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AUSTRALIA (220/5) TRAIL ENGLAND BY 40 RUNS
06.47 No more play today. Australia close on 220-5 off 80 overs. Michael Hussey has been superb for his 81* and, with support from Brad Haddin (22*), has dragged the hosts back into this from 143-5. Australia won the first session of the day, England totally claimed the afternoon as they took four wickets for 77 runs. The truncated final session of 52 without loss, well, that was Australia's on points. However, England never let them get away - only 195 runs in the day's 73 overs - and the Aussies still trail by 40. England are right in this if they bowl well under cloudy skies first thing tomorrow.
That being said, the Aussies have Mr Cricket and will surely get some sort of first innings lead. Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad, over to you.
Thanks a lot for reading, join us tonight (11.30pm on Friday, UK time) where Jonathan Liew will bring you coverage of the day three morning session from Brisbane - which starts half an hour earlier than usual to make up for the lost time on day two.
06.40 It has pretty much stopped raining but the covers are still on. Cor, I bet Mr Cricket will be hoping there is no further cricket today.
06.24: "It's hosing down out there now" says Simon Hughes. I reckon that's that for today. If they are not on by 5pm (7am UK time), the umps will call it for the day. Andrew Strauss looked very annoyed to be going off, Michael Hussey looked pretty pleased. Fair enough, but that was without doubt Australia's session: 20 overs, 52 runs and no wickets. Hussey was class: defending firmly on the front foot and hammering pulls off the back. He's got Australia's nose back in front, IMHO. And to think that there was debate over his place: he could be a huge player in this series.
That said, the forecast for day three is for clouds, and England have a new ball in the hands of Jimmy Anderson. Where do you think we stand in the game? Email me at alanyers@gmail.com as we wait to see if there will be any more play today.
Lizzy Ammon on Twitter: We need to get Hussey. Well, we need them to actually be playing...
Bad light has stopped play. This is a real shame, especially for the spectators at the ground. How to explain this to a non-cricket fan: "Yeah. So we put the floodlights on... and then we immediately stop playing because of the light." Perhaps I have been unfair: It is now raining, maybe the umpires predicted that and thought they would get ahead of things. I would be surprised if we saw anything more today.
OVER 80: AUS 220-5 Lights are on. Colly with another over of his... stuff. Which includes a wide. Jeez, dude. At that pace, you should at least be able to get it on the sticks. Hussey cuts him for two. And thankfully that's the last we'll see of Colly for a bit because the new ball is due.
OVER 79: AUS 217-5 Getting gloomier by the second as Swanny bowls a maiden to Haddin. More light meter tomfoolery.
OVER 78: AUS 217-5 Colly and his wobbles will fill in an over and I suspect another one after this prior to the new nut. Haddin drives one back at him full blooded and Collingwood fields superbly to save a four. Belly then misfields in the covers, unusual for him in general but he has had one or two little fumbles today, and they take one. Light meters are out but nothing serious as yet. It has clouded over a lot though.
OVER 77: AUS 215-5 Better over from Der Swanner, tossed up a bit, pie absent. Three singles, one of them a quick one, and it's time for drinks. I myself am having a truly disgusting cup of tea that Jonathan Liew has just bought me. Thanks mate. Aussies now trail by 45 and I would suggest that England are hanging on for the new ball a bit here.
OVER 76: AUS 212-5 Finn bowls and drops it somewhat short to Hussey. Can you guess what happens next? Pull. Four. That's the TENTH pulled four in this innings from Mr C (not the bloke from The Shamen, dance music fans). I think it's fair to say that Hussey has mastered that shot. Maybe England should stop feeding it. This partnership is worth 69, dude. England better start pitching the ball up soon - Swann especially - or this is going to get away from them.
OVER 75: AUS 206-5 There's that pull again. Swann drops short and Hussey is on it eagerly. Hello Mr Pie, I'm Mr Cricket. Four runs, thank you very much. Boycott says that Hussey could have hit that with the traditional stick of rhubarb.
OVER 74: AUS 202- 5 Bresnan on the field for Belly. Go on TT The B. Not quite sure why, as yet. Finn replaces Anderson - can he keep the pressure on? Accurate stuff, Hussey works him away for a single. Finn then bowls a wide one to Haddin which is cut away crisply for four. Hmm.
OVER 73: AUS 197-5 Just a single from Hussey off Swann's over. Good tight stuff, both sides battling hard here. It's poised.
OVER 72: AUS 196-5 A maiden from Jimmy Anderson, well defended by Haddin. One had him nibbling outside off, earning the keeper-batsman a word or two from the Burnley Express.
OVER 71: AUS 196-5 Hussey pulls Swann for four, cracking shot, and Boycott pops up on TMS to say that Hussey has correctly worked out that on this slowish bouncing pitch, the pull will be his most effective weapon. He adds that Hussey has been most impressive, and I am sure that the Greatest Living Yorkshireman will be relieved and delighed to hear that I concur.
