After the euphoria of the opening day, England now face the prospect of losing their grip on the coveted urn as Australia closed nearly 150 runs ahead in their 2nd innings with the loss of only Justin Langer, bowled first ball by a peach of an inswinger from Matthew Hoggard.
A terrible opening hour saw them lose Paul Collingwood to a loose back foot shot and Andrew Strauss to another questionable decision from Rudi Koertzen after seeming in fine touch. Worse was to follow as Andrew Flintoff, looking hesitant with the bat and unsure whether to occupy the crease or attack his way back into form, edged a routine delivery from Andrew Symonds to Shane Warne at 1st slip.
Geraint Jones came and went immediately, out to a weak off side drive for the third innings in a row. England's biggest problem in this series has been an over reliance on a few players for each test, with no significant contribution from others with bat or ball. Kevin Pietersen does not fall into this category of under achievement and as usual, he decided attack was the best way of getting England somewhere near the Australian total. A series of spectacular drives, pulls and rustic whacks followed, enabling England to attain a respectable total from the perilous position of 120 for 7.
Some good old fashioned tail wagging assisted KP - Hoggard with his stout defence, Harmison with his long handle and Panesar, with a touch of class in making 16 not out at no.11. Harmison and Monty had a last wicket partnership of 40, the highest of the England innings and the ability the Sikh of Tweak showed surely means he is destined for true all-rounder status sooner rather than later. Ok so that may be a trifle optimistic but Monty is definitely worth a punt on making a test 50 within the next 12 months.
Matthew Hayden showed great mental fortitude in making 57 not out at stumps and in conjunction with the assured Ricky Ponting, seems to have put Australia in a position of dominance going into day 3. Unless England can produce something exceptional with the ball tomorrow morning, the Ashes appear to be heading back down under.
Wello
