DAY 3 - Summary

It took England until the third day and in a situation when the game was lost but they finally won a session of this Test. Despite losing three wickets, they pilled on 163 runs from just 24 overs, mainly thanks to Stuart Broad and Graham Swann.

The start went according to plan, with Jimmy Anderson snicking Hilfenhaus to slips when Ponting held yet another catch - now eight for the series. Just six overs later, Prior became the Tasmanian swing bowler's fourth victim when he sent got a low edge on an outswinger and Haddin took a pearler low to his right. 7-120 smiles all round.

Enter Swanny - how they love ya, how they love ya - to join Broad in a flog fest which saw 108 added off less than 13 overs. A few things worked in their favour. Fields were up, leaving gaps for the adventurous to puncture. They also had nothing to lose as if they swung and got out, no one could be any more critical. Broad hit the ball cleanly and long - 10 fours in his 61 - and exacted a massive toll in revenge on Stuart Clark. Australia's best bowler in the first innings had flogged three zacs from Broad yesterday and he repaid in spades today. Two overs cost 32 runs.

As entertaining as this was to the crowd, such things only last in dreams and fairy tales or in sad stories of lost opportunities, which for Australians of my age, mostly all happened in 1981 and mostly all involved Ian Botham. Broad hit another clean blow, this time to square leg, where Watson held a fine catch.

Swann kept swinging but his new partner, Harmison, is generally luckily to grab the bat by the right end.

There has been talk of ghosts. I wonder if Beefy's spirit self is floating about out there in the centre looking for an Englishman to channel him? England need 98 to make Australia bat again and about 200 to make them nervous.

Na. Could never happen ... again ...

... and it didn't. Twenty five minutes after lunch, the Australians were grabbing stumps, having man hugs and shaking hands with the rest after Johnson took care of the rest. Swann was out under the new experimental law called waving the bat closely at the ball but not hitting it and Onions was diced and sauteed when he lost his off stump. Australia won by an innings and 80 and England have so much ground to make up they are like the bloke tying his shoe laces at the starting line in the 100 metres race and Australia are the bloke, chest out, five metres from the tape.

Langos Man of the Match and winner of the Pantene hair lotion, the Fabriani shirt and the $1 bag of mixed lollies, is Ricky Ponting. Many of you would want to reward a bowler - Johnson or Siddle or those who know what you are talking about, Stuart Clark. The overbearing would point to North or at a pinch Michael Clarke who shared that big partnership in Australia's innings. For mine, I think Ponting earns the honours this time. He kept England under pressure as their undies sagged during the first half of the first day and then in the afternoon he set the tone for the Australian innings with an imperious innings of 78. Clarke and North took the game beyond their grasp but it was Ponting who for once, led from the front.

As one of his biggest fans, I owe him that!

The Oval in two weeks but at least Australia's headaches will only be from victory.