OVER 70: AUS 192-5 Hussey pulls aggresively but Trotsky fields admirably on the square leg boundary to restict them to one. Nice shot from Haddin there, driving on the up for two. Jimmy then beats him with a super delivery that nibbles outside the off stump. That over was this session in microcosm, really: Australia trying to be positive but not able to get away, England solid but unspectacular - with just the hint of enough movment to suggest that they could still finish Australia off tonight. Intriguing.
OVER 69: AUS 189-5 Mr Cricket takes a single and then Swann gets Haddin to drive rather unconvincingly, not timed at all and spooned back up the pitch but not near enough to the bowler for it to raise any c&b interest. This half-hour after tea has been rather quiet, certainly compared to the thrills and spills of the afternoon sesh.
OVER 68: AUS 188-5 Jimmy A back into the attack, slight shame that Broad was taken off after his most threatening over post-tea, but the workload clearly needs managing with a three-man seam attack. Okay, the speed gun is saying that JA is bowlng at 76 and 79 mph. He doesn't look at his absolute quickest, but that has to be a bit rum, no? Good line to Hussey and there's a little bit of movement into the left-hander. A single off the over.
OVER 67: AUS 187-5 A maiden from Swann, solidly defended by Haddin and including one ball that drifted rather nicely into the righty.
OVER 66: AUS 187-5 Broad beats Hussey outside off stump with a real beauty and then gets another one to spit from a good length. More threatening over, this, albeit sullied with a wide, the awarding of which Broad disputes with Billy Doctrove. Oh, and then a lovely cover drive for four from Hussey. Michael Vaughan, who knows a thing or two about such off-side poetry , calls it "the shot of the match so far".
OVER 65: AUS 182-5 Some good fielding from Bell at short midwicket, plunging forward to save one from a Haddin clip off his legs, much in the manner that he might have evaded that magpie on the golf course. Or so I imagine. Oh! KP fields sharply at mid off and is now clutching his back in pain. Serious? Always hard to tell wth him, he is a bit of a drama queen. All of which comprised an accurate over from Swann that did not have the batsmen in massive difficulty.
OVER 64: AUS 181-5 Broad is getting some reasonable bounce but it is not especially troubling these two batsmen and England can't let this pair get too cosy here.
OVER 63: AUS 178-5 Hussey gets a single off the first ball of the Swann over, Haddin returns the favour and then Hussey drives to long on for another easy one. Fairly quiet start to the final session of the day so far.
OVER 62: AUS 175-5 StuBo digs some shortish stuff into Haddin that ensures four dot balls and looks slightly more threatening than it is, if you take my meaning. Haddin is able to leave on length more or less, before a punched single off the back foot. And Hussey then turns one off his legs to bring up a battling 50 off 85 balls. It hardly needs saying that he is the key man now.
OVER 61:AUS 173-5 Swann bowls to Haddin, who takes a leg-bye. Mr Cricket continues to be positive - mate, he is ALWAYS positive, hell of a competitor, great attitude, lipstick, etc etc etc - and picks up three with a pull through midwicket. Haddin singles.
05.00 Right. And we're back for the final session of the day
Simon Hughes @cricketanalyst on Twitter: innings in the balance at tea 168-5. Reckon there will be only minute difference in 1st inns totals. Why is the bowling so short to Hussey?
04.50 Good morning everyone. Tyers here. Well, that was a bit more like it from the mighty E. Can they remove Mr Cricket shortly after tea and ram the point home? I'll be here to talk you through it.
04.45 England's session, and this game is now poised like the truck at the end of The Italian Job. Australia 92 behind, but just Haddin, Johnson and the tail to come. That session yielded the wickets of Katich, Ponting, Clarke and North for just 72 runs, but more important it's the most confident and expressive England have looked all match. That's all from me for now. Thanks for responding to a lonely live blogger's request for company. I'll leave you in the frankly quite entertaining hands of Tyers.
Tea: Australia 168/5 Hussey 46* Haddin 9*
OVER 60: AUS 168/5 Last over before tea, possibly. Collingwood bowls a wide outside off-stump, although the pace he's bowling Hussey had time to step across the stumps and flick it to square leg. Two down to third man, and then a perfectly-timed clip through the leg side for four. Sublime timing. And that's tea!
OVER 59: AUS 161/5 Hussey tries to recover some of his former momentum against Swann, coming down the pitch to a well flighted ball, and almost ends up yorking himself. Swann fires one down the leg side, possibly trying to get Hussey stumped, and the ball thuds into Prior's pads and runs away for a bye.
Nick Hoult on Twitter: "Saw Swann's dad this morning. He said we need a better day today. So far, so good. But it's still in the balance. Haddin v dangerous"
OVER 58: AUS 159/5 Now, it's Paul Collingwood. Will this register on the speed gun? His first one does, just about - a touch above 70mph. Collingwood's bowling exclusively to the off-side with a 6-3 field, and Hussey leaves the majority of his 'deliveries'. Still, if Strauss could get a few overs out of Collingwood while Anderson and Broad rest up for the new ball, it would make his job a sight easier.
