Fifth Test, Day 2: Australia set to fall from perch

By Hamish Townsend

All the talk of pitches and selection were put to bed by a spell of line and length by Stuart Broad that saw eight Australian wickets fall in the middle session and may have seen the little red urn returned to English hands with three days to play.

This second day may be one of the more important in Ashes cricket as it could see Austria finally loose their position on the roost and has certainly planted the seed of future dominance over the cream and greens.

So outplayed were the Australians that Marcus North was trundling in ten overs into England’s seconds innings, which started four hours after their first.

Rain delayed play for nearly an hour around lunch.

Broad has announced himself as the new English rose of cricket, claiming the entire top order in half an hour.

None of Australia’s batsmen were done by rash strokes, only North and Stuart Clarke could consider themselves unlucky.

Clarke was deemed to have struck a ball which would have missed a passing taxi in Scunthorp, North nicked a ball into his pad, but many have been called for less.

Fierce debate flew across the Almanac board at the dismissal of Haddin in what seemed to be an absolute jaffer by Broad.

The rest fell like cards.

Graeme Swan was an able assistant to Broad who got fierce turn and drift, taking three in four overs.

As I got the tireds, North had claimed the witless Alistair Cook for nine and Ian Bell had been been spectacularly caught by Katich off Johnson, but no one cared about that.

Day three will be very very interesting.

About Hamish Townsend

Hamish Townsend was born and raised in Geelong, supports the Cats and lives in Brisbane.

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