 On the first morning, openers Michael Slater and captain Mark Taylor made the most of winning the toss, advancing to 87/0 at lunch untroubled by the England bowlers, with Taylor making a fluent half-century.A mix-up saw both batsmen at one end soon after lunch, and Taylor departed run out for 59.David Boon followed soon after, when he played on to Darren Gough, but this only brought Mark Waugh to the crease, and he and Slater saw through most of the rest of the day at a run a ball, Slater moving to a century (173 balls).