ONE of the great failings of cricket - possibly only topped by the occasional chutzpah of the weather to intervene and scatter matches in the blustery rain - is that the toss, one little flicked coin spinning into the outfield air, can have so much influence on the outcome of a Test match.

At Old Trafford last week, in the split-second between Michael Clarke guessing correctly and the bouncing coin resting on the turf, one of the match's possible outcomes was effectively eliminated. With bad weather forecast, England decided they were unlikely to win and, needing a draw to retain the Ashes, limited their ambition to securing the stalemate.

And so we arrived at Chester-le-Street for the Fourth Investec Ashes Test, and the little prize is already gone. Or, rather, it isn't, because the urn will be staying in England until at least this winter. Australia, though, in this less vital Fourth Investec Test, have started well, ending the first day clearly on top.

Despite Alastair Cook calling the toss correctly and deciding to bat, Australia's bowlers were tight, on-length and performed admirably - Nathan Lyon especially - in managing to suffocate England's batsmen, who finished on 238 for nine. In one long spell, 21 overs passed without a boundary. Barring any Ashton Agar-style heroics - unlikely from James Anderson, who did admittedly add four boundaries in the last four balls before the close of play - Australia will start their innings aiming to build up a respectable lead.

Their industrious seamers played to type as a strong unit capable of starving the opposition of runs while never quite blowing them away. The secret to their success was the snatching of wickets at regular intervals to halt England's lurching momentum.

Joe Root was caught groping outside his off-stump; the umpire stood motionless and Michael Clarke instantly called for the review. The Australia captain has been criticised for his use of the DRS system in this series, but his acumen was sharper today - the youngster had to walk.

Trott, that familiar lazy steel in his eyes, strode out to the crease, apparently out of form but looking all the world like a man nonplussed by the world's bluster, whistling and checking his watch; waiting in some village post-office line to collect his inevitable century. His concentration faltered though, for but a moment, on 49, trying to flick one off his legs and instead flicking it straight to Kawaja who took an impressive diving catch.

"It was difficult," he said. "Quite hard to score, but from 100 for one we'd be upset at the position we're in at the close of play. No-one's really sure what a good score is. Australia bowled well, hopefully we can create the same pressure tomorrow."

Kevin Pietersen was next to take guard, bristling with intent - it was ever thus - and briefly broke the shackles with a brisk 26 before Lyon, bowling from around the wicket, found the edge of his untaped bat and had him caught by Brad Haddin.

England's captain had watched his partners fail. Cook went on to make a half-century, out in the middle for nearly four hours; facing 164 balls. It is in these situations that one expects him to bat for days; perhaps his slump in form is best illustrated by the lack of surprise when he was out lbw to what was a terrific ball from Jackson Bird, pitching outside the line and arrowing back in to smack the pads.

Bell recklessly advanced to Lyon and was well-caught by Ryan Harris at mid-off, before Matt Prior and Jonny Bairstow began to rebuild with a promising partnership. They eventually mustered just 31 runs between them from 135 balls, Bairstow going 65 minutes between scoring shots at one point. Having at last moved from 12 to 14, he was out two balls later, missing a sweep at Lyon's spin, and a close review failed to save him.

Stuart Broad hacked a short ball in the air to point, and Graeme Swann picked out deep square-leg with a pull as Ryan Harris was rewarded for bowling well all day. England's last two wickets added more than 40 runs.

"It was good fun out there, I'm pretty happy with the way I bowled," said Lyon, who finished with figures of four for 42. "We spoke about how well we went in Manchester, unfortunately the weather went against us but it was important to continue today with the same momentum."

It is never wise to judge a batting total until both sides have been out in the middle. The average first innings score for this ground so far this year isn't too dissimilar from the one England look like they will stick on. Scores of over 250 have been at a premium. England will be hoping they prove equally scarce tomorrow.