Third Test Drawn

This Test merely underlined how closely matched the two teams are. Australia dominated the two outer days, England asserted themselves in the middle and rain wiped-out a whole day completely.

Friday and Sunday were the magic days for England, who first managed to decimate Australia's promising day one start in bowling them out for 263 (after they'd been 126-1), and then scoring 376 themselves and even managing to dismiss Katich and Ponting late on Sunday to set up a potentially thrilling last day. However, in more favourable batting conditions, Clarke and North kept England's attack at bay on Monday, and began to build up a sizable lead. An extra day would have proved fascinating.

There are several ways of looking at this match. Firstly, that Australia ended the final day well on top (at 375-5) and with a good chance of winning given an extra day. That the England attack was toothless on Monday and that with the team's history of batting collapses a further day's play would have leveled the series at 1-1.

Or, that England, save for the only session of day one, were well on top, had all the momentum and would have survived another day's play on what was still a pretty flat pitch and against an attack adept at flattering to deceive. Besides, the Australian second innings was given a somewhat false complexion by Strauss's use of Bopara and Collingwood as bowlers once the result had become obvious.

The answer lies somewhere between the two. When the ball's not swinging, the attack lacks serious penetration. The flip side of that is that when it is, England's bowlers look capable of winning the Ashes for England on their own. It remains a concern though, and weather forecasts are becoming as crucial as team-sheets as the series reaches a conclusion. The top order still looks fragile, but is capable, and can be bailed out to an extent by England's superior bowling.

The sides are close, and have at different times produced excellent cricket, but the fact remains that in the last two Tests, England have produced the stand-out sessions of play - one match-winning, one potentially so. At Lord's and Edgbaston their bowling produced the innings anomaly of each match. The Australians posted low first innings totals in each of their first innings in otherwise high scoring games. At Lord's the England bowlers won them the match in the only decisive session of play so far, at Edgbaston, who knows...

The Aussies have had their moments, but not in terms of potentially winning positions. Heroic match-saving attempts - Clarke and Haddin at Lord's, Clarke and North in Birmingham - are all well and good, but not the way to level the series. Their bowlers have to really turn up to do that.

And on to Headingley. The quality isn't 2005 standard, but the nervous anticipation is exactly the same.