Terry Hauritz is delighted his son Nathan got the chance to play in the first Ashes Test and he took the important wicket of kevin Pietersen during England's first innings.

Richard Harvey

IF Terry Hauritz thought he would be able to slip under the radar and have a quiet day yesterday - he was wrong.

His phone started ringing not long after 6am with people calling to congratulate him on son Nathan's selection in the Australian team for the first Ashes Test and his dismissal of England's most dangerous batsman, Kevin Pietersen.

The Hervey Bay concreter had so many calls that his mobile phone had gone flat by 10am.

Flat was not something that could describe how Terry was feeling - tired maybe after a long night watching the TV but certainly not flat.

“I am just so excited for him,” Terry said.

“He did a good job and hopefully that will keep his critics quiet for a while.”

Nathan, an off-spinner, finished day one with figures of one for 67 from 19 overs as England scored seven for 336, a total that might have been a lot more had the former Hervey Bay junior not taken the wicket of Pietersen for 69.

As Hauritz floated a ball well outside off stump, Pietersen reached out wide to sweep without moving his feet and looped an easy catch to Simon Katich at short leg.

Terry said he thought his son was always going to be in with a chance of dismissing Pietersen that way.

“He'd had a couple of goes at sweeping Nathan earlier in his innings and they didn't come off,” Terry said.

“This one didn't either - Pietersen will know it was a shocking shot but they all count.

“You don't have to paint a picture - the scorebook still reads the same and that's what matters.”

As for Pietersen, he praised the performance of the former Torquay State School student.

“He bowled some very, very good lines and varied his pace,” he said.

“I commented on him at tea time, saying, 'He's a good bowler, this guy, he knows what he's doing.'

“Although he doesn't have the mystery spin like (Shane) Warne and (Muthiah) Muralitharan and (Ajantha) Mendis like all these guys have, he's got good control and he is a clever bowler.

“He's no fool, he's a good bowler, that guy.”

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