The rain has come, and it's grim on the field as well as off. Australia batted with ease again, with Haddin and North joining Ponting and Katich as century makers. Whenever Strauss and Pietersen resume, which looks likely to be tomorrow, they, and the next batsmen in, have a mammoth task on their hands in saving this game and atoning for their poor first innings efforts.
For me there are two major reasons why England find themselves in trouble in Cardiff:
- Batsmen failing to push on - All the batsmen and all-rounders apart from Cook got in before getting out. This is good in that they proved they can score runs against this attack, but bad in that it shows a lack of responsibility/concentration/ application/intent/ability. It is an inexcusable fact that no batsman passed 70.
- Bowling plans - Either Australia have them and England don't, or Australia's are vastly more effective. Bowling wide of the off-stump may tempt Phil Hughes, but England wont snare Katich or North like that (because they showed the patience and restraint which was missing from England's innings.) Similarly, bowling full and straight to Pietersen has the effect of unsettling him. Kudos to Ponting - whose captaincy is something of an issue in Australia - but it's simple homework really.
No comments:
Post a Comment