Ashes T 3 Day 2 Stumps: England Ram Home The Points

Ricky Ponting may have had an eventful time overcoming Allan Border’s record but as he rightly pointed out, he has had other things on his mind in the third Test of the Ashes at Edgbaston.
Australia suffered a double blow without adding to their overnight score due to Graham Onions’ two wickets in two balls. The first to go was Shane Watson who made a great start yesterday but failed to negotiate the lbw decision on sixty-two. Michael Hussey once again slipped into the uncertain mode as he misjudged the delivery from Onions and ended up trying to leave a ball that disturbed his bails on naught.
Australia appeared to have briefly overcome the early morning shock on day two. However, Ponting, after overhauling Border’s record for the most number of runs for Australia (11,174), played a horrendous shot, trying to hook a bouncer and ended up edging the ball to an agile Matt Prior.

But Australia suffered more carnage before lunch with four more wickets tumbling in a quake that went by the name, James Anderson. Anderson took over from Onions and reduced Australia to eight down for 203.
Post lunch did yield a brief partnership as Nathan Haurtiz held up an end with the tail, but to little avail as Australia caved in to a five wicket haul for Anderson, dismissed for 263 and leaving Onions missing one in what would have been a worthy five-fer at Birmingham.
England did lose Alastair Cook early but recovered well with England captain, Andrew Strauss. His brief partnership though with Ravi Bopara came to end after Ben Hilfenhaus bowled out a tentative, defensive Bopara with England on sixty for two. But Strauss was in a mood that suggested leading from the front on sixty-four and Ian Bell, coming in for the injured Kevin Pietersen, showing he was going to do it through his deeds and let Australia pick up the fight. His unbeaten twenty-six looked a lot like unfinished business before the umpires offered the light with England on 116 for two.
Does a similar fate await England on another morning or will England rattle Australia by making a much better start than Australia did on day two?

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