Australia v England 2nd Test - Day 2

Lunch

Australia was off to a sensational start when Doug Bollinger bowled a straight ball at Andrew Strauss' off stump and the English captain obliged by lifting his bat and allowing himself to be bowled. If he were a Pakistani, there would an enquiry but he still appears to be recovering from his impetuous first innings slash at Brisbane and now seems intend on leaving the ball go which is closing in on his body from outside off. Hussey had a similar problem in England last year and Strauss would do well to go back to the positive approach. At 1-3, it was hard not to draw a similarity with the first day but Trott soon put the comparisons away.

In the hour to drinks, Australia attacked through Bollinger, Harris and Siddle and although giving up runs, they also created chances. Here in lies the difference between the sides, as England took their opportunities where as Australia again squandered chances to make further inroads. Still within the first twenty minutes Doherty had the same chance to run out Trott as the batsmen had with Katich yesterday but his left handed throw went well wide of the stumps and fifteen minutes later, Trott went to square drive and steered it instead to Hussey in the gully who got into perfect catching position low down, only to have the ball pass through his hands and then on through his legs. Trott was then 10 of England's 21. The next half hour to drinks was run a minute batting as Trott stroked well timed cover drives and drives of his pads and became completely assured. Cook, at the other end, had a straight bat in defence and just played himself in as the bowling became more expensive.

After drinks, Ponting took a leaf from the English play book and started employing 7:2 fields against the Englishmen and used Siddle and Watson to bowl a line that would feed shots to those sides of the wicket. Seven overs cost only 9 runs in an effort to frustrate the Englishmen and Trott spent forty minutes on 37. The second hour added only 35 runs. Harris came back for few overs before lunch and immediately took up the same tight line.

There will be more of the same for the rest of the day as England's batsmen have few flaws in technique or form, this is a flat deck and whilst Australia's bowlers have toiled well in the morning session, they'll need the encouragement of at least three English wickets by tea to still have steam for the last session. Still, at least there were no white flags. This group remembers they are Australian and with Harris calling himself a Queenslander, that can be a potent motivation to die trying.

It would help if they held a few catches.

This Session: England
Sessions This Test: England 4, Australia 0, Shared 0
Sessions This Series: England 10, Australia 6, Shared 3

Tea

England's most dominant session of the Test included another extended partnership between Cook and Trott. If Australia needed some time watching them to develop a plan against, they have certainly been granted that with the bulk of England's three innings in the series featuring these two. Harris and Bollinger started after lunch and whilst Harris bowled a line which tested both batsmen, Bolinger was inconsistent and sprayed balls on either side of the wicket which both took advantage of. Doherty kept them quiet for a while but after drinks, Ponting employed a new tactic with three men set in the deep behind and infront of square leg and Siddle was sent in to keep the ball at head height. The intention was to bowl one ball an over which was at hip height to Trott and have him play uppishly into the closer in legside trap ... a variation of leg theory in essence.

Siddle executed well and as tea approached Harris took over the role. Cook and Trott, tiring of the line of attack, both had close calls. Cook sent one to Haddin from his sleave, winning a reprieve on referral but Trott put wood on his only for Haddin to join the list of Australians dropping catches. A few minutes later, Ponting's plan paid off when Trott, reileved at getting a ball he could hit, sent the ball wide to Clarke's left hand and the beleaguered vice captain dived to take a splendid catch. Trott, despite sitting at the runs table and feasting off the Australians for much of these first two Tests, was distraught at falling for such an obvious trap. Despite being dropped twice, he had played another very classy innings and had added 173 with Cook.

Ponting, who had removed Doherty after 29 had come from his last three overs, mainly from glorious back foot shoots by Cook, immediately bought him back to attack Pietersen. Much is made of Pietersen's record against left arm spin (16% of his dismissals) but more should be made of his record overall against spin. Two in every five innings, they send him back. Sure enough, he jumped down the track and skied a ball into the covers only to have it fall in safe territory.

With 108 runs added in the session, England is already in a dominant position. More of the same until stumps and they will have done much towards going one up.

This Session: England
Sessions This Test: England 5, Australia 0, Shared 0
Sessions This Series: England 11, Australia 6, Shared 3

Stumps

In what must be one of the most dismal days for a long time in Australian cricket, worst fears last night must surely have been realised. The pitch was over done, the bowling tried hard but wasn't up to the task of putting a ditto under the English bowling yesterday and the batting was superb. By stumps, English superiority had accumulated 3-834 in the last two innings. Even with their first day collapse in Brisbane, 13-1094 still looks a lot better than Australia's 21-833.

Having said that, Australia had chances today but failed to take them. Ryan Harris was easily the best of the bowlers but strangely, only bowled three overs in the last session and those at the very end when Ponting opted to give him a shiney, new present. Bollinger should have been a leg spinner because he can bowl the unplayable but always bowls one 4 ball an over. Today, he bowled more of the latter and very few of the former. Siddle was impressive but tired at the end an Pietersen took full advantage. Watson and North bowled for an hour before the second new ball was taken and both were economical without threatening to take a wicket - a tactic Ponting tried several times but lacked the men to fulfill the plan.

Doherty was outclassed and his display stood in stark contrast with that of Swann yesterday. Both went for 70 runs but Swann did so off twice as many overs in a long spell of containment that pressurised good batsmen until they cracked. The newbie gave up 11 boundaries in his fifteen overs, to Swann's two 4's and a 6 in 29 overs. Doherty is not up to that standard and frankly, its unfair for the Australian public or the selectors to have such expectation. As it was in the Ashes series last year, selection mistakes have proved crucial and Ponting might well have donated an arm to have had Hauritz on the field with him today. When Pietersen played a classic on drive from Siddle to raise his fifty, Doherty had long since been banished from the bowling crease and his reason for playing, Pietersen's 16% of leftie dismissals, was no more than a brainwave that lack proper thought.

Cook went on and on, as he has shown a liking to do and batted with great control but also great endeavour. He played the bowling on its merits, defending the good and punishing the bad. Three fours from consecutive short balls from Doherty, cracked either side of point, stick in the memory but there were many more to choose from. Perhaps the uneasy period he spent against the short, quick stuff from Siddle and Harris needs development. It was the only time he looked uncomfortable.

Pietersen is an interesting mix in 2010 of the mercurial and the tempered professional. His recent soul searching among his roots in South Africa have seen him emerge changed and with his moments of brilliance more focused and the irrational, whilst not gone, is less likely to move him to instant self destruction. There is still too much conceit but an earlier Pietersen might have started smashing the bowling in the last half hour in order to raise three figures before stumps and perhaps to steal limelight from Cook. Instead, he played calm cricket to make sure England would end the day impregnable. Watching his last half hour, raised hairs on the back of my neck but I'd suggest it did far worse to Ponting.

The pitch still looks good for runs but one or two deliveries from North bit and turned and no doubt Graeme Swann took keen notice.

Even if England bat badly tomorrow and their form and the beating they have given Australia for two days suggests that unlikely, they will still lead by at least 200 and that will have to be enough for its not a stubborn Australian resurgence that England will fear but the projected weather. There won't be a fifth day, as rain will sweep across the Adelaide Oval on Tuesday after showers on Monday. England have until tea on Monday to crush Australian spirits and go to Perth one up. Therefore, look for an accelerated scoring rate tomorrow and a declaration by tea.

This Session: England
Sessions This Test: England 6, Australia 0
Sessions This Series: England 12, Australia 6, Shared 3