My picks of the fourth day:
England looked more and more sorry for turning up on the pitch in the first place. Clumsy fielding and hopeless bowling extended Marcus North's (125*) and Brad Haddin's (121) partnership to 200 from 266 balls. When Haddin got caught, Ricky Ponting waved his boys off the field and Australia declared 674 for 6 with a lead of 239 runs. Before tea, England lost two wickets and must have been more than happy to see the covers stay on for the rest of the day.
Run of Play: Advantage to...
1st session, Australia 577 for 5 (142 ahead) at lunch: Australia for having no problems whatsoever with clumsy England and extending their lead comfortably to 142 runs.
2nd session, Australia 674 for 6 declared (239 lead), England 20 for 2 at tea (219 behind): Australia for an excellent total and declaration and an even better start to their bowling, leaving England shattered.
No further play due to rain, lucky England!
Partnership: 200 runs between Marcus North (125 not out) and Brad Haddin (121): There seemed a general lack of urgency about England, like they never wanted to be on the field in the first place. Misfielding, overthrows and poor bowling gave Australia enough comfort to play more attacking cricket, with some beautiful sweep shots and top-draw, one-day-style boundaries. The wicket came from one such attacking shot, easy catch for Ravi Bopara and an easy declaration for Ricky Ponting with another two of his men having enjoyed a century each. England's start could not have been more dreadful: Alastair Cook out dead lbw, Bopara out for a way-too-high looking lbw. Well, luck comes to those who work hardest, say no more. See what Andrew Strauss and Kevin Pietersen come up with today, they have probably been rain-dancing all night.
Bowling: Mitchell Johnson and Ben Hilfenhaus led the way for Australia again, just like in England's first innings. And just like their batsmen, the Australian bowlers showed England how to do the job. Although they were lucky with the second lbw decision, I can take nothing away from Australia. England can always blame it on the pitch, but it is then weird how Australia got two wickets and rid of England's openers so quickly. Major changes are needed for England and quickly, taking Australia as the leading example how winning is done, if rain does not spoil - or save - the match, depending on which side you are on.
Ups: Rain drops are falling on my head... Cannot find or think of anything else that cheered English hearts up at least a little bit on day four.
Downs: England's display in the field, with the ball and with the bat end of the day. They just looked like they did not want to be there and shame on them for the fans pay to be there and see better!
Hero to zero: Again, like I said yesterday, Australia will be hoping their perfect display will not be for nothing and rained away on the last day. England on the other hand, will be dancing the rain dance, hoping they will not need to bat and more probably lose it out. Shame on them!
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