ALASTAIR Cook will vividly remember the first wicket of this Ashes series.

Kevin Pietersen's wicket in the first innings at Cardiff grabbed all the headlines, but it was the sheer perfection of his second-innings dismissal that sticks in the mind.

Andrew Strauss will still recall the morning he strolled out to resume the contest's top score, only to return immediately minus his off stump.

And Ravi Bopara will simply be having nightmares about giant wild-haired bricklayers from Northern Tasmania.

Of the English players to feature in all four Tests, none have been spared falling victim to Ben Hilfenhaus.

And as McGrath was to Atherton and Warne to Cullinan, so Hilfy has been to Bopara, dismissing the No. 3 five times and at each venue, prompting his ditching from this week's decider.

The 26-year-old right-arm quick is the leading wicket-taker and only appears to have Michael Clarke, and at a stretch, Marcus North as company for the man-of- the-series award.

And yet it could have been even better.

Hilfenhaus has been predominantly used as a new-ball bowler, hence most of his wickets have been top-order batsmen.

The closer the Aussies get to the tail, the less Hilfy seems to bowl.

So while Peter Siddle and Mitchell Johnson have both been invited to complete five-fors by wrapping up the tail (four of Siddle's five in the first innings at Headingley were numbers 8-11), Hilfy has been stranded on four three times.

Even national selector and fellow Tasmanian David Boon commented this week: "I think Ben has bowled tremendously well in England this series and with an ounce of luck could have taken double the wickets."

Certainly it would be interesting to wonder how last men standing Jimmy Anderson and Monty Panesar would have faired in Cardiff if, instead of defending away spinners, they'd had to face Hilfy's relentless off- stump line.

Add to all this just one dismissal in four trips to the crease by a batsman widely acknowledged as a No. 11 by all who know him, and it is difficult to imagine how Hilfy's opening Ashes tour could have gone much better.