I have not noticed any headlines calling Strauss a cheat. There have been plenty accusing Koetzen of incompetence and inconsistency and that is fair enough.
As for Strauss catching the ball, the commentators immediately thought it was grounded. If Strauss had any doubt he should have signaled he wasn’t sure and let the third umpire make the decision. (Koetzen should have referred it there anyway).
As it is England and Wales deserve to win and probably will. This must be the worst performance by an Australian team in around 20 years.
In fairness there weren’t any banner headlines, but The Courier Mail had a backpage article, suggesting Strauss was a cheat, and a couple of ‘colour’ columns. And I saw at least two sports bulletins where the ‘cheat’ word was dropped.
As an aside, it’s been demonstrated a couple of times that the TV replay is completely unhelpful for those sorts of catches. For example, Mark Nicholas (I think) held a ball in that position, and showed the view from the relevant camera; everyone agreed the ball was on the ground. But then he showed you could easily slide a pen under it - it wasn’t touching at all. So while I agree that if the catch had been sent to the third umpire it would almost certainly have been overruled, there’s no real telling from that view.
Anyway, classy interview from Ponting afterwards - he even cracked a joke. I think he’s trying to piss off the English press by denying them controversy to write about. A sneaky tactic; who says he’s no good as captain?
Well yes, it’s bad news when you lose your best batsman by a distance. He was clearly struggling with the injury though, so it’s not a great loss over the first two Tests. I also don’t think he’s the disruption he’s made out to be; in fact he’s been very supportive of Strauss. Freddie is far more of a dressing room menace when he puts his mind to it.
Anyway, Bell’s in; Edgbaston is home turf for him and he’s been in good form, so hopefully he can profit against this much-reduced Aussie attack. Would rather he’d had to sustain his form rather longer to earn a recall, but there you go.
I’m skeptical about Bell: the criticism that he only scores runs when everyone else is has some truth to it. And although Pietersen hadn’t made a huge impression on this series, that’s pretty clearly due at least in part to the fact that he was playing injured. Fully fit, he has the chops to be devastating.
One interesting question is what this will do to the batting order. Assuming Bell goes in at 3, Bopara might get a chance to perform better further down the order, as although he’s a good batsman he’s not a natural No.3 by any stretch.
I thought any Americans wandering this thread would find this interview with Graeme Swann an enlightening intro to the game, just in time for the start of tomorrow’s third Test.
This Test ought to be a cracker, too, giving one a full appreciation of the role rain plays in the world’s greatest game.
For the first time ever I was considering supporting a team against Australia. The selections for the past few years have been dreadful and to sacrifice Hughes while we have carried Hussey and Lee for extended periods is ridiculous.
I would also sack Ponting as captain and appoint Katich, but that isn’t going to happen.
It’s playing a bit quicker today, but the big thing is the ball is swinging. Anderson takes his 4th wicket with the final ball of the session (4/11 off seven overs in that spell). 203/8, and 77/7 today.
For the first time, I’m thinking England can win this series.
263 all out after a spirited last-wicket thrash, though a drop by Bopara let them get a few more than they should. Still, that’s not what Oz would have been looking for after their stand-in opener did such a good job for them. Many a slip, however, and I’m counting no chickens till we’ve seen how England bat.
263 all out in the end. Definitely advantage England, but Australia certainly aren’t out of the match. They’ll be hoping to restrict England’s lead to something manageable and bat better in the 2nd innings.
