ASHES fever gripped the nation at 11am yesterday - and by the close of play on day one at Trent Bridge, the epidemic had gone into overdrive.
Much of the talk ahead of the series suggested that seam and swing bowling could have a telling factor in the overall outcome.
And if the opening 80 overs in Nottingham are anything to go by, that prediction wasn't far off the mark.
While Jimmy Anderson and co were expected to pose all sorts of problems to Australia's batting line-up, it was the tourists who sent the first message.
Peter Siddle, who took six wickets on the first day of the last Ashes campaign, was at it again and bowled superbly to clean up England's middle and lower order.
Granted, he was helped by some poor shot selection – thrown in with one or two nerves – but Siddle has shown the series will be far from the one-sided affair some were predicting.
But credit must also go to England.
A sign of a good side is how they respond in adversity – Anderson and Steven Finn did so with energy and skill, factors that have led the home side to back-to-back wins against Australia.
Of course, there is a long way to go in the match, and in the series.
But if the following 24 days are as exciting as the first, we could be in for a real treat.
