Wello's Ashes Blog

It is hard work being an English cricket fan in Australia. On my 17th consecutive day of hoping against hope that perhaps finally, England could get themselves into a position to beat the old enemy, my prayers seemed to be answered as Australia slumped to 84 for 5 against some excellent England seam bowling.

Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke and the 'undismissable' Mike Hussey were all back in the pavilion during a morning session when England bowled with great purpose and control. A first innings lead, you sensed, was on the cards, particularly as the previously unconvincing Andrew Symonds was next in. 'If Symonds gets 50, I'll eat my hat' was reported to be the comment from the always forthright Geoffrey Boycott, sitting in the back of the BBC radio commentary box.

I'm not sure what white straw boaters taste like, but I imagine the Yorkshire legend could be suffering from a severe case of indigestion this evening, after Symonds made his first ever test century in front of an ecstatic MCG crowd. A superb player in one day cricket, Symonds had failed to convince in tests so far, and with a batting average of 18, there was talk that if he disappointed again here, it could be curtains for his test career. After a nervy start, he decided to play the way he knows best and in conjunction with Matthew Hayden, began to pummell a shell shocked England attack.

The mid-nineties can be a fretful time for any cricketer contemplating his maiden test century but Symonds decided to follow his instincts by clubbing Paul Collingwood's medium pace over the long-on boundary to reach a hundred rich in character and notable for its fearsome power. Hayden did the same to Monty Panesar's spin to bring up his century, and their 279 run partnership for the 6th wicket has put Australia in a very formidable position. The late dismissals of Hayden and Adam Gilchrist to a deserving Sajid Mahmood gave England a slight lift, but they must know that they are staring at another morale-sapping defeat here unless their batsmen can produce something special in their 2nd innings.

So a third day of more pain looms both for England's players and their long suffering fans. Keeping your chin up is a very British thing but it can prove increasingly difficult to do when your team is playing Australia away from home. Must keep going though....

Wello