OVER 57: AUS 159/5 Swann in full flow is absolutely compelling. He wasn't his old self earlier. He was a little bit quiet, a little bit - well, rubbish. He's back over the wicket to Haddin, bowls a beguiling maiden, and while his first four overs went for 34, his last five have gone for just three runs. Ashley Maynard emails in: "As the resident Pom in our Adelaide office I declined my over-confident, jeering colleagues’ kind invitation to join them in the pub for lunch (client meeting – damn!), only to miss the critical wicket-taking. Said colleagues are a little less jovial now! Bloody wonderful!"
Shane Warne on Twitter: "England have had a good session! This is going to be a ripping series and a good finish to the Test match!"
OVER 56: AUS 159/5 Haddin drives Finn straight back down the ground for four - top shot - but there's just a touch of reverse swing out there, the ball just tailing in as it reached the batsman. Finn's still resolutely pitching it up, though, and Haddin drives him again, though mid-off for three. Finn then drops it short again to Hussey - he's going to have to stop doing that - and Hussey moves into the 40s with a pull shot that evades the two men on the boundary. He goes around the wicket to Hussey for the last delivery, which Hussey leaves.
OVER 55: AUS 148/5 Single for Haddin, and Swann's got to bring Hussey forward here. Oh, he does! What a delivery! Ripping turn, steepling bounce, and Prior reeled as he took it, as if it were a Scud missile he were catching rather than a lump of leather. Swann looks a different bowler since that wicket. You could very easily see him mopping up the tail here.
OVER 54: AUS 147/5 Well, you're almost tempted to say that Marcus North has one more chance to save his Test career. Hussey's still there, though, and playing very nicely. Finn drops it short, and Hussey pulls for four. Seventh four for him, and every single one of them has come off the back foot.
OVER 53: AUS 143/5 Haddin safely negotiates his first ball. Here's a remarkably prescient e-mail from James Smith in Mexico, sent a few minutes ago: "Watching this innings from Clarke makes me think of the question my Mexican and American friends normally ask when I teach them how to play cricket: 'how many times can you miss it before you're out?' Also, Hussey hitting out at Swann just shows how worried about him he is. Swann to pick up three by the close."
WICKET! North c Collingwood b Swann 1 AUS 143/5
Swann's goddim! Caught at slip! Just a regulation delivery from Swann - not too much turn, not too much bounce, and North just plays forward and edges it. Collingwood takes it low at slip. That'll be the making of Swann! Australia have lost four wickets for 47 since lunch! Haddin the new man!
OVER 52: AUS 141/4 Hussey hasn't played like a man in fear of his Test place, but what about North? Watchful, you'd say, leaving his first few outside off stump before getting off the mark by tucking off his hips for one.
WICKET! Clarke c Prior b Finn 9 AUS 140/4
Finn makes the breakthrough! Clarke never looked comfortable - at times he was timing the ball so badly he looked ill - and in trying to hit himself back into form, he perishes. Finn digs it in short, Clarke tries to hook it to leg and gets a thin top edge through to Prior. He walks, possibly with a sense of blessed relief. North the new man. Do we have an even game now?
OVER 51: AUS 140/3 Swann's deliveries are sitting up to be hit, and he's lucky Clarke finds the man at deep square leg with his lusty hoik. Good fielding by Pietersen at mid-off - remember him? - prevents any more than one from the over. Swann's not looked like taking a wicket all innings, sadly.
OVER 50: AUS 139/3 Short from Broad, and Hussey late cuts delightfully for four. Similar kind of ball to the one that got Strauss out yesterday, but Hussey played it with guile rather than gusto. If Australia can make it to tea unscathed, you might even call this a shared session. Australia are only 125 runs behind, and if they're still there at stumps they should be around 30-40 runs ahead. England could do with another breakthrough, and they'd much prefer to Hussey to Clarke on current evidence - Hussey has bludgeoned his way to 31; Clarke's eked out a tortuous eight off 44 balls.
OVER 49: AUS 135/3 Swann's four overs have cost him 34 so far, but he gets a fifth, and this is better. Still going round the wicket to Clarke, and although Clarke's trying to get him away, some good field by Anderson at short mid-wicket and Bell at short extra-cover keep him there. A maiden for Swann, his first of the innings, and that might settle him down a little.
OVER 48: AUS 135/3 Clarke takes a single into the leg side off the first ball, but it's nice and tight from Broad to Hussey, a couple a little short, a couple pitched up, and finishing with a little dab down into the slips.
OVER 47: AUS 134/3 Swann resumes after drinks, but that's dragged down again, and Hussey pulls him for four. Filth from Swann so far... and again! A carbon copy, and Hussey's not even having to work for his boundaries here. Problems for Swann, problems for Strauss - but the last ball of the over is a good response, turning and bouncing sharply and taking Hussey by surprise.
