giles and even though England has five specialist bowlers, two part timers were used in the final session, with Bell coming on just four and half hours into the series.