First Test, Day Three. Australia Well In Control.

Australia end the day on 179-5, 44 runs ahead of England.

Dispiriting day, and one which, barring a miraculous start to day four, has left England battling to draw this first Test. So far, the pitch has flattened out as the match progresses, and ultimately it is the timid and edgy first innings batting effort that has put England in this position. Fortunately, the batsmen have a chance to atone, and prove they are better than day one - which they are, (each of the top four were out in disappointing fashion.) A team innings in which no one scores over 70 will not be acceptable again in this series. Ponting and Katich stood up for Australia, and, whether it happens tomorrow or on Sunday, a couple of England batsmen will need to do the same.

Broad took the wicket of Clarke just before the end of the evening session. That should do him the world of good. Throughout his short international career he has made it a fool's game to write him off - using a number of knock-backs as a launch-pad for triumph. I'm sure a difficult start to his Ashes career will prove no different.

First Test, Day Two, Morning Session

England eventually all out for 435.

99 added to overnight score, and at quite a rate. 66 runs flowed from the first nine overs of the day, 16 off one Hauritz over which included three successive fours from Swann. Swann and Anderson made their 50 partnership from 38 balls. One day stuff.

England's perceived weakness - their lower-middle order - has got them into this match. The batting during the first few hours of yesterday's play was cagey and nervy. Apart from Bopara, the approach was conservative. Yesterday evening and this morning was anything but. Memories of the first day of the 2005 Edgbaston Test were evoked by Prior, Flintoff, Broad, Swann and even Anderson - who all batted with fluency and aggression in taking the fight to the Aussies. It was particularly good to see Flintoff batting naturally and positively. With a clear head, free of niggling doubts about technique, he is capable of scoring a number of 50s in this series.

Psychologically this morning's tail wag and Swann's targeting of Hauritz has put England in a strong position. Also, the pitch is turning more than yesterday. It will be fascinating to see how Australia approach their innings.

First Test, Day One: Australia Edge It. Just.

England won the toss and finished on 336-7.

Morning Session (belonged to): Australia

Afternoon Session: England

Evening Session: Australia

No big scores yesterday, but all batsmen (other than Cook) at least made starts. England finished the morning session on 93-3, having looked a bit shaky - no doubt a combination of poor recent Ashes displays, playing the Aussies on reputation and big match nerves.

I think the key partnership of the day was Prior and Flintoff's. Collingwood and Pietersen rescued the team in taking them from 90-3 to 228-4, but the bulk of those runs were scored in ones and twos with Hauritz and Clarke bowling in tandem to defensive fields - not particularly threatening. Prior and Flintoff, on the other hand, were the first batsmen to make batting look relatively easy. They were fluent and aggressive and the main reason England's run rate for the day reached an almost 2005-esque 3.73 runs an over. Their innings mirrored Pietersen's contribution to the Lord's Test of 2005, when he was the only batsman to offer any resistance and take the fight to the Aussies. His teammates caught up belatedly in the next Test - they wont want to leave it as late this time.

Talk of the day inevitably centered around Pietersen's dismissal - caught sweeping a very wide off-stump delivery from Hauritz. I nearly always defend Pietersen in such circumstances - buying into the 'but that's the way he plays' theory. However, as Hawkeye shows, there is no excuse for not pulling out of a stroke when a ball is that wide. Replays showed just how off balance he was in attempting the shot, which ultimately denied him the chance of getting a big hundred.

England can make yesterday a success by reaching 400 today.

Mike Atherton's take on Day 1

England Confident

The Ashes begin tomorrow and England are confident of rekindling the spirit of 05, and avoiding the humiliation of 06-07. The team will be announced tomorrow, the only deliberation being whether to include Panesar or Onions at number 11. The team will be:

Strauss

Cook

Bopara

Pietersen

Collingwood

Prior

Flintoff

Broad

Swann

Anderson

Onions/Panesar

It will be fascinating to see who Strauss goes with for the final bowling spot. The common consensus is that the pitch will turn, though not as much as originally reported, and offer a little in terms of pace and bounce to the quicks. I think Strauss will go for two spinners - he and Flower have had that plan in mind for months and today Strauss told the press that an extra spinner "allows you more control and gives you more options". It would be a brave move, especially given Panesar's form, but I believe it's a gamble that could give England a major advantage. Australia are now likely to play one spinner, but before the injury to Lee were widely expected to field an all pace attack. 

It is currently raining in Cardiff, but the forecast for the next few days is good.

You can have any other tournament you want but to have the chance to play in the Ashes is everything

Andrew Flintoff

Injury News - Australia

Brett Lee is out of the first two Tests with an abdominal tear. The nature of the injury is such that he could be sidelined for even more of the series, but for now has just been ruled out of the Cardiff and Lord's Tests. 

Warm-up Matches Analysis

Reasons to be cheerful and reasons to be fearful that arose from the England v Warickshire and England Lions v Australia matches.

Cheerful

• All batsmen (with the exception of Pietersen) made runs.
• The continued excellent form of Anderson.
• No shortage of bowling options with Flintoff looking fit, hungry and in-form, Panesar taking three wickets (admittedly all tailenders) and Harmison looking a real threat.
• Identifying Philip Hughes's weakness against the short ball.
• Mitchell Johnson looking below par and struggling to swing the ball until the final session of the match.

Fearful

• Mike Hussey and Marcus North feeling their way back into form whilst enjoying considerable time in the middle and making big hundreds.
• A rejuvenated Brett Lee causing havoc with an outstanding spell of reverse swing that had Troy Cooley's stamp all over it.
• Ian Bell only scoring 20 runs in the match. Injury or loss of form to any of the top six is likely to thrust him into the action, and a significant innings here would have done his confidence no harm.

Overall both teams will be satisfied with their work-outs. The two games merely confirmed that this is likely to be an extremely tight series. The talking points for England: what to do with Harmison, and how many spinners to play in Cardiff. A 13-man squad for the first Test will be announced at 10:00 am tomorrow.

Harmison Bowls Himself Into Contention

Five days to go and the action is beggining to hot up on the pitch as well as off it with the England v Warickshire and England Lions v Australia matches running in tandem. Day three of both games and it's a man who divides opinion like no other Englishman that's making the headlines.

Steve Harmison has taken the wicket of Philip Hughes cheaply in both innings. The Aussie dangerman looked all at sea against a barrage of Harmison short stuff. Flintoff, Broad and Anderson will have taken note, but when it comes to extracting bounce from a pitch an in-form Harmison is England's best option. Expect this to be the talking point of the run up to the first Test.