OVER 46: AUS 126/3 Beautiful stuff from Broad, firing in a couple of bouncers to Clarke before beating the outside edge with the one pitched up. Always thinking, Broad. If you were playing Call of Duty against him on Xbox Live, he'd be the one who hid in the nave of the chapel, calmly picking everyone off through the stained glass window. Right, that's drinks.
OVER 45: AUS 126/3 Swann's coming on, against two relatively new batsmen. He's going round the stumps to the right-handed Clarke, who plays it into the leg-side for one. That brings the left-handed Hussey on strike, which Swann won't mind a bit. Not too much turn, though, and next ball Hussey dances down the pitch and lofts him into the crowd for six! There's a statement of intent if ever I saw one. But the best thing about Swann is that if he gets hit, he just tosses the next ball even higher. Hussey's equal to him though, and cuts through point for another four. Australia's gameplan against Swann is becoming nakedly apparent. Eleven runs off the over.
Michael Vaughan on Twitter: "The Aussie crowd have gone quiet... Long may that continue"
OVER 44: AUS 115/3 Broad to Clarke, and Clarke's crusted! Short ball, aimed at chest height, and Clarke was almost frozen, and the ball smacks into the side of his helmet! He blinks twice, marks his guard again, and attempts to compose himself. Short again, but Clarke plays this better, getting over it and glancing it down to fine leg for one. You can tell Broad's buzzing, too, he's practically jogging back to the end of his run up. He wants to get on with this. Hussey can't get the ball away, and it's just one off the over. Shaun Kelly in Newcastle reckons Australia will be five down for 130. If that happens, England would have to be on top, surely?
OVER 43: AUS 114/3 Tim Bresnan's on the field for Swann, who has still bowled just two overs all series. Finn's round the wicket to Hussey, and it's just a touch short from him, Hussey swivelling and pulling for four. Some more of your e-mails: Justin Hare's in "deepest Waikato" in New Zealand. "No radio coverage here as it's not rugby!!" he writes. Meanwhile, it's half past eleven in Guangzhou, where Jonathan Gander is reading. "I've got a day off to constantly hit refresh and hope that we've taken another wicket (or two)." Yeah, sorry about the lack of auto refresh, but it broke last week and has been spewing out random entries in a more or less arbitrary order ever since. We're hoping to have it all fixed up by the end of this Test.
OVER 42: AUS 110/3 David Lewis in Atlanta writes: "Totally agreed with you about Ponting. Michael V was looking forward to his lobster lunch rather than spotting Ponting not moving. I am worried Jimmy will get tired soon." Well, Jimmy's now been withdrawn, and Broad takes over. England fancy they may have spotted a weakness against the short ball in Clarke's game during the summer one-day internationals. Is Clarke going to get a peppering here? Not yet - it's all good-length thigh music from Broad, and Clarke pushes it down past mid off for an all-run four. Nothing infuriates a breathless fielder more than finding out that while he was huffing and puffing towards the rope, the batsmen had run four anyhow. Or, as I discovered after slipping and sliding across a bumpy outfield and fumbling the ball several times, that they had run six.
OVER 41: AUS 106/3 Thwack! Hussey breaks the shackles by pulling Finn in front of square for four. Finn then floats in a lovely tempting half volley outside off stump, but Hussey's not biting. Hmmm. Snickometer - which isn't being used in the Decision Review System - is apparently showing that Clarke did edge that delivery from Finn. Is Snicko accurate? And if it is, why isn't it being used?
OVER 40: AUS 102/3 Just a little statistical housekeeping as Anderson runs in again: Katich's 50 came off 103 balls, and Anderson has two for 36 off 17 overs. Clarke plays and misses again! Anderson still right on the money, on off stump and just outside, on a good length. Chris Mercer has now e-mailed in from Perth. "Keep it up," he says, which is nice of him. But is it really just Aussies and comfortable, well-rested expats out there? Where are all the murderous insomniacs?
Steve James on Twitter: "So James Anderson can't bowl with an old Kookaburra ball! Brilliant stuff"
OVER 39: AUS 102/3 Huge, huge appeal for caught behind off Clarke! Finn and Strauss have no hesitation in sending it for a review! England are absolutely adamant there was an inside edge! But there's nothing showing on Hot Spot, and there's no way that can be overturned! England have lost their second and final review! Clarke gets his first run into the on-side, but England still have the screw turned.
OVER 38: AUS 101/3 Maiden over from Anderson to Hussey. God bless you, Kathy Phillips. "Don’t worry, I’m still reading so you have at least one fan," she writes. "You’re the reason I’m not getting much work done! It might seem odd that an Australian is sitting in Sydney reading your commentary but it is much easier to hide the fact that you’re distracted by the cricket reading online commentary, rather than listening to the ABC or watching TV. Besides, it is a nice change to get the English perspective. Hope it’s not too cold over there." It's absolutely freezing, Kathy. Distastefully so. And God bless you too, William Probert in the Far East.
