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One of the leading manufacturers of the purest Acai berry products, Amazon Thunder has declared its cooperation in the effort to wipe out the companies that have been selling Acai berry products which do not or contain very little of the fruit. These companies have been taking advantage of the popularity of the Acai berry products in the health-conscious community today.
They have done their part by ensuring that they are only producing the purest, organic and kosher Acai berry pulp products. Ever since the nutritional properties of the Acai berry has been discovered in recent years, more and companies are including it as an ingredient of several health products and supplements. The Acai berry that Amazon Thunder uses is harvested from the jungles of Brazil near the Amazon River. This berry has actually been used for a myriad of purposes such as a food source and as medicinal herbs by the natives who were living in Brazil. The modern scientific and medical community has, since then, studied it to have a lot of medicinal and nutritional values.
It is high in natural antioxidants which get rid and prevent the appearance of the signs of aging. It also helps in flushing away the harmful toxins which we consume from the food that we eat, the lifestyle habits that we engage in and the pollution that we are exposed to in our surrounding environment. It is also high in omega 3, 6 and 9 essential fatty acids which help in boosting the body’s metabolism, getting rid of the excess fat stored in the body faster. This makes it an excellent weight loss supplement which many nutritionists recommend. Aside from these, the Acai berry also has a lot of other essential nutrients and vitamins which help in combating a variety of diseases and illnesses and ensuring proper functioning of the systems of the body and better overall health condition.
Aside from making sure that their products are only made from the healthiest Acai berries, they also make sure that they are able to give something back to the Brazilian community where their Acai berries are harvested. They have contributed a lot to the local economy and to the condition of the residents of the community near the Amazon River.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of companies which sell products which are supposed to be made from Acai berries but are actually not, advertising promos that turn out to be complete scams. There at some websites that offer some kind of a trial offer which and then once they sign, you would be stuck paying a monthly fee to get their multidextrin cornstarch powder, which is actually worthless and does not really do anything for your health.
However, Amazon is taking all the measures needed to ensure their customers that what they offer is pure Acai berry pulp. If you would go to their website and check the news tab, you would be able to see an article which was written by a legitimate competitor which listed the links to the Acai berry websites which are scams to inform their customers.
If you would be choosing to take Acai berry as a health supplement, remember to be very cautious as you might end up paying for something that you think would improve your health when really, it is just plain powder of ingredients mixed together. Make sure that as you browse some of the websites of the companies offering Acai berry products that you would be checking any testimonials or product reviews.
Learn more about Acai berry supplements and how the incredible health benefits of Acai juice can help you!
Article from articlesbase.com
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Barack Obama collided with former vice-president Dick Cheney today as the president vowed to push ahead with his plans to close the Guantánamo detention centre in the face of opposition from both left and right.
In what the US media billed as the “clash of the Titans”, Obama’s speech on Guantánamo, torture and other issues related to the Bush administration’s “war on terror” was followed within minutes by one from the man who has emerged as his arch-tormentor, Cheney.
The Obama and Cheney speeches offered a glimpse of the kind of foreign policy debate that the US has seldom had since 9/11.
The former vice-president, confounding expectations that he would settle quietly into retirement in Wyoming, made an uncompromising attack on Obama for proposing to close Guantánamo, for revealing interrogation methods used by CIA agents, for labeling these methods torture and for allegedly putting US security at risk.
“The administration has found that it’s easy to receive applause in Europe for closing Guantánamo,” Cheney told the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank in Washington. “”But it’s tricky to come up with an alternative that will serve the interests of justice and America’s national security.”
Obama faces a tricky problem in meeting the deadline he set of closing Guantánamo by the end of the year. Democrats joined by Republicans voted overwhelmingly yesterday to deny Obama the funds that would allow him to do this, saying they do not want the detainees transferred to their states.
The Senate voted by 90 to 6 against providing him with the $80m he requested until he produces a plan to deal with the 240 detainees left at Guantánamo.
