Cricket: England make flying start: Australia's bowlers receive rough treatment in the sixth Test

England 353-7 v Australia

IT HAS been a long old summer, and both sides were looking decidedly demob-happy yesterday. Australia, who have been here for 117 days, bowled as though they were already several magnums into the Qantas in-flight champagne, while England, who have shed a captain, a chairman, and most of their wheels in this series, batted as though they were having an early net for next summer's Texaco Trophy.

Talk about blowing all your wages on pay day. England's first- day total here in the sixth Test of 353 for 7 - only the second time they have passed 300 this summer - was so frenetic that it even eclipsed their opening-day effort at Lord's in 1989, when they thrashed their way to 286 all out. Graham Gooch, Graeme Hick and Alec Stewart all got themselves out overdosing on excitement, and thanks to England's recurring failure to remember that Test matches involve a certain amount of chiselling to go with the rapier, 20 of their 23 half-centuries have not been translated into three figures.

Highly entertaining though it was, it was all a little chaotic, and altogether in keeping with the venue. The Oval is never taken by anything other than surprise by a Test match (although in mitigation they have only four years' notice) and yesterday's high point arrived with a 15- minute stoppage in mid-morning when more than 100 people at the Vauxhall End, doubtless wondering whether to break into a chorus of 'we shall not be moved' at England's flying start, were moved out of their seats and on to the grass.

The seats were right in front of the end of the sightscreen and too close to the batsmen's eyeline for the game to continue. They got the same seats back at lunchtime, but only after they had been unscrewed and moved 200 yards to the equivalent of deep fine leg. As they had all been sold for the first four days, it will cost the TCCB something like pounds 8,000 in refunds.

It was not really a good day for Surrey. Graham Thorpe, having an early morning net against one of his own 17-year-old juniors, broke his left thumb when a ball jumped off a length and Mark Ramprakash was hastily dispatched from across the river at Lord's. Middlesex v Northamptonshire was the only match close enough to accommodate a speedy replacement and did not involve another left-hander of the requisite quality. Had Hampshire been at Lord's, David Gower would probably have been back in the side.

As it is, Gower's record as England's leading Test match run scorer is now only 19 runs away from being surpassed by Gooch, whose 56 off 65 balls contained some of the best strokes of the entire series. Eventually, however, aiming something extravagant through the off side against Steve Waugh, he was smartly caught low down in the gully by Allan Border.

This brought in Hick, at 88 for 1 off only 18 overs, and whatever his perceived vulnerability to fast bowling, he was in fact extremely unlucky not to face a single delivery from Merv Hughes in his opening burst with the new ball. Hughes' admirable variety this time translated into half volley followed by long hop, and by the time Gooch was out, he had bowled nine overs for 59 runs.

Wherever else the prayer mats were out for a big score from Hick yesterday, nowhere would they have been thicker on the ground than in the Caribbean, where English batsmen tend to grow designer stubble in order to cushion the impact area. Yesterday's 80 may yet earn Hick a tour place, but is admissable as evidence only of something everyone already knows. When it comes to murdering the likes of Mark Waugh on a flat pitch, Hick does it more brutally than anyone in the world.

Hick did not face Hughes until he had been in for 80 minutes and had scored 43 runs, but Hughes was no more threatening in his second spell - at least not with the ball. He engaged Hick in the customary eyeball to eyeball conversation, to which Hick appeared keener to reciprocate than is his normal custom, but whatever expletives Hick has in his vocabulary, he will have reserved the more unprintable ones for himself after swatting a near wide from Tim May straight to backward point. Hick had just gone 4, 4, 4, 4, 1 off Mark Waugh and dot, 6, dot off May.

Even Michael Atherton was in a racy mood yesterday, reaching his half century off 94 balls, before missing a good one from Steve Waugh that swung late into his pads. Atherton, who had been dropped at slip on 36, has now made six half centuries in his last nine Test innings without making a hundred.

Nasser Hussain and Ramprakash were both out to poor shots, while Stewart's thunderous innings of 76 was doubtless motivated by a heavy bout of sledging following a disallowed appeal for a slip catch off Warne. Stewart then lashed into Warne with undisguised relish, while Australian applause for his fifty was undisguised in its sarcasm.

However, Hughes' first delivery with the second new ball saw Stewart given out caught down the leg side as he went for a hook, with TV replays suggesting the ball had made contact with his forearm rather than the bat. Oddly, Australia this time seemed happier with the decision.

County scoreboard and reports, page 30