OVER 37: AUS 101/3 And Hussey almost edges into the slips first ball! At first it looks like a drop, but it actually just bounced in front of Swann. Finn's now got the good joojoo, and Hussey drops it into the off-side and disappears to the other end with all the primal vigour of an escaped convict fleeing the prison bloodhounds. And Finn beats Clarke outside off-stump! This has been a stunning turnaround after lunch by England. The Barmy Army and their assorted travelling acolytes are on their feet. Anderson and Finn have seized a game that looked to be slipping away from England.
WICKET! Katich c&b Finn 50 AUS 100/3
FINN'S DONE IT! Brilliant catch by Finn, as he pitches it up, gets Katich pushing forward uncertainly, and as the ball spins towards Finn, he plummets roughly 6ft 7in of his 6ft 8in frame, taking the ball just off the ground. What a start to the session for England!
OVER 36: AUS 100/2 Anderson's got gelignite in his bowling arm, and there's another big LBW shout as Clarke is tentatively half forward. It was too high, and flicked the inside edge. And then Clarke's beaten! Wonderful stuff from Anderson, another maiden, and Clarke can't lay a middle on it at the moment. Thirty-six minutes for Ponting's innings, and during hardly any of them did he ever look comfortable. If England sense that Ponting's vulnerable, they have to be ruthless. They could finish off his career, right now, this series.
OVER 35: AUS 100/2 All of a sudden, England's day has a different colour to it. If they could just knock over two or three more for not too much... Finn takes the second over of the session, and he's right on the money first up, forcing Katich to prod at it defensively. Katich then shuffles across his stumps and glances it very, very fine for four. Ton up for Australia, and a gutsy fifty for Katich, as if he makes any other kind. Finn mustn't get too disheartened, though, he's bowled well, and that was another good over.
OVER 34: AUS 96/2 Clarke plays and misses first up! And then is rapped on the pad! England are absolutely buzzing here. Stonking start to the session. The opposition kingpin knocked over for a very cheap score.
WICKET! Ponting c Prior b Anderson 10 AUS 96/2
Ponting, Ponting, Ponting! Gone, gone, gone! PONTING! GONE! PONTING! GONE! Well, anyway. It was a horrible leg side strangle, a good length ball but speared down the leg side, and as Ponting waved a languorous bat at it, he just got a little feather through to Prior. After getting all the best breaks in the first session, Australia have got one of the worst imaginable. England right back in it! Second ball after lunch!
02.39 If you're tweeting, remember to tag your tweet #TeleAshes. I don't know why, but it's important. The players are back out for the second session, and it's going to be Anderson to resume.
02.37 Everybody has now left the office. Everyone. Apart from the cleaner, and he doesn't count. Even Twitter's gone quiet, apart from the odd incoherent rambling from the insuppressible LeBron James. Is anybody actually reading this? Do give us a shout if you are. Oh, and Nick Hoult's lunch report is now available here. That is, a report on the state of the Test match at lunch, not a report on his lunch.
02.30 Sky, taking the feed of Australia's Channel Nine, are showing highlights of the England v Australia 2003 World Cup match. You quickly learn that in Australian TV archives, Australia never lose. Any time Australia do lose a game of cricket (or does lose, to employ their frankly unfathomable syntax), a pair of armed guards in dark glasses enter the VT truck outside the ground within 10 minutes of the game ending, demand all existing video tapes of the game, place them in a locked safe, put the safe in a maximum security van, and drive it back to headquarters. There, still under guard, it is placed on a special midnight train, taken out to the Nullarbor plain, offloaded, driven another 80 miles into the desert, and then destroyed in a controlled nuclear explosion. And that's why you never see Australia losing.
02.18 Michael Vaughan on TMS reckons Ponting has looked good for his 10 off 24 balls. Obviously, Michael Vaughan (Ashes series: 2; Ashes wins 1) has a far greater pedigree than I (Ashes series: 0; Ashes wins 1. All right, 0), but I've got to disagree with that. Ponting may be moving pretty well, but it smacks of someone who's trying to walk himself out of a bad run. It reminds you of Alastair Cook during his struggles last year. He's propping forward, and shuffling back, and mincing across, and swaying across the line. He's all over the place. He won't last long. This may come back to bite me.
Lunch: Australia 96/1 Katich 46* Ponting 10*
OVER 33: AUS 96/1 Last over before lunch, and it's going to be Graeme Swann to bowl it. His one over last night went for 10; his first ball to Ponting is dreadfully short, and is pulled around the corner for one. Short again to Katich, who tucks it into the leg side for another single. Swann will need to adapt his length on Australian pitches, if he hasn't already. His natural length is just going to sit up for hitting. Ponting sees out the rest of the over, a stifled LBW appeal aside, before rocking back and cutting down to the point boundary for three. Lunch; Australia's session.