Addressing the issue today, Obama, speaking at the National Archives in Washington, a location chosen for its symbolism as home of original copies of the constitution and the declaration of independence, insisted he intended to stick to his plan to transfer some of the detainees to the US mainland.
He suggested this should not be a problem as they would be placed in super-max prisons from which no-one had ever escaped.
Obama admitted that Guantánamo and the legal issues arising from the Bush administration “war on terror” were among the toughest challenges he faced. Almost every time he makes a fresh decision he comes under attack from the left or the right. He recently agreed to the release of thousands of pictures of prisoner abuse at US detention centres round the world but later backtracked. He said today that their release could have inflamed anti-American opinion.
He also reiterated he would to stick with the Bush administration’s discredited system of military commissions for trying some of the Guantánamo detainees and that some detainees could be held indefinitely without trial.
Defending these decisions, Obama said he would not have started from the position he found himself in but had inherited the “legal mess” from the Bush administration.
He added: “I want to be very clear that our goal is to construct a legitimate legal framework for Guantánamo detainees – not to avoid one. In our constitutional system, prolonged detention should not be the decision of any one man.”
He set out no new details of how he intended to resolve his Guantánamo dilemma. He said some will be tried in courts on the US mainland, some by military commissions, some had already been ordered to be released by the courts, some would be transferred to other countries and some will be held indefinitely. The latter could not be tried because evidence had been tainted but at the same time they were too dangerous to release, he said.
Obama’s speech was watched live on television by the audience at the Cheney event. Cheney delayed his speech for 40 minutes to allow Obama to finish his.
In the US system, as opposed to the frequent clashes in the House of Commons, it is rare from political rivals to engage in a debate in such a way outside of presidential campaigns.
The Cheney speech had been in the diary before Obama’s and the White House may have organised the president’s for the same day in order to respond directly to the criticism.
Cheney was unapologetic about the harsh interrogation methods that he had approved, such as waterboarding. “I was, and remain, a strong proponent of our enhanced interrogation program. The interrogations were used on hardened terrorists after other efforts failed,” he said. “They were legal, essential, justified, successful and the right thing to do.”
He aligned himself with the Democrats, at least those in Congress who opposed transferring the detainees to the mainland.
He ridiculed the Obama administration for dropping the phrase “war on terror”, saying that there were still people out there plotting to destroy US interests.
Cheney, stressing repeatedly that he and Bush had kept the US from a further attack after 9/11, appears to be setting up Obama to take the blame for another terrorist attack. Obama, near the close of his own speech, anticipated this, and acknowledged that the US still faced the threat of attack and would do so next year, five years from now and even 10 years from now.
Obama said: “I am not going to release individuals who endanger the American people. Al-Qaida terrorists and their affiliates are at war with the United States, and those that we capture – like other prisoners of war – must be prevented from attacking us again.”
Inadequate intake of dietary folates and folic acid has been strongly associated with the elevated levels of blood homocysteine which have been identified as a key risk factor for both cardiovascular disease and Alzheimer’s disease. But folates and folic acid are also very important in protecting against certain cancers and birth defects and it is these functions which are considered here.
The term folic acid may be confusing to some, because it is in fact one of the most important and heavily researched of the B complex of vitamins and widely used in this form as a dietary supplement. In the form of folate compounds the vitamin is also found naturally in the body as well as in various common foods.
Folic acid is essential for a large number of biochemical reactions within the body, including the metabolism of energy from food, but is particularly important in ensuring that the continual process of cell division within the body proceeds normally. This is especially vital during the rapid development and production of new cells during the first weeks after conception. Inadequate intake of folates and/or folic acid in the early stages of pregnancy has been identified as a cause of what are known as “neural tube defects” which lead to inadequate or abnormal development of the foetal brain and spinal cord.
One of the most dreaded diseases which may result from these problems is spina bifida, but the incidence of this has been shown to be reduced by 75% when folic acid supplements of 400 mcg are taken during the first three months of pregnancy. Folic acid supplements are recommended because they are much more easily absorbed, “bioavailable” in the jargon, than folates from food.
