ENGLAND'S hopes of ending 15 years of Ashes disappointment were shattered on the opening day of the series after Glamorgan fast bowler Simon Jones suffered a serious injury and Australia piled up an imposing total after winning the toss.

The hosts finished the first day at The Gabba on a daunting 364 for two with Ricky Ponting scoring 123 and Matthew Hayden an unbeaten 186 after England captain Nasser Hussain defied local knowledge and decided to put his trust in an inexperienced attack after winning the toss, despite the side batting first losing only twice in the last eight years of Test cricket at this ground.

Their innings were aided by the loss of Jones, who claimed England's only wicket today before being stretchered off after suffering ruptured cruciate ligament damage while fielding and is facing six months on the sidelines.

As far as bad days in recent Ashes series go, it was probably England's worst since Geoff Marsh and Mark Taylor finished the opening day of the first Test at Trent Bridge on 301 without loss in 1989 and set the tone for Australia regaining the Ashes later that summer.

From a very early stage it seemed clear that Hussain, who claimed he had wanted to give his bowlers every chance to win the game, had erred in his judgement with prolific openers Justin Langer and Matthew Hayden sharing a 67-run partnership in only 71 minutes.

Their stand was broken once Hussain introduced Jones into the attack and he made the breakthrough with his ninth delivery in Ashes cricket, surprising Langer (32) with the bounce and inducing him into edging behind to wicketkeeper Alec Stewart.

Hayden's innings was particularly galling for England after they thought they had dismissed him for 40 only for Jones to make a crucial misjudgement while fielding down at fine leg.

Jones had walked in further than his captain would have liked and when Hayden mis-timed an attempted hook off Hoggard he back-pedalled frantically but after taking the catch his momentum carried him over the rope.

Hussain and England both claimed the catch but umpires Steve Bucknor and Rudi Koertzen correctly over-ruled the appeals and allowed Hayden to spearhead Australia racing along at five an over before lunch.

Jones' missed opportunity was soon overlooked, however, after he suffered his distressing accident in the outfield only four overs after the interval when he twisted his right knee attempting to stop a Ponting on-drive race to the boundary.

He was stretchered off after consulting with physio Kirk Russell and accompanied to a nearby hospital by England operations manager Phil Neale before the bad news was revealed that he would face reconstructive surgery as soon as he returns to the UK in a fortnight.

Hayden was dropped again on 102 when Hoggard mis-judged a skyer off Caddick and again on 132 when Michael Vaughan missed a simple chance off Craig White at short extra cover, prompting the religious Australian opener to make the sign of the cross to illustrate his relief.

Just when it seemed England's luck had deserted them, they enjoyed enough good fortune to end Australia's destructive 272-run second wicket with Ponting falling to Giles after the ball bounced down off his thigh pad onto the stumps.

Ponting hit two sixes, in successive balls earlier in his innings off Giles, and 12 other boundaries during his stay at the crease but Hayden maintained his relentless pursuit of runs and had hit two sixes and 23 other boundaries during his 383-minute stay at the crease by the close.