::starts Rain Dance::
Day 4 of the ashes series, and already I’m hoping for a deluge of biblical proportions. Never mind cats & dogs, I want pacyderms, kangaroos and koalas. Doesn’t bode well for the rest of the series.
England could only take six Australian wickets in our first innings. That promises a long Ashes summer for the Poms.
Now if only the rain can stay away from Cardiff.
… and Pietersen is out in the 11th over of the day. I predict a short day…
And Strauss, too. England is 46/4.
55 overs, and 4 wickets remaining. Collingwood might be able to bat through to the end, but I don’t see anyone sticking with him.
I’m really struggling to remember the last time England successfully managed to bat out a draw.
I hope Australia do win. Well every supporter wishes that but at some newsgroup I subscribe to we have a thick head called RH who hates women, foreigners and Australians- I am not sure what the order is. At least a good showing by Australia may slow him down a bit.
Apart from all that, I do believe Australia has played very well. It looks good for the future.
And Collingwood is out! A dogged performance but not enough to save the match I am afraid. Only Anderson and Panesar are left. England has lasted longer than I thought they would, but Australia have been totally dominant in this match.
I could have been very wrong. This is absolutely nail-biting! Panesar and Anderson are really giving a fight. A few more minutes and it will be too late for Australia to go back out…
Right down to the wire! A great match overall, but a draw is always a disappointment.
England complete the great escape! Panesar, of all people, helps Anderson see out nearly 12 overs for the draw - and Monty did his share of it too. The only disappointment will be among Australian fans; neutrals have seen one of the tensest finishes ever, and England supporters see the series level when by rights it should have been Australia one up. Amazing.
A draw may be disappointing for the Aussies, but it certainly isn’t for England.
Good grief, that was tense.
Just listening to the commentary at the apparent end of the game, and it seems that even the expert BBC commentators were not sure whether the game was about to finish. They seemed unsure whether Australia would get to bat again. How can this be?
And it’s a draw! Amazing performance - hugely entertaining match. Ponting must be feeling quite unhappy with today - it’s a draw that must feel like a loss to the Australians. Wow.
(Sorry for triple-posting - apparently I am the only one who have had the nerves to type and follow the match at the same time.)
ETA: And then again…
Finish was dictated both by the number of overs bowled in the day and also the clock. After the minimum overs had been bowled, there was still time left. Both endpoints were affected by the mandatory changeover time between innings if Australia needed to bat again (as they did in the end).
The commentators in fact called it correctly a couple of overs before the end. I think they just wanted to cover their backs in case some obscure ruling or interpretation by the umpires made them wrong.
Well done Jimmy and Monty. So much for McGrath’s prediction of 5-0. 
England is recalling Harmison and Bell for the second Test and Flintoff is to have a scan on his knee injury, according to Bloomberg.
Bell was already in the squad, and remains as cover - I can’t see us dropping anyone for him yet, inept though the batting may have been. Bopara has shown more bottle than Bell ever did, and deserves at least another chance against the Aussies to prove his worth. Harmison will almost certainly play at Lord’s, if not for Fred then in Broad’s place, and Onions will probably get Monty’s spot, despite his batting efforts to save the Test yesterday. Swann, like Bopara, did enough against the Windies that one poor Test doesn’t put him in jeopardy, but he’ll have to bowl a whole lot better to stave off criticism much longer.
I didn’t get to see the last three days of this match, but caught the denouement on the radio - classic Test cricket. A proper two fingers to all those who like to mock it as a game that can be played for five days and still end in a draw. In what other sport can a draw provide that much tension? Marvellous entertainment, and there’s nothing quite like it.
As for England, I’m attempting to draw comfort from precedent, in that we lost the first Test in 2005 quite badly too. But then there were mitigating factors; our bowlers had seriously threatened. And the Aussies haven’t lost at Lord’s since 1934, which isn’t a great omen. Unless something drastic changes, the Aussies are going to win at least two of the remaining Tests, and we won’t win one.
Morning session at Lord’s – England 126-0. Signalling a different attitude? Australia’s bowling is looking a little subpar.