Oh well, that's more than we got on the first day of the first test, and with wickets in hand this time. Not brilliant, but looking better than it was.
poor start by england, then initially a good comeback when bell and bairstow steadied the ship, followed by a late comeback by the australians, steve smith bowling beautifully. the opening day went two and fro - i think if england can reach 340 they'd be pretty satisfied, especially given the poor start and although its clearly a good batting pitch i think the aussies will find it almost impossible to put themselves in a position to win the match from there.
I suggested they'd be fairly happy with 340/350 last night. The main thing is to occupy the crease for as long as poss this morning - if Smith is getting turn on day one, Swanny must be licking his lips and itching to get a twirl a bit later on From 28/3 after the first hour, the close of play score is no disgrace.
I think that overall we have recovered fairly well. You have to say though, that the Aussies are favourites to win this one at the moment given how well they've bowled (not to mention that they've got a new ball in their hands to use against Bresnan and Anderson), how haphazardly we've batted, and their historical record at Lords.
I wouldn't make anyone favourites until we've seen how we bowl and they bat. The Aussies did bowl some excellent wicket-taking deliveries yesterday but they also served up an awful lot of dross and four balls. I reckon that only Bairstow got out to a less than decent delivery and Root was a tad unlucky as had it been not out and the aussies reviewed I doubt there would have been enough evidence to overturn a not out decision. Whether Swann's offies will get the same amount of turn as Smith's leggies is another matter. As every day in the series so far the first hour and session will tell a lot - if our tail wags to 325+ then we will be doing OK but if they clean us up and then get to lunch intact probably back to advantage Australia. Yet another cracking days cricket yesterday - this could be one of the best series for a long time if the next three matches are as competitive as the first one was and this one is looking like.
actually zeller pm'd me, he's been kidnapped by the TMS team and locked in a room with his computer in the BBC salford studios
well, the tail wagged, but 361 all out. i know it's a good batting pitch but i think that's at least par. will be interesting to see if we can grab a couple of early wickets and put some pressure on them
that should give the bowlers a bit of a lift, let's hope the 'burnley Lara', as nicknamed on the text commentary, has recovered a bit
Interesting first hour. I reckon we're maybe 75 runs light of where Cook wanted us to be when he won the toss but 100+ better than anticipated when we were 28-3. Game feels poised and the next hour will be key - if we can nick out a couple we'll be on top or if they can go through to lunch 30/50 without loss they will have taken a bit of shine from the new ball and probably fancy their chances.
