Phantom Menace rips Australian batsmen apart as pig smuggled in pram into Gabba Ashes Test Australia has finished 8-273 on the opening day of the first Ashes Test in Brisbane. A PIG, a pram and rampaging Pom combined to steal Australia's bacon at the Gabba yesterday. While the Ashes villain, who will remain nameless in The Courier-Mail, was scything through the Australian top order, a pig named Ash (as in Ashes) was being smuggled into the ground. IN PICTURES: Fans face off at Gabba LOOK BACK: Best Gabba Ashes moments The poor little porker is rescued by police at The Gabba on day One of the First Test. Picture: Lukas Avgerinos/Facebook) Source: Supplied It was a throwback to the 1982-83 Ashes Test at this ground, where a pig brought to the ground by a group of vets - who anaesthetised it and placed an apple in its mouth - was let loose. Amid the porky tales, the 27-year-old English medium-pace bowler rejoiced in one of his finest cricketing days - and the fact his mother was nowhere in sight. The chant of "----- is a wanker" echoed around the Gabba as he came in to bowl his first ball, and when David Warner pulled that ball for four it was if Australia had retained the Ashes. But the 27-year-old medium pace bowler wasn't down for long. He surged to take 5-65 on day one of the Ashes series to leave a groggy but far from defeated Australia on 8-273 at stumps. He then arrived at post-day press conference with a playful smirk and carrying a copy of the day's Courier-Mail, which had called on fans to follow Allan Border's advice and give him the silent treatment. The paper had decided on a "----- ban" campaign to not mention the player by name throughout the Test, referring to him only as the "27-year-old English medium-pacer." "I've only just seen it - I thought it was a bit of fun," he said of the newspaper's front page. England's Phantom Menace had a Force-choke-hold on the Australian batting order. It turned out he was right - the bowler is a tiger best left unstirred. Queensland fans who felt horribly ------sided during the Ashes series in winter were not about to tie their tongues and let the bloke who refused to walk at Trent Bridge off the hook. The Courier-Mail's campaign and its ribbing of walking ego Kevin Pietersen stirred up emotions in Test week. The England bowler's dad, former England opening batsman Chris Broad, tweeted our paper: "Come on The Courier-Mail in Brisbane, mention the star performer's name." Former London tabloid newspaper editor Piers Morgan, now a leading American talkback TV host, even tweeted a picture of The Courier-Mail's front page. The bottom line was this was a -----side, especially for Australian skipper Michael Clarke, who has now been dismissed by the medium-pacer in six of his last eight completed Test innings against England. Silent treatment is all bitter-tweet YESTERDAY'S front page of The Courier-Mail sparked an Australia-England battle at times more intense than that being waged on the pitch. Cricket writer Ben Dorries set up the controversy on Wednesday evening when he appeared on Fox Sports news with an early version of the front page. He held it up on air and explained the rationale for the ban: that Australian cricket legend Allan Border had suggested that rather than booing the bowler, ignoring him completely would be a better tactic to get under his skin. Within minutes, former England captain Michael Vaughan had tweeted a photo of Dorries with the front page - adding the hashtag #blinkers. The biggest news website in the world, the Mail Online, soon published a story which began: "Having been disarmed by the charm of Kevin Pietersen in the press conference, Brisbane's The Courier-Mail tabloid has turned its attentions to the man it has labelled 'Stuart Fraud'." Other major British websites soon followed, and the story was picked up by the afternoon London papers. The London Evening Standard wrote under the headline "Aussies fire broadside" that: "Not content with claiming none of the England team like Kevin Pietersen, The Courier-Mail today labelled (the player) a 'cheat'." London commuter paper Metro headlined its report: "Aussie press vow to ignore 'smug cheat'." Cricket Australia soon joined the party, tweeting that "The Courier-Mail's front page tomorrow may fire up #BarmyArmy?" By yesterday morning the front page treatment "contributed to a festive atmosphere" as the fans descended on The Gabba, according to a report on the Europort website. It was then featured prominently on the Today Show and was discussed on morning radio programs across Australia. The Courier-Mail's vow to only refer to the player as a "27-year-old English medium pace bowler" was the major talking point at the ground before the first over. It was the first topic discussed during yesterday's ABC radio coverage - with Border saying it was all part of the build-up to the Ashes. And even the Australian captain Michael Clarke referenced the front page after he won the toss and chose to bat, saying he was about to send England in to bat after reading about Border's advice. The Twit-storm generated by ban on the 27-year-old medium-pace bowler. Among the crowd was Kylie Johnson, enjoying her first time at an Ashes Test. She showed her support for the campaign by wearing a T-shirt featuring yesterday's front page. "I'm not a huge fan of (the 27-year-old English medium pace bowler), so I like the T-shirts," the 29-year-old joked. Nothing unites fans like a common enemy and after his performance in England, he's the perfect villain. But as the medium pace bowler ripped through Australia's top order, English fans could hardly control their glee - and the front page whipped around the internet. The Sunday Times cricket correspondent Simon Wilde tweeted: "The Courier-Mail's plan gets off to bad start as He Who Shall Not Be Named has Rogers caught at gully." Kylie Johnson (front) and other Aussie Fans with their "Broad Ban"" T-shirts at the Gabba. Pic Mark Calleja Source: News Corp Australia Daily Mail cricket writer Lawrence Booth added: "If The Courier-Mail insist on referring to him as the '27-year-old English medium-pacer', there could be some unwieldy headlines tomorrow." CNN host Piers Morgan tweeted to his 3.8 million followers: "I'd like to thank the Australian media for targeting (the player) with their infantile antics - really worked well!" Even the bowler's father - former England batsman Chris Broad - got in on the act, tweeting: "Come on The Courier Mail in Brisbane, mention the star performers name." Online pranksters then rewrote The Courier-Mail's Wikipedia entry, appointing the bowler as the editor. The Guardian's lunchtime wrap began: "There were two Australian casualties inside four overs at The Gabba - Chris Rogers and The Courier-Mail." During Channel 9's television commentary, Australian legend Shane Warne at one point giggled uncontrollably after noticing a couriermail.com.au score update which said: "A 27yo English medium pace bowler is 3-for as Australian captain Michael Clarke goes for 1." The man at the centre of the controversy showed at the end of the day that he enjoyed the sport of it all - bringing a copy of The Courier-Mail to his press conference after stumps. "I thought it was a bit of fun," he said. Additional reporting Naomi Lim