It would in fact be difficult to obtain sufficient supplies of this nutrient from ordinary food sources. Supplementation is therefore recommended for all women of child bearing age because the need for this nutrient is at its most critical in the very early days of a pregnancy, possibly before the mother is even aware of her condition.
This is not to say, however, that a diet rich in folates should not still be followed, because amongst the best and most readily available sources of folates are leafy green vegetables, and orange juice which also provide a plentiful supply of valuable anti-oxidants and are extremely beneficial to general health.
A single cup of spinach or asparagus, for example, may provide as much as 130 or more micrograms (mcg) of folate; a small glass of orange juice perhaps 80 mcg. Pulses such as beans and lentils are also good sources, the latter providing around 180 mcg in just half a cup, beans between 80 and 140 mcg according to type.
Best of all, however, is fortified breakfast cereal, a single cup of which may yield between 200 and 400 mcg, reflecting the FDA’s insistence on the addition of folic acid to refined grain foods, including bread.
Although this policy is driven mostly by a desire to protect the unborn, the more general advice to consume at least five servings of fruit and vegetables a day has also been put forward as a protector against cancer. Certainly such a diet would be rich in folates, and research suggests a strong association between folate deficiency and an increased incidence of certain of the more common cancers, including those of the cervix, colon and rectum, lung, oesophagus and breast. It is thought that the association may arise because of the role of folate in DNA repair within cells, DNA damage being regarded as a principal cause of cancer.
However, conventional medicine remains reluctant to accept folic acid supplementation as a possible weapon in the battle against cancer, even though one large scale study has reported a halving of breast cancer risk in women taking more than 600 mcg daily. For reasons which are not understood, however, this protective effect was only observed in the case of those women who also consumed at least one alcoholic drink per day. In general it can be said that the link between folic acid intake and cancer risk remains a matter of association rather than clear causation, but orthodox opinion is much less cautious in recommending a high intake of folates from food.
But not surprisingly, given the potential benefits, nutritional therapists are much less cautious in recommending folic acid supplementation at levels far in excess of the officially Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) of 400 mcg (0.4 mg) a day; some suggesting as much as 10 mg (10,000 mcg). And in fact there appears little reason for concern over the ingestion of such apparently large amounts.
Although the US Food and Nutrition Board has recommended that folic acid intake should be limited to 1,000 mcg (1 mg) per day, this is not so much because of possible problems with such an intake of folic acid in itself, but rather because it may cure a particular type of anaemia which is one of the symptoms of an underlying deficiency of vitamin B12. Whilst you might think that such a cure would be beneficial, the problem is that it may mask the underlying vitamin B12 deficiency with potentially serious neurological consequences.
But the solution to the problem would seem straightforward. It is simply to ensure that a generous supply of vitamin B12 is obtained along with any folic acid taken. And this should not be difficult if the vitamins are taken as part of a supplement containing the entire B complex, as is always recommended. As with all vitamins supplements, they should for maximum effectiveness be taken in conjunction with a comprehensive multi-mineral.
Globalization workers fate in the hands of multinational corporations, owners of these companies always find ways to save costs; Thus, manufacturing and service industries began to lower wage demands transfer of emerging markets, so more American middle class started by the threat of unemployment. It was believed that “globalization is Americanization” of the people began to clear, the “double-edged sword” is not only one side had the cutting edge.
Since 1990, 20 years, the U.S. economy grew by 60%, which is equivalent to the median income of U.S. citizens increased 6 times. Americans rely on to borrow money from banks and buy cheap imports from emerging markets, commodities, and lived a life consistent with the dream.
For a long time, this also makes a happy life on their own assumptions Americans have more confidence, that is, “Globalization and free trade is a good thing.” However, despite the Americans themselves are not aware, this assumption there is also a prerequisite of political economy, that is, globalization and free trade must be for their own national interests.
