Australia v England, 3rd Test - Day 2

Lunch - England 5-119 (Bell 13, Prior 3. Johnson 4-24)

Fifty minutes into the morning, Andrew Strauss had 7 fours from straight drives, pulls and pushes through mid wicket and his mate Alistair Cook looked solid as the pair had added runs at a run a minute and it was the same old story again ... right down to an edge from Strauss which Brad Haddin and first slip Shane Watson watched go by and down to the boundary.

This was more of the same from an Australia which has been woeful in the field this summer. Yet through it all, Ben Hilfenhaus was in the midst of a great spell, with the ball hooping into the English left handers on a great line. Hilfenhaus has had no luck this summer and if you had watched every spell, it wouldn't be hard to say he was hard done by in Adelaide. Ryan Harris had gone haywire with Strauss taking three fours in the last over of a short spell only to be replaced by Johnson.

In another venue this morning, I wrote that for no reason at all I thought Johnson might fire up with the ball today. In truth, his batting yesterday showed me the way as Johnson often gains confidence from one aspect of the game and carries it to the other because he clearly is driven more than any other at this level by moods and passions. Yesterday he was in the moment ... and then this morning happened. At the start of his fourth over of the morning he swung one away from Cook, a little short for the shot that the prolific run scorer eventually played and Mike Hussey went forward and slightly to his right in the gully and the opening partnership was broken. Trott, Pietersen and Collingwood were all caught in front by great inswingers from the resurgent Johnson in the space of his next 28 deliveries and in between there, Harris took over from Hilfenhaus and shaped the third ball of his new spell off the edge of Strauss' bat. England 5-98 and five wickets were down for twenty runs in the second fifty minutes.

This was Australia's best session of the series and credit to Ponting whose timing of changes and application of field settings for given situations was as good as I've seen from him. He was unlucky not to pick up Matt Prior in a short ball leg trap just before lunch. If only all the catches that his bowlers create could be taken, perhaps there is a way back for Australia.

Australia needed someone to stand up and Johnson stood taller than any other so far this summer.

This Session: Australia
Sessions This Test: England 2, Australia 2
Sessions This Series: England 17, Australia 9, Shared 4

Tea - England 187 (Bell 53, Strauss 52. Johnson 6-38, Harris 3-59)

Another remarkable session and the momentum shift Ponting has been looking for has definitely taken place. Catches are being taken, fast bowlers are diving full length to stop fours and the grunt is back in the Australian side. Not all of it was to be admired but this modern Australian team knows no other way to play confident cricket other than being ugly.

Johnson was superb, with his earlier spell being the more telling of the two and certainly the more dangerous because he had the ball swinging into the right hander and doing so in the last third of its flight - always a near impossible task for batsmen, especially in the modern game where that skill is so rarely seen.

Bell alone looked a class batsman, as he has all summer. The talk which has surfaced about him moving up the order is facile and short on memory. It was the sacrificial treatment of the English selectors in batting him at three previously which nearly destroyed his career, especially against Australia. Perhaps he should take Collingwood's spot at five but leave him in the middle order where he can play shots and bolster England's cause. Until he was out, he looked unlikely to fall and if there is a better shot maker to all points of the ground playing in world cricket, I haven't seen him.

For the sake of this series, Australia, now with their precious momentum back under their control, must bat well in the last session and lose no more than two wickets or an 81 run lead will be insufficient on a wicket which will do less on days three and four. Remember they don't have a specialist spinner at their beck and call and England will have to bat last. This match is still even but by stumps tonight, the top four need to have it under Australian mastery.

This Session: Australia
Sessions This Test: Australia 3, England 2
Sessions This Series: England 17, Australia 10, Shared 4

Stumps - Australia 3-119 (Watson 61, Hussey 24. Finn 2-48)

A long session in which both sides had the chance to dominate. Australia started their second innings 81 runs in front but were soon in trouble as the England pacemen continued their dominance. Hughes and Ponting fell in close proximity to Finn. Hughes was loose again in footwork and never transferred the weight properly to his back foot, and was caught comfortably by Collingwood without the need for heroics. Ponting gloved the ball down the leg side, in an all too familiar way that was loose and wasteful in the context of the game and more so in the context of his waning career. A man who clearly can be considered a great, he offers more chances now to bowlers now that at any time during the bulk of his time batting for Australia where he has been one of the great mercenaries.

Clarke came out with a clear intention to punish England and adavnace Australia's cause but even though his short stay was littered with boundaries and confidence, it was an over supply that caused him to play a shot too late and the inside/bottom edge canonned into his castle, making a merry mess of the woodwork.

At 3-64, Mr Cricket came out with all the assurance that comes with success. What a difference a few weeks makes in contests such as these.

For the remainder of the extended session, Australia took hold of the game. Watson was the dominant figure, repeatedly pulling bowling that was too short and smashing cuts and off drives to the boundary and paying little heed to hot commentary Anderson and others offered of his batting. He is a fine player and one on which Australia should build its next five to ten years. Hussey was about the business of building, a dangerous sign for England.

The day ended with Australia 200 in front and a result seems certain after thirteen wickets fell today. The wicket will get better and better and Australia needs to remember it set South Africa more than 400 hunderd just a few years ago and lost. This England is capable of such miracles and Australia will need no less.

Two sweet days of Test cricket so far and the promise of even better during the next two. Its hard to see a fifth day anywhere beyond lunch.

This Session: Shared
Sessions This Test: Australia 3, England 2, Shared 1
Sessions This Series: England 17, Australia 10, Shared 5