OVER 32: AUS 91/1 Anderson beats Ponting outside off stump with a beauty! And then squares him up and gets a thick edge into the gully! This is top stuff by Anderson, and Ponting looks distinctively tentative out there. Could one of the greatest batsman of modern times be entertaining a scintilla of self-doubt? Eventually he grabs a single into the on-side.
OVER 31: AUS 90/1 Another single to Katich off Broad, and then Ponting helps a short ball down to fine leg for one. He's been getting out on the hook a lot recently, has Ponting, and you could see him straining himself to keep that one down. Surprised we haven't seen Graeme Swann yet? Me too. Perhaps it's a psychological tactic by Strauss. When Australia were chasing 130 at Headingley in 1981, Mike Brearley refused to bowl Bob Willis at his preferred end, running down the hill. Eventually, Brearley switched him to the right end, and he responded by taking eight for 43. "Why didn't you put me at that end straight away?" he asked Brearley afterwards. "To make you angry," a genial Brearley replied. Meanwhile, Broad's struggling. He's not happy at all, and... is he limping? He is. Off he goes. 99 problems for England, but the pitch ain't one.
OVER 30: AUS 88/1 A push down the ground from Katich brings him two, and then he shuffles across his stumps to take another single and move to 44. Ponting back on strike, and Anderson's just teasing him with a full delivery outside off-stump. Will Ponting bite? Not that time, but next ball he does, and runs it down to third man for four! Just two slips and a kind of fourth slip in for Ponting, and the ball went in between the fourth slip and gully.
Ian Chadband on Twitter: "Doctrove vindicated on 2nd referral. Good. Hate seeing umpires' confidence completely shot to pieces by Big Brother"
OVER 29: AUS 81/1 Finn's five-over spell went for 20. Good move bringing Broad back, I reckon - he's snared Ponting three times in five Tests, and he wants a crack at him again. So much so, in fact, that they're practically giving Katich a single on the off-side by putting cover back on the fence. Katich takes the single, so it's on. Broad v Ponting. The first one is short, and Ponting fights every instinct within him by ducking. The second one is down the leg side, and Ponting almost swings himself off his feet trying to get a bat on it. He doesn't make contact, and the over ends with Ponting still on 0.
OVER 28: AUS 80/1 Just a single to Katich again, Anderson finding a nice rhythm and Ponting still to get off the mark after seven balls. Not only have England made the crucial breakthrough, but they've managed to put the brakes on. Just two runs from the last three overs.
OVER 27: AUS 79/1 Broad returns. England with their tails up here, but Katich is the ideal batsman to take the sting out a situation. If he'd been facing Andrew Flintoff's over at Edgbaston in 2005, he probably would have left all five deliveries, with the sixth tucked away behind square leg for a single. Just the single for Katich that over.
OVER 26: AUS 78/1 Four balls to come for Ponting, and he leaves all of them with decisive, assertive strides across his stumps. Wicket maiden for Jimmy A, and he's really deserved that.
WICKET! Watson c Strauss b Anderson 36 AUS 78/1
There it is! Anderson raps Watson on the front pad coming forward! Billy Doctrove, having already given his one LBW decision for the series and seen it overturned, has no hesitation in shaking his head. After a short hiatus, England review, and after another, more agonising hiatus, the ball is shown to be clipping leg stump, but given as 'Umpire's Call'. Anderson's almost at the end of his considerable tether, but the very next ball Watson is neither forward nor back, the ball kisses the edge, and Captain Magnificent pockets it at first slip! England's first piece of good news all series!
OVER 25: AUS 78/0 Finn still steaming in, and Katich is smacked on the forearm as he shrinks away from a short one. Finn pitches it up, and a sort of half leg-glance, half inside edge trickles through square leg for two. Anybody out there thinking of going to bed. Keep the faith! When England get a wicket, then you can go to bed. Deal? Katich pushes it into the off side, Anderson swoops and picks it up, hurls it at the stumps, and it disappears for two overthrows. England's morning is turning to Bovril here.
OVER 24: AUS 74/0 Anderson to continue, Katich now on strike, and that's a massive LBW shout! Out! But it's being reviewed! And it's overturned! It was straight, but going a couple of inches over the stumps! Will anything go England's way this morning? Katich gloves the next ball down the leg side for four, which might answer that question. Three more to Katich for a little mechanical prod of an off-drive. An irritating morning which became a frustrating morning is now becoming genuinely maddening for England.
OVER 23: AUS 67/0 Finn's continuing to pitch it up, but Watson just keeps driving him. A gorgeous cover-drive for four, and there's nothing you can do about that. It wasn't that full, it really wasn't. A silly mid-on has come in for Watson, who plays out the rest of the over.
OVER 22: AUS 63/0 Australia have avoided the follow-on, chuckle chuckle. England have gone back to a conventional field for Katich, having experimented with all sorts of 45s and short mid-wickets and what have you earlier today. Maiden for Anderson, and a pretty tight one.
