Fourth Test, England v Australia, Trent Bridge: First Day Australia 60, England 274-4

The excitement of the Ashes series had been somewhat dissipated for me following an innocuous, but disastrous, fall on Sunday 2 August, the weekend before the Fourth Test was due to begin at Trent Bridge, Nottingham.

An ambulance ride to the Accident and Emergency Unit of Blackpool Victoria Hospital was followed by the revelation that I had done serious damage; I had ruptured the two tendons above my knee, which meant that my right leg was totally useless.

This meant hospitalisation to be followed by major surgery in sewing together the ruptured tendons. The surgery was originally scheduled for Tuesday, 4 August but due to pressure on the operating theatre this was put back to the Wednesday. However, the same situation developed on Wednesday so the operation was once more rescheduled for the Thursday.

It was then that I realised that the Fourth Test was due to begin that day and, even though I was in great pain and wanted some sort of relief, I was slightly miffed that I would not be able to follow the Test if I were to go down to the theatre. And because I was lucky enough to be in a private room, with television and Freeview (but no Sky to follow the live action) I realised that I could listen to the action on Radio 5 Live Sports Extra via Test Match Special.

Now, on a slightly brighter note, there is nothing to match the excitement of an Ashes Test series and it could be argued that the true examination of cricketing ability is provided by Test match cricket. And there is no contest in the game that comes close to the tradition and rivalry associated with Anglo-Australian battles. So, at least, I thought that I would perhaps be able to hear the start of the match before the doctors got down to the real work.

I was a little excited, muted by the nagging pain in my leg, for this particular series had been bubbling under all along. England won the First Test, Australia won the Second Test and England won the Third Test. Was it to be 2-2 or 3-1? For what was very evident by the way the two teams had performed in the previous games, there was no way it could possibly remain 2-1; this would mean that the Fourth Test was drawn and the way the two teams had played in the previous three, this was a distinct impossibility - weather permitting of course.

Morning dawned, I was still frightened to death at the thought of the operation but at least I could relax a little and listen to some cricket before the action on my knee began. Of course, with an operation scheduled it was Nil By Mouth so by the time the preliminaries began on Test Match Special I was parched and rather hungry. Never mind, the cricket would take my mind off that for some time I thought.

According to the commentary there was a greenish tinge to the pitch and a thin cover of cloud overhead so it was perhaps no surprise to hear that once Alistair Cook had won the toss, he chose to put Australia in to bat. However, there were those around who thought it a decided gamble, akin to Ricky Ponting's fateful decision at Edgbaston in 2005.

There was one change in the Australian side in that Shaun Marsh, a batsman, had replaced his brother, Mitchell, an all-rounder, while England fielded an unchanged side. In the absence of James Anderson, Stuart Broad opened the bowling and conceded four leg byes before, with his third ball, he had Chris Rogers caught at first slip by Cook; 4-1. Commentator Henry Blofeld, a particular friend and favourite of mine, was ecstatic.

In came the in-form Steve Smith, Australia's captain elect, and with a couple and a boundary from his first two balls he looked in good nick. However the last ball of the over had him playing chest-on to Broad with the result being a catch to Joe Root at third slip; 10-2 off one over and, my dear old thing, Henry Blofeld's commentary went up a notch!

Mark Wood opened the bowling at the other end and from his second ball the dangerous David Warner had a ball jagging back at him that he could only get an inside edge to and wicketkeeper Jos Buttler took the catch; 10-3, eight balls gone and Henry's commentary took on new heights!

Shaun Marsh and skipper Michael Clarke weathered the storm for eight balls before another seaming ball from Broad found the edge of Marsh's bat and Ian Bell at second slip took the catch; 15-4 after 2.4 overs and Henry was about to explode. So was I and it was about this time that I thought that it might be better if the operation were to be delayed another day and then I would be able to stick with the action ... not that I thought there would be any further sensations just yet. How wrong could I be?

Adam Voges joined Clarke and the pair took the total to the dizzy heights of 21 before the former fell to an absolutely sensational catch. Pushing forward at Broad, the ball flew off the edge of Voges' bat and was flashing past Ben Stokes at fifth slip when the fielder stuck out his right hand and plucked the ball out of the air one-handed almost as it were past him; 21-5, 28 minutes, and only 25 balls gone. At least Henry had done his commentating stint for the moment so he could go off air and relax and regain his cool after the sensational happenings up to that point. Broad, by the way, had looked on in absolute disbelief as Stokes took the catch; his face was an absolute picture as he followed through and went to congratulate the catcher.

Clarke was the next to go when he saw a half volley from Broad and decided that he would counter-attack. Unfortunately for the Australian captain his execution of the shot was sadly lacking and he only succeeded in edging through to Cook at first slip; 29-5, 39 minutes and 37 balls gone. Broad had by then taken the fastest five-wicket haul in Ashes history, in just 19 balls, which beat Vernon Philander's 25-ball haul against New Zealand in 2013.