Now, five years after graduation to start this hypothesis, globalization began to hurt the U.S. economy. Wall Street analysts to the United States from the experts and scholars, are predicting the U.S. will irreversibly in decline.
As a result, Americans are not happy, they began to rethink the “global” meaning of the word. Volcker was Fed chairman and even to boost international cooperation in the world economy has made pessimistic judgments, because the United States and other countries internal politics “under” more difficult for countries to achieve cooperation. He publicly stated that no future international cooperation to build a satisfactory world economic order are remote.
The Fed had to come forward at this point, the face of faltering economy and incompetent government, open a new round of quantitative easing in the valve. However, this strategy seems to be the world’s attention, “a laughing stock.” The fact is that recovery is just a continuation of quantitative easing from the Greenspan era the Fed has so far adopted the policy. When the economy is weak, the Fed exercised lax incentives; facing the bubble, the Fed can not do anything.
In addition, sluggish economic growth, lingering high unemployment rate, which in many developed countries, igniting a protectionist sentiments. But protectionism not only in self-defeating, and is likely to be futile. Because the result of the exchange rate issue is trade, not trade a starting point.
The bleak economic situation, obviously can not blame the head of globalization.
In the process of globalization over the past decade, the U.S. economy has fundamentally changed. With jobs and industry to the production of low-cost transfer of emerging markets, the unemployment rate is naturally increased. But the Americans not only failed to seize this trend, another way of allocation of resources, nor the development of new strategies and industry, but the Fed to continue to relax the policy, the results bring a wasteful and false housing bubble. Moreover, this loss of jobs has occurred in the worst period. Facing foreclosure, soaring health care costs and job search without results of the U.S. consumers are more reluctant to consumption, which increased the downward pressure on prices, contributing to global deflation.
Americans are not received no benefit from globalization. In fact, during the financial crisis, the U.S. economy through globalization, the crisis passed a lot of risk to other developed and developing countries. When the United States keep down the value of fixed assets, other countries in U.S. dollar assets are shrinking.
“Globalization is a double-edged sword”, this phrase familiar to most situations is used to describe the less developed economies “by globalization” process encountered a lot of flow, but hope in the future to have received benefits of a subtle mind. However, globalization is now this “double-edged sword” is really more effective, not only hurt “by globalization,” the party, even the original rules of “active globalization” of the party felt its power.
A few years ago the Ministry of hot chip house There is a popular saying: “Chu Laihun always have to repay.” Groan on the United States in the many benefits of globalization, mixed for so long, but do not have the mentality that imbalance.
Phentermine diet pills are the easiest way to lose extra weight. It works much better if you follow the dietary and do gymnastics every day. If ones just use the medicine and will simply await good results, then Phentermine diet pills won’t do you good, it will cause only pains. It could be bought without prescription. You can buy it just from the online store. Many stores on the web are shipping it for free if you order it from a concrete area.
It is easy enough to order Phentermine diet pills. You should choose preparations with the price and quality you need. If you select the wrong one, it may become a serious complication. As it can be bought in many stores on the Web, price may differ for every product. Check out the price and review before getting Phentermine. You should learn about them first, not later. Get Phentermine diet pills only from a store that has a license to sell it. If you want to buy Phentermine without receipt, then make all the precautions and try to avoid side effect. commonly the customers are asked by the sellers to fill the medical history form to make sure that Phentermine diet pills won’t harm the patient.
When one uses Phentermine pills one must properly follow the physician’s advice. If you’re ill then you must say about it to the doctor and only then use Phentermine diet pills. There are also other preparations which one can use for getting rid of an extra loss. But Phentermine diet pills are the most common ones.
These pills are choice of those which mass is 28 or more. You should only take it if you are suffering from common problems with weight. You mustn’t use it for a long period of time because you may become addicted. Those who are under 16 years shouldn’t take this preparation. If you faced side effect when you use these pills, don’t take them and discuss the problem with your physician. Though the side effects are in nature, you should try to avoid complications which may happen. If you don’t do everyday gymnastics or follow dietary improperly, then you may get dangerous problems.