OVER 21: AUS 63/0 Finn resumes, as I fortify myself with a cup of minging vending machine tea. How are you keeping yourself awake? Or perhaps you don't need to? Aw, that's an excellent straight drive by Watson, biffing it straight back past Finn for four. That moves him on to 32.
OVER 20: AUS 59/0 We're approaching the hour mark today, and still no sign of Graeme Swann. Instead Anderson's switched ends, and that's pretty rank leg-side dross first up. Watson takes a couple, before rotating the strike with a leg bye as Anderson strays to leg again. Bell huffing and puffing and clapping his hands. You wouldn't have seen that a few years ago. And that's drinks. England have toiled for an hour, but have nothing to show for it. Australia just 201 behind.
OVER 19: AUS 56/0 That raffish young ruffian Finn begins his second over, and Watson gets a thick inside edge down to deep square leg for a single. Finn's been the best of England's bowlers so far, especially when you consider that the Australian batsmen will be out to collar him, and Katich gets nothing to hit during the rest of the over.
Steve James on Twitter: "Be patient, England. Always a temptation to try too hard when you feel your total is below par."
OVER 18: AUS 55/0 Where do you bowl to Simon Katich? He shuffles all the way across his stumps, so anything from around six inches outside off stump is in glancing range. Anything wider than that and he can safely leave it, as Broad demonstrates neatly during that over. The worst maiden over Broad will ever bowl.
OVER 17: AUS 55/0 Steven Thomas Finn, this is your time. The first ball is short and well down the leg side. Finn then pitches it up on the leg stump, and Katich flicks it away for three to bring up the Australian fifty. Watson then greets the new man with a crunching on-drive for four. It wasn't all that full, you know. Top shot. Finn keeps the ball up, and Watson miscues his next drive to mid-off. Encouraging start, but still Australia are racing away.
OVER 16: AUS 48/0 Broad! Pitch it up! Round the wicket to Katich, who can leave ball after ball on length. When he does deign to play at one, it's almost out of politeness. He dabs one round the corner for a single. Watson on 21, Katich 24. But then he produces a nasty lifter, and in fending in off, Watson almost deflects the ball down on to the stumps! It bounces just inches wide. There we are again: all the half-chances going for Australia. Call it the Brisbane effect. They haven't lost there since 1991-92, when David Gower and John Morris buzzed the ground in a Tiger Moth and released a sack of anacondas on to the field while Dean Jones and Allan Border were batting. "By the end, I just wanted to get out of there," Border said later. "I wanted to know where they got all those snakes from," added Jones. Ooh, Finn's going to have a bowl.
Nick Hoult on Twitter: "Cook miss another example of all the half chances going Australia's way. Ominous"
OVER 15: AUS 47/0 Tight over from Anderson, conceding just a single to Katich. Australia in no hurry. It's a lovely day and they've got plenty of time. The Hawkeye pitch map for England this morning shows that England have been bowling - surprise, surprise - too short.
OVER 14: AUS 46/0 What a delivery from Broad! Straight and on a length, and it reared up like a kicking horse! It actually brushed Watson's shoulder on its way through to Prior. That's a good response from Watson, though, driving through mid-off for four. Broad shouldn't be disheartened by that, he needs to keep it there. He doesn't, though.
OVER 13: AUS 42/0 Cook misses the stumps with Katich miles out of his ground! Miles! He pushed it into the off-side and set off like the Trans-Australian Railway, only to realise that Shane Watson was impassive. Cook picked up, hurled it, and... jeepers, that was inches away. Anderson then beats Katich outside off-stump. Second consecutive maiden, and England have finally got their game faces on.
OVER 12: AUS 42/0 For heaven's sake, Broad, pitch it up! Oh, he has! Medium-sized LBW appeal on Watson as he comes forward, and as we all know, medium-sized LBW appeals never succeed. Unless Ray Julian was umpiring. It was going over. Better, though.
OVER 11: AUS 42/0 Better length from Anderson, forcing Katich to prop forward. Katich, who's well back in his crease, may well have the ugliest forward defensive in world cricket. It's as if his head, bat and front pad were all being controlled by Oceania, Eastasia and Eurasia respectively. Katich drops one down through third man for four, but it's a decent over.
OVER 10: AUS 37/0 Runs for Watson - three of them - into the leg side as Broad continues. Both Sky and TMS described Watson as a 'walking LBW candidate' this morning. You can't just fire ball after ball at his pads, though. He'll flick and drive his way to a 50 by the time you get one through. You've got to mix it up, force him back, keep him guessing, and then fire in the fast, full one. Signed, Jonathan Liew, zero Test caps, zero Test wickets.
