Maybe neither side really knew how quickly The Oval pitch would dry out.
That’s the suggestion from Australia’s Marcus North (4-98) about the south London deck that has been at the heart of so much discussion during the Ashes decider.
After 15 wickets fell on the second day on the dusty pitch, only six scalps were collected on day three.
North, who did a good job for Australia on Saturday with his off-spinners, said the pitch had not become any worse or better.
“Looking at the wicket, there’s no hiding that it’s very, a lot drier than anyone thought,” he said.
“In hindsight, looking at the wicket, England might have played two spinners rather than one.
“It comes down to trying to get the best judgment call on the day.
“You don’t know how the wicket is going to play until you play it.
“I certainly was surprised with how dry it was from day one.”
There are undoubtedly some gremlins in the pitch and Australia’s pursuit of 546 for victory is almost certainly doomed for failure.
But the sight of Australia’s openers Simon Katich (42no) and Shane Watson (31no) cruising to 0-80 at stumps proved it was far from a minefield.
Century-maker Jonathan Trott (119) warned Australia’s batsmen they would find it much more difficult going once the ball softened up.
“The new ball seemed to come on a little bit … I think their batters found that but I think it will get a lot harder when the ball is a bit softer and stopping on the wicket,” he said.
“With spin at one end and our seamers, hopefully we can get it to reverse (swing) a bit as well and put them under big pressure like we did in the first innings.”
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