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At first glance the text of the advert running in national newspapers today reads like an attack on the burger and fries giant McDonald’s.
The advert says it supports the core argument of a film where a man who eats burgers for 30 days piles on weight to such a health damaging extent that his doctors order him to stop eating them.
But it is not placed by campaigners savaging the firm’s nutritional record – it is placed by McDonald’s.
So concerned is the multinational about the US independent film Super Size Me, which will be screened this weekend at the Edinburgh film festival and goes on general release in Britain in three weeks’ time, that it decided to mount the unconventional campaign.
“What may surprise you is how much of the film we agree with,” the ad says, before later declaring: “We do agree with … its core argument, that if you eat too much and do too little, it’s bad for you.”
The ad claims the film is flawed because an average customer would take six years to eat the same amount of burgers as the filmmaker ate. It also claims the weight gain was exaggerated because the filmmaker cut his physical activity to a bare minimum.
McDonald’s spokeswoman Amanda Pierce said: “We wanted to ensure there is a balanced debate so people hear our side of the story.”
In the film, film-maker Morgan Spurlock put on 27lb and saw his cholesterol and blood pressure rise after eating nothing but McDonald’s hamburgers for a month. The film, made for £50,000, was a surprise hit in the US, making £6m.
In the US McDonald’s is being sued by obese people who claim its products, supported by a lavish marketing campaign, helped make them fat.
Labour MP David Hinchcliffe MP, chairman of the powerful Commons health select committee, said some food companies were taking the problem of obesity far more seriously than the burger firm.
“I don’t see McDonald’s in the front line of the progressives who are genuinely looking at their role and responsibility in the global obesity problem,” he said.
Concerns about McDonald’s nutrition and allegations it damaged the environment led the firm to change its menu at its 1,200 outlets across the UK.
The ad says it now offers salads, fruit and organic products alongside the Big Mac and fries.
With a new health care overhaul bill passed and the president moving onto the campaign trail to convince the country that it’s the right move, opponents of the legislation are lining up throughout the U.S. to mount one final stand against the bill. Senate Republicans are planning to keep a companion bill from reaching the president via parliamentary moves, while legislators in at least 30 states are working against the bill, noting that it is unconstitutional to force Americans to have health insurance. While experts predict that none of these moves will work, they do admit that it will keep the issue firmly in the public’s mind all the way until the next set of elections.
Said Mark Hall, professor of law and public health at Wake Forest University, “I am surprised by the mobilization of the states. It does strike me as a kind of civil disobedience, a declaration that we’re not going to follow the law of the land. It doesn’t make sense. The federal Constitution couldn’t be any clearer that federal law is supreme.” No matter, as the vitriol that was reserved for Democrats and their bill during debate is now heating up to a whole new level.
On Monday, at least nine state attorneys general were already moving to file suit against the federal government as soon as the bill was signed. Those states included Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Michigan, Nebraska and Washington. Already Virginia and Idaho have passed legislation that would block the bill’s insurance requirement from taking effect in those states. Summing up the fury quite effectively, Brian Gottstein, a spokesman for Republican Virginia attorney general Kenneth Cuccinelli, “Just by virtue of being a resident of the United States, never before in history have we been required to purchase something.”
Inadequate intake of dietary folates and folic acid has been strongly associated with the elevated levels of blood homocysteine which have been identified as a key risk factor for both cardiovascular disease and Alzheimer’s disease. But folates and folic acid are also very important in protecting against certain cancers and birth defects and it is these functions which are considered here.
The term folic acid may be confusing to some, because it is in fact one of the most important and heavily researched of the B complex of vitamins and widely used in this form as a dietary supplement. In the form of folate compounds the vitamin is also found naturally in the body as well as in various common foods.
Folic acid is essential for a large number of biochemical reactions within the body, including the metabolism of energy from food, but is particularly important in ensuring that the continual process of cell division within the body proceeds normally. This is especially vital during the rapid development and production of new cells during the first weeks after conception. Inadequate intake of folates and/or folic acid in the early stages of pregnancy has been identified as a cause of what are known as “neural tube defects” which lead to inadequate or abnormal development of the foetal brain and spinal cord.
