Australia Dominate the 3rd Day of Test Match.

Australia have started to dominate the first test cricket match of the 2009 Ashes series as they ended day two on 249-1. Having earlier bowled out England for 435, the Australians set about their business and centuries from Simon Katich and Ricky Ponting helped to put them in a commanding position.

It was England who actually started the day in the better fashion as the tail wagged and added valuable runs. There was a good buzz and general feeling of expectation when the Australians came out to bat and the pressure gave way when Andrew Flintoff picked up the wicket of Phillip Hughes just after lunch.

This was by far and away the most exciting part of the day as far as any Englishman is concerned. Flintoff was bowling as quickly, if not quicker, than he ever has done and Hughes was playing extraordinary shots all round the ground, which confirmed why so many people rate him as one of the best young batsmen in the world.

However, after he had cantered his way to 36, Hughes got a ball, which darted back in at him and tucked him up as he looked to play one of his favourite off side shots. Needless to say the ball caught the edge of the bat and the entire stadium erupted to cheers and applause.
It was the faces of two players that have plagued England for years that were to have the last laugh as Ricky Ponting, Australia captain and thorn in England’s side for goodness knows how long, and Simon Katich, remarkably unshakeable, set about their business to grind down the England bowling attack and virtually push England out of the game.

It was not bad bowling on England’s part it was more a case of the two experienced Australians playing so well that it would have been hard for any other side in the world to be able to get them out. However, the worry for England is that there seems to be an air of determination around this Australian side that are clearly annoyed by the fact that they have not been made bigger favourites to retain the urn.

It really wouldn’t be a surprise if both of these men went on to make huge scores that would mean England have no chance at all of winning the game. It is a shame that English fans are probably already thinking about how their country can save this game and this is after only two days of the match.

The Australians will probably bat all day on the third day if England cannot make any inroads into the batting line up and look to halt the progress that Ponting will want his side to make. If the England bowlers cannot get early wickets then Australia could find themselves level with England’s score by tea.

This will allow them to push on and gain a small lead that could see them put England back in for about half an hour before the close of play. Any player will tell you that they hate having to go out and bat in this little period before play closes because they know that the bowlers on the opposition will give every thing and more often than not, the batsmen just try to survive instead of looking to score runs.
England need to remain positive and getting off the field last night probably would have done them some good. They should not drop their heads too much because the Australians are playing very well. When they are on top form it is very difficult to have an impact on the match.

The bowlers need to come out fighting. If England can pick up early wickets then they have a small chance of being able to bowl out Australia for pretty much the same score as they made. This will mean that when the batsmen get a chance to bat again they can eat time out of the game and stretch out proceedings so Australia could be batting on the final day.

With the pitch not getting any better this could mean that the England spinners can work their magic. Although the pitch has not helped them much already, it is not getting any better and sooner or later the variations on bounce and sideways movement will appear.

English fans should not forget that in the 2005 series England got battered in the first test match and just when we were all thinking the same old things the side pulled the goods out of the bag for the rest of the series. The first test match looks to be going towards the Australians but England need to remain positive as there is a long seven weeks ahead.

They need to stick in this game for as long as they possibly can do because they need to carry on any momentum that they can take from the match. It will also stop them from falling into a mentality that could come back to haunt them in future matches. If the heads drop then there will be nothing to lift the side for the next match and the one after that.

England need some big players to put in a performance today and if they are to have any chance of preventing the Australians from winning then it means pressure and early wickets. Australia have a lot of Ashes virgins in their side and England need to get right among them and make life difficult.

If they do not come out fighting then Australia will simply stretch their lead as the two current players make massive scores. This will allow them to give their bowlers a new life and energy, which is something that could see an end to England’s second innings batting. Although the last series showed that you should not read too much into the first match of a series, in this case it could have a lasting effect from which England do not recover, making it doubly important to fight on.