Flat pitch, flatter cricket

Not too much inspiring to write home about today. Although the pitch is turning, it is playing so slowly that the Aussies don't look in any bother. They are just nurdling their way forward. The only sparks came in the morning session as the England tail gamely wagged and Flintoff worked Hughes over. Since then neither side has set the world on fire, though a draw can't be counted on when the pitch could yet deteriorate into a real minefield by day 5. Australia will want a lead of at least 100 - they should get there towards the end of day 3 - to put some pressure back on England, who would then need to score at least 350 themselves to feel safe - which would take us to sometime in the first session on day 5, and it would then be a question of Australia surviving the final day as scoring won't be easy. This is how I see the game panning out. The danger for England is if they continue to not pick up wickets they could find themselves with a huge defecit effectively batting last themselves to save the game.