One of the most dreaded diseases which may result from these problems is spina bifida, but the incidence of this has been shown to be reduced by 75% when folic acid supplements of 400 mcg are taken during the first three months of pregnancy. Folic acid supplements are recommended because they are much more easily absorbed, “bioavailable” in the jargon, than folates from food.
It would in fact be difficult to obtain sufficient supplies of this nutrient from ordinary food sources. Supplementation is therefore recommended for all women of child bearing age because the need for this nutrient is at its most critical in the very early days of a pregnancy, possibly before the mother is even aware of her condition.
This is not to say, however, that a diet rich in folates should not still be followed, because amongst the best and most readily available sources of folates are leafy green vegetables, and orange juice which also provide a plentiful supply of valuable anti-oxidants and are extremely beneficial to general health.
A single cup of spinach or asparagus, for example, may provide as much as 130 or more micrograms (mcg) of folate; a small glass of orange juice perhaps 80 mcg. Pulses such as beans and lentils are also good sources, the latter providing around 180 mcg in just half a cup, beans between 80 and 140 mcg according to type.
Best of all, however, is fortified breakfast cereal, a single cup of which may yield between 200 and 400 mcg, reflecting the FDA’s insistence on the addition of folic acid to refined grain foods, including bread.
Although this policy is driven mostly by a desire to protect the unborn, the more general advice to consume at least five servings of fruit and vegetables a day has also been put forward as a protector against cancer. Certainly such a diet would be rich in folates, and research suggests a strong association between folate deficiency and an increased incidence of certain of the more common cancers, including those of the cervix, colon and rectum, lung, oesophagus and breast. It is thought that the association may arise because of the role of folate in DNA repair within cells, DNA damage being regarded as a principal cause of cancer.
However, conventional medicine remains reluctant to accept folic acid supplementation as a possible weapon in the battle against cancer, even though one large scale study has reported a halving of breast cancer risk in women taking more than 600 mcg daily. For reasons which are not understood, however, this protective effect was only observed in the case of those women who also consumed at least one alcoholic drink per day. In general it can be said that the link between folic acid intake and cancer risk remains a matter of association rather than clear causation, but orthodox opinion is much less cautious in recommending a high intake of folates from food.
But not surprisingly, given the potential benefits, nutritional therapists are much less cautious in recommending folic acid supplementation at levels far in excess of the officially Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) of 400 mcg (0.4 mg) a day; some suggesting as much as 10 mg (10,000 mcg). And in fact there appears little reason for concern over the ingestion of such apparently large amounts.
Although the US Food and Nutrition Board has recommended that folic acid intake should be limited to 1,000 mcg (1 mg) per day, this is not so much because of possible problems with such an intake of folic acid in itself, but rather because it may cure a particular type of anaemia which is one of the symptoms of an underlying deficiency of vitamin B12. Whilst you might think that such a cure would be beneficial, the problem is that it may mask the underlying vitamin B12 deficiency with potentially serious neurological consequences.
But the solution to the problem would seem straightforward. It is simply to ensure that a generous supply of vitamin B12 is obtained along with any folic acid taken. And this should not be difficult if the vitamins are taken as part of a supplement containing the entire B complex, as is always recommended. As with all vitamins supplements, they should for maximum effectiveness be taken in conjunction with a comprehensive multi-mineral.
Tea
Kevin Pietersen is limping, and it might become one of the most familiar sights of the Ashes summer. His achilles problem is already playing up but in league with Paul Collingwood he has revived England’s fortunes on the opening afternoon of the first Ashes Test.
Unlike a certain insurance company, Pietersen has no compunction about making a drama out of a crisis. The thought that his achilles might betray him at any moment is one of England’s greatest fears, a potential stroke of ill luck that could bring down the entire team, not just their most prominent batsman.
