The difference between Cardiff test and this Lords test for starters is the lovely fast outfield at lords. This is giving full value for the shots.
Australian bowlers struggling with their lines everyone included may b not Hilfenhaus. a lot of runs have been leaked by hit me deliveries.
Nothing in the pitch this morning for the bowlers. No pace as well in the wicket and the short balls just sitting up to be hit.
England 126/0 in just 29 ovs at lunch. I reckon its going 2 b a high and fast scoring game and feel that this could just b a draw.
After lunch, I would pack the off side field and ask the bowlers to keep it away from the batsmen. ask the English batsmen to chase them.
Better discipline from Aus after lunch. Strauss n cook shouldn’t get too bogged down. a mix of caution and aggression required by England.
Good cricket from Cook, breaking shackles after lunch, taking two 4s from a harmless Hauritz. two slog sweeps
Hilfenhaus has bowled 3 overs since lunch and hasn’t given away a single run. Mostly bowling outside off, that’s the way to go for now says an Aussie sports betting site.
I am really grateful to Ponting for improving oz over rate by a great way in this series, it hasn’t been like this b4.
Hilfenhaus seemed to have strangled Strauss for runs but seems to have lost it. He did produce an edge but off a noball.
Strauss seems to be too defensive batsman for me. Atleast he should ensure to carry his bat for a long long time.
This pitch is very bad for short pitch bowling, very very slow in nature. Cook playing very positively to keep the score moving
Hilfenhaus has run out of fuel. and Oz have a terrible news with Hauritz not only dropping a return catch but also hurting his finger.
Oz have lost a bowler in hauritz who was struck full on his middle finger on his right hand. he must have got a hairline fracture.
Marcus north is bowling nothing more than lollipops. England batsmen having a nice double lunch.
Keep batting Strauss and Cook, nothing will be really enough on this pitch
Two misfieldings in the 43rd ovr. 1st from Haddin letting an offbreak go thro legs and then Ricky allowing one cover drive go thro his legs
Oz not able to prevent the run flow at all. Both batsmen have got them without taking any risks.
Body language of Oz looking terrible and this is only halfway thro the afternoon session. They need to discover something new now.
Nobody would like to be in Ricky’s shoes now. Nothing a captain can do when the bowlers are spraying it in all directions.
Johnson has returned back n continues to struggle, leaked almost two boundaries by bowling short and wide.
Just when I was about to write off Johnson, he comes up with an unplayable delivery to strike the pads of cook. a truly deserved ton missed.
Absolute shocker to new man Bopara from Mitchell, bowling a short one way down the legside as if it was a left hander.
The batsman can bend down, tie his shoe lazes and stand tall again on time to handle the lollipops from North.
Bopara off to a good start, 2 4s from Johnson who tried to fox him with a slower one like in Cardiff but this time Bopara was aware of the trick.
Hilfenhaus back and bowling nice outswingers. Almost got Bopara caught playing an uppish drive to covers.
England unstoppable after lunch except for the first three overs. Strauss has just helped himself with 2 4s from North
Hilfenhaus strikes, all the time tried to get Bopara sucked into the expansive cover drives but this time swung it in to hit the pad.
Eng need to be smart and allow North to bowl a long spell, that would keep one end safe. BTW Hauritz has gone to hospital.
Hauritz is back from the hospital after taking an obvious x-ray. He will certainly not bowl at all today.
Swinging ball and KP has got another 15 mins or so to survive before Tea.
KP has survived the rare indipper from Hilfenhaus unlike Bopara and he did by getting an inside edge, so didn’t seemed to pick that.
Countdown for tea begins, can KP survive the last 7 mins? Not so easy against Hilfenhaus who is swinging it late.
KP very confident, if the ball is there to be hit, he is going after that, only worry is that he shouldn’t get carried away.
So England happy to go to tea at 255/2 in 62 ovs. Strauss got a ton and KP gave a couple of scares but survived!
Fabulous over rate from Aus, how did Ricky transform so well? 29 ovs in 1st session and 33 in the 2nd! just 28 overs to be bowled in 2hrs.
The last thing England wants is to end up losing 7 wkts at stumps. Strauss got to be a solid rock right thro.
KP taking the game away after tea with 2 4s of Siddle. North continues at the other end with his lollipops.
KP indeed has got carried away which has led to his downfall. Aus did buy his wicket by dishing out some driving balls.
Its time to take off North and put pressure at both ends. Siddle bowling at incredibly good speeds, even clocked 148 kmph.
England falling into that danger zone of losing their initiative. one good partnership here between Strauss and Colly is needed.
Strauss gets away with a loose cut played uppishly to gully where Hussey is a touch slow in reacting overhead.
Release of pressure from Collingwood as he steps out and lofts north for a flat boundary straight down the ground.
Can’t understand why Ricky cant bring in Michael Clarke for North. Just for a change.
Strauss and Collingwood need to carry eng till the second new ball atleast. Who knows what could happen with that new ball?
Michael Clarke will finally replace Marcus North, he should be bowling till over no.80 and then you have the second new ball.
England in the dumps at 5 down. Can’t afford to lose any more wickets. Foolish shot from Collingwood and Prior got a magic ball.
Thought Prior could have defended that ball rather than trying to drive it on the up and leaving a bat pad gap.
Rubbish batting from Flintoff, pushing way too hard at the ball and edging one to the slips. Got to learn how to play with soft hands.
England 400-450 Australia 600 and match ends up in a draw?
Collingwood last match hero this match villain? He has got one more chance to fight back though
Strauss has been doing well, waiting for the ball to come in and playing it with soft hands. He has been absorbing the shock well.
Nathan Hauritz seems to be out of the danger of fracturing his finger. I think he might be bowling tomorrow if required.
Second new ball taken after 85 overs. Might swing with some extra nip and bounce. The old one was not reversing but was swinging instead conventionally?
Cook’s knock seems to be more crucial as he ensured that England got solid runs on the board before any predictable collapse.
Its quite embarrassing when a fast bowler like Johnson sprays a wide full toss with the new ball down the legside. Don’t expect this in Test Cricket.
Second new ball so far has been a welcome relief for Eng. No swing compared to what the 80 over old ball was doing.
If England lose a wicket here then its going to be James Anderson as night watchman for sure to protect Swann and also Onions (?) lol.
So into the final over, just gone over time by 5 mins or so. Thanks Ricky!
Well that’s it for Day 1, Eng seemed to be losing the initiative but Strauss held it together right till the end. Oz need to bat very well anyway.