Australia have been brought back into the first Ashes Test against England on the back of Ashton Agar’s stunning knock of 98. We’ll have live scores and commentary from Trent Bridge at 8.00pm AEST.
At 9/117 in reply to England’s 215, it looked like Australia were staring down another crushing defeat after their 4-0 rout in India, largely thanks to James Anderson’s five-wicket haul.
In walked the 19-year-old debutant Agar and slammed his way to a rollicking near-century to guide the visitors to a 65-run lead.
Phil Hughes remained 81 not-out, first after watching some of his more illustrious teammates fall by the wayside to a superb combination of swing and spin and then having Agar dominate the strike and the opposition en route to his 98.
Stung by the onslaught that raised 163 runs in 31 overs, England went into bat second time around and soon slumped to 2/11.
Mitchell Starc was on a hat-trick yet again, having got rid of Joe Root and Jonathon Trott and it looked like the tide had turned.
Captain Alastair Cook was then joined by Kevin Pietersen and both players curbed their natural tendencies to grind out a 69-run partnership off more than 35 overs.
Neither player went after the bowling and both played quite straight, opting out of any risky shots.
There are two ways of looking at it. One, the English strategy is to tire the bowlers out and take advantage of the situation by the middle of the second session on the third day.
Australia, on the other hand, will feel that by controlling the runs, they only need a wicket or two to suddenly put the pressure right back on to the English side in the morning.
The pitch has certainly endured some wear and tear, as was evident from the way Agar was getting a few of them to turn back into Cook.
Come the third day that aspect of the bowling will increase, and expect Agar to come into his own too.
While it was not on display in the second innings, reverse swing could be a factor too.
The thing with the reversing ball is that it swings quite late if bowled well and a wicket could lead to a couple others as well – which is why England’s slow approach of garnering runs could help Australia again.
On the other hand, a sudden spell of explosive batting from Pietersen could suddenly take the game away from the visitors too – so Michael Clarke may not be able to put a lot of attacking fields.
All in all, a fascinating battle in prospect on the third day and live coverage of the game begins from 8.00pm AEST. You can join me for this live blog on the third day of the Test match and post your comments below.
Sandy
Guest
There are plenty of decent players out there who would have walked, please don't put them in the same company as Broad. Broad always has an issue when he is dismissed, I've seen him carry on like the chop he is on a few occasions. Isn't Chris Broad this match referee?
Bob NSW
Guest
Why should Broad walk? England have received three bad decisions which have impacted the situation so this is a square up. Steve Waugh used to say "it evens itself out in the finish" Of course this was when Australia benefited from bad decisions as the boot was on the other foot when it went the other way. Remember Steve Waugh and Ian Chappel's motto was "win at all costs and use any method you can to obtain victory" .
Disco
Roar Guru
I remember that 'stumping' well - in the Test before Lara's 277.
frank
Guest
I reckon the ump got it wrong and Haddin should'nt be in the team .
Christo the Daddyo
Guest
Johnno you couldn't be more wrong if you tried.
Worlds Biggest
Guest
Shame this game has gotten right away from Australia. They were in a good position. The Clarke wasted review ( consultation with Haddin ) could have seen Broad in the sheds and a crack at the tail. Dar is a suspect umpire and always has been, all the more reason not to waste your reviews. Haddin then dropping Bell was the icing on the cake. They will be doing very well to draw this game.
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
That's another grinding day of cricket and England have done exactly what they would have hoped to do at the start of the day. They have batted out the entire 90 overs for the loss of only four wickets and gotten their lead up to 261. Chasing those many will be difficult on a rugged track that has made scoring difficult for most batsmen. Australia will feel aggrieved by the Broad non-dismissal but even at that stage, the lead had ballooned up to more than 230. The bowling was good to begin with but a combination of good batting, slow pitch and lack of edge in the attack puts the English side on top here. Bell batted superbly for this pitch, rarely did he look ruffled and barring that one chance to Haddin, there was nothing that went past his bat. He will look to get to his century tomorrow while Broad will be gunning for his 50. Can Australia turn things around from here? Hopefully there will be a lot more fight in their batting when they get there. Ciao for now, will be back with tomorrow's play!
Johnno
Guest
But he's no Shane Warne.
Tom from Perth
Guest
I am looking forward to see how he develops. Hopefully CA doesn't try too hard with him. I think his natural progression and some solid session with Warne could develop his guile. He should be better on the flight than Lyon also given time, liking his action.
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
A single off the penultimate ball of the last over to Bell. Broad on strike has three gullies for him but the ball's pitched outside the leg stump and it's gone down to Haddin, who collects it this time. England end the day on 6/326 in 133 overs with Bell being the star of the show with an unbeaten 95. Broad is lucky to be still there on 47.
Rob na Champassak
Roar Guru
Pretty good, really. I wouldn't make a judgment based off one and half-innings, but he does seem to turn it a bit more than Lyon. Not sure if he has as much guile, though.
Tom from Perth
Guest
1 for two hundred and something in his first Ashes test? I'm not seeing any mystery balls... He does get a bit of overspin though. Can't wait to see him in 5 years.
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
Maiden from Agar, his last over of the day. Six more balls to be bowled in what has been a slow-going day, barring the last one hour or so. And I am not talking of the run-scoring here. 6/325 in 132.
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
Okay, there's a huge appeal from Pattinson for an lbw against Bell...and given not-out. But even after that, Pattinson keeps appealing and a very stern looking Kumar Dharmasena tells him to restrict his appealing to only once. By the way, there was an inside edge on that one. 6/325 in 131
Johnno
Guest
He's no Shane Warne at the same stage of his career, Shane Warne was much better.
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
Three overs remain and Watson's been taken off the attack. James Pattinson comes on. Broad's tapped one to the off side for a single that takes him to 47...115 balls faced. Bell's on 92. 6/323 in 130.1
Tom from Perth
Guest
Yeah mate, hit the nail on the head.
Tom from Perth
Guest
Yes a real winner in my eyes. He was a real gentleman in how he handled and finished his innings. But "remains"...was my point.
Tom from Perth
Guest
How are we rating Agar's bowling, on par with Lyon?
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
Slashed to the fence off Watson to bring up their 100-run stand. Broad's moved on to 45 while Bell's on 89. 6/318 in 129