Pietersen’s fourth-wicket stand with Paul Collingwood was worth 104 in 34 overs by tea, both men achieving half-centuries just before the interval during a considered rebuilding of England’s position after the loss of three wickets before lunch.
Pietersen and Collingwood have now scored more runs against Australia than any fourth-wicket pair, surpassing Ken Barrington and Colin Cowdrey. They are already the most productive fourth-wicket partnership in England’s Test history.
Collingwood, perfectly at home on a slow, low surface, might have been operating undercover as he moved silently to a half-century from 125 balls. Pietersen, not the sort to loiter unnoticed, had reached his fifty 30 balls faster, his gloves shining brightly in highlighter-pen yellow, the inners of his pads a matching shade of lime green. It is if his achilles turns green that we all have to worry.
Perhaps Pietersen’s limp will become as fearsome as that of the former West Indian opening batsman Gordon Greenidge. When he began to hobble, bowlers knew that it was time to take cover as the pain irked him into a series of murderous straight drives.
England scored a healthy 97 runs between lunch and tea, managing only six boundaries but efficiently milking Australia’s attack, none more so than their commonplace off-spinner, Nathan Hauritz, whose 14 overs cost 41, and whose appearance in the attack would have been quietly welcomed.
Hauritz’s field could hardly have been more negative. He began with a long-on and had three fielders stationed for various top-edged sweeps. It was the sweep that Pietersen missed that almost ended his innings on 40, the ball creeping through his legs and shaving leg stump.
Lunch
Australia have drawn first blood in the Ashes. They had cut deep into England’s first innings by lunch on the first day, removing Alastair Cook, Andrew Strauss and Ravi Bopara. The first taste of Test cricket in Wales has proved an unnerving experience for England.
This being Wales, the prelude to the match involved a lot of singing, but once the Test started it all gave way to Australian dancing. On a pitch that promised a day of attritional cricket, the Australian pace attack who performed so impressively to win in South Africa had an excellent start.
Cook fell in insipid fashion, steering Ben Hilfenhaus to gully, where Mike Hussey sprung to his right to take an excellent catch. Strauss and Bopara were both duped by excellent variation from Mitchell Johnson, whose opening spells were mixed but who ended the session with two for 37 from nine overs.
In the absence of Brett Lee because of injury, Australia’s captain Ricky Ponting kept faith with the pace attack that had performed so impressively in South Africa, preferring the workmanlike qualities of Hilfenhaus to Stuart Clark and opted on a pitch expected to turn substantially as the match progresses to pick the off-spinner Nathan Hauritz, who took only two wickets in the warm-up games.
Strauss moved sedately to 30, but he was undone by Johnson’s change of pace. He followed up a slower ball with a 93mph bouncer – probably the quickest ball of the morning. It did not get up – not many did on a surface with definite sub-continent tendencies – and Strauss was struck on the glove as he tried to take evasive action, the ball looping to Michael Clarke in the slips.
The morning was dominated by an agonised innings by Bopara: uncertain, yet combative, surviving more by desire than sagacity. He was hit twice, first deliberately riding a delivery from Peter Siddle on the chest, later ducking into a bouncer that failed to get up from Johnson.
His first Ashes Test began edgily. He got off the mark with a Chinese cut for four and needed 21 balls before his first authentic shot, pushing Johnson into the legside. Siddle deliberately fed him two wide ones, both dispatched airily through point for four. A checked drive against Johnson also sailed fortunately over mid-off.
If Bopara was living dangerously, the element of risk increased the moment that Pietersen came to the crease and typically kick-started his innings with a series of madcap singles more attuned to World Twenty20 than the start of a five-Test Ashes series.
Pietersen survived until lunch somewhat precariously, Bopara did not, dismissed for 35 in 52 balls as he was deceived by a slower ball from Johnson which he shunted into the offside as he tried to check his shot. Quite what a good first-innings score is on this pitch nobody really knows. England will hope after an uneasy morning it is around 280. It might be that 380 is nearer the mark.
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