OVER 9: AUS 34/0 England have done their homework on Simon Katich. Anderson's got a leg slip in, as well as two slips and a man on the square leg boundary. Katich takes the first run of the day off the bat, a little glance into the leg side. There's a delay as Watson wants the sightscreen moved and it won't budge. Eventually Anderson resumes, and Watson pulls over mid-wicket for four. He loves it short, Watson. Loves it short. But then England reckon they've got Katich caught behind! Not out! Will they review it? They're not going to, and it was a good decision, as the ball just flicked Katich's pad. Katich takes two through the covers, and Anderson's first over is a pricey one.
OVER 8: AUS 26/0 Broad begins with a no-ball to Watson. Well done, Stuart. The first few balls are short of a length, and Watson doesn't feel the slightest inclination to mess around with them. A little smidgen of movement off the pitch for Broad, perhaps, who's started with three slips and a short leg. The last few are fuller, and Watson edges the last of them along the ground to gully. Just the no-ball from the over.
AUSTRALIA RESUME ON 25/0 (ENGLAND 260)
23.59 Right, we're almost ready for play. The players are out. Broad's going to resume from the Stanley Street End. Ferocious noise from the England fans, and Broad applaus them as he takes his mark. Here we go...
23.54 God bless Andrew Flintoff. He tweets: "Going to throw my telly out of the window, Showtime in Dubai are showing snooker!" That'll learn you to decamp to a poorly-furnished tax haven, Freddie. I would recommend you follow this live blog, but there are going to be an awful lot of long words on it...
23.53 Thanks for all your emails and tweets yesterday (actually earlier this morning, but I've had eight hours' sleep in the meantime). What kind of score would people settle for today? Vaughan would go for 320. I reckon anything up to 350 could work for England. The pitch stays very good well into days three and four. Hitting 400-450 in their second innings should not be beyond England at all. Set Graeme Swann and his little bit of rough on the Aussies on day five. That's how they do it.
23.43 Oh, well done Sky Sports. Their headline for yesterday's England batting performance? 'A Cook and Bell Story'. I find it inconceivable that hasn't been used somewhere else before, but it's a new one on me.
23.42 Ladies and gentlemen, the only Australian cricketer in the world who doesn't begin an answer with the word 'Look'. They'll coach that out of him, right enough.
Xavier Doherty: "I'm hoping I won't have a lot to to today. Hopefully at least one of the guys can get a big score, but you're never in on this wicket."
23.40 Hey. How good was the boy Bell? Was that his defining innings (part eight)? Nick Hoult and Steve James were both at the Gabba to watch his innings.
Michael Vaughan on Twitter: Anything around 320 I would take... If the Aussies get 400... game over..."
23.20 Things you didn't know you knew about Peter Siddle, courtesy of Alan Tyers:
* Peter Siddle lists his sporting heroes as Jean-Claude Van Damme in Bloodsport, Jean Claude Van Damme in Kickboxer, Jean-Claude Van Damme in Double Impact and Justine Henin.
* Before getting a job as a cricketer, Peter Siddle worked as a decorator, a sculptor, a hired goon, rhythm guitarist in Crowded House, a drayman, a drayhorse and Australian Minister For Overseas Trade And Development.
* Peter Siddle is credited with encouraging Art Garfunkel to retire from public life.
More here.
Jonathan Agnew on Twitter: "Covers coming off at the Gabba. Mark Nicholas in full flow already. Just checking no Aussie has a birthday today. Flintoff in at lunch"
23.15 Was it such a bad day for England, then? Steve James doesn't think so. For sure, 260 was below par, but perhaps yesterday's conditions were below par for the Brisbane course. You'd fancy England to knock Australia over for that score in the fourth innings, so all they have to do is match Australia's effort today when they come to their second innings. And Australia's batting line-up isn't what it was. In fact, it's got so bad there was a rumour they were considering handing a sensational recall to 40-year-old Mark Ramprakash.
23.00 Come on, now. It was only one day. A day that was actually fairly even until a former champion wood-cutter somehow managed to divine a perfect full length, and like lusty joyriders, England's middle order drove right over it. I know we said all that stuff about the first day deciding the series, but we were wrong. We weren't that wrong, but we were wrong. You see, it's second days that actually decide series. The first day's just prancing, really. It's like the parade lap in a Grand Prix. Day two is where it gets heavy. The good news for England is that they have a cloudy morning in Brisbane, a new ball and four bowlers petrified of the thought that they might lose their place to Chris Tremlett. Why not stick around and see how they do? Play starts at midnight UK time, 10am Brisbane time.
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What might happen next
Stuart Broad goes one better than Peter Siddle by taking seven wickets as Australia crumple before tea. Emboldened, he demands to open the second innings with Strauss, and is a serene 35 not out by the close.
...and what probably will
Watson and Katich see off the new ball and bat right through the day. England reckon they have a wicket when Katich sledges Steven Finn so hard he is given out for obstructing the field. But on review, the decision is overturned as Finn had bowled a no-ball.
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Preparatory reading
Scyld Berry's day one report
Day one as it happened
Simon Briggs spends the early hours in the company of David Gower
Read more: Sport