With Peter Nevill and Mitchell Johnson at the crease, the total limped on to 33 before Steve Finn, who had replaced Wood, got in the action. He nipped a ball back on Nevill and it shot through the gap between bat and pad to bowl him for two; 33-7, 56 balls and 54 minutes gone and it was Finn's 99th Test wicket.

Mitchell Starc joined Johnston but, although the latter struck two boundaries, the pair were only together for 17 minutes before the former became Broad's sixth victim when he edged a good length ball to Root at third slip; 46-8, 76 balls and 71 minutes gone and the pain in my leg was certainly at the back of my mind for a while!

Next man in Josh Hazlewood took a single off his first ball but from the following ball Johnston perished. Just like Starc he, too, edged a full length ball into the waiting hands of Root at third slip; 47-9, 78 balls and 74 minutes gone and the commentary box was in uproar.

Last man Nathan Lyon joined Josh Hazlewood and the pair put on the best stand of the innings, albeit a measly 13 but it did survive for 33 balls, more than the first five wickets put together. Lyon struck two boundaries but then Broad enticed him to push hard-handed, as all his team-mates had done, and Stokes caught him at sixth slip for nine; 60 all out with Hazlewood not out four and the innings was all over after 18.3 overs and 99 minutes.

Broad had figures of 9.3-5-15-8 and he was supported by Wood, 1-13, and Finn, 1-21. In addition, Broad had begun the day with 299 Test wickets so not only had he taken his 300th, but he had also joined Fred Trueman as the fourth most successful English bowler in Test cricket with 307 wickets.

England went in to lunch without losing a wicket, 13-0, and, although two quick ones were lost in the early afternoon, Cook, Root and Bairstow made it very much England's day.

As the players went in to lunch, I was still parched and hungry but as they came out for the after-lunch session I had an apologetic doctor enter my room to say that the operation was put off until the following day. At least I could eat and drink and also enjoy the remainder of the day's play.

After lunch all the talk on the radio was of England's sensational morning so the reply took something of a back seat. That is until Adam Lyth, 14, edged Starc through to Nevill and it was 32-1. That quickly became 34-2 when Bell, one, fell leg before wicket to Starc but that was the end of the action for a while as Cook and Root took England into the lead and on to 96 before the third wicket fell. That was skipper Cook who was trapped in front of his stumps by a non-swinging Yorker from Starc for 43.

The two Yorkshiremen Root and Bairstow then took control and raced along, adding 173 for the fourth wicket. Bairstow, looking set for a century, was the man dismissed at 269 when he shovelled Hazlewood to Rogers at square leg when on 74.

Root passed his century with his 17th four from 128 balls and at the close was 124 not out from 158 balls with 19 fours and one six. Nightwatchman Wood, two not out, was his partner as England closed on 274-4, an astonishing lead of 214 runs.

There were some remarkable statistics from the day's play:
a) It was only the third time that a team had bowled first and had been batting by lunch on the first day of a Test; one of the previous occasions was in 1896.
b) Australia's total was their lowest in an Ashes Test since their 58 in the second innings at Brisbane in 1936.
c) It was the first time that extras had been the top scorer in an Ashes Test; there were 14, 11 leg byes and three no balls.
d) The 18.3 overs that the innings lasted is the fewest number of overs bowled in the first innings of a Test match.
e) Stuart Broad's 8-15 was the third cheapest eight-wicket return in Tests, only beaten by George Lohmann, 8-7 in 1896, and Johnny Briggs, 8-11 in 1889.
f) Stuart Broad's five wickets in his first 19 balls is the quickest five-for haul at the start of a Test match.
g) Joe Root is one of only two batsmen who have scored twice as many as the whole opposition (124 to 60) on the opening day of a Test.
h) Chris Rogers duck was his first in Test cricket (after 46 innings) and hands the record for the longest Test career without a duck back to Australia's Jimmy Burke whose record is 44 innings.
i) Stuart Broad's eight wickets was the first time that a seam bowler has taken so many wickets without one of them being caught behind by the wicketkeeper.
j) From the fifth wicket onwards, it was the earliest, in number of balls, that those wickets had fallen in Tests.

So an intriguing day was over; it was very definitely a case of 'Beyond the Pain Barrier' for I was absorbed with it all through the day - and then I watched the tragic highlights on television when a friend of mine was visiting who did not know the score. He arrived with England 93-2 and he thought that the start had been delayed and that was why it was such a low total. Only when the commentator said, 'England now have a lead of 33' did he question what was going on - needless to say, he couldn't really believe it.

Epilogue: I did listen to the first hour the following day but was then taken to the theatre and was away for almost three hours. When I came back the radio was still on but I was not in a position to fully follow what was happening. By the close of play I had come round a little so could appreciate that the Ashes were almost won. England duly won the Trent Bridge Test by an innings and 78 runs as Australia replied to England's 391 with 253 in their second innings.