Yes it was very valuable and it rubs in the fact that Australia started poorly with the ball AGAIN. Too much rubbish, feeding Strauss on his pads and letting England cruise to lunch. Contrast with the way England bowled to Katich and Watson before lunch yesterday. Even though they got to 60 unbeaten, there weren't many bad balls and there was constant pressure from Anderson in particular.
Yep, it's been an awful selection call. I can't see Katich and North tag teaming us to victory here
But honestly, who designed this pitch??? And how lucky was England to have first use of it??? It's a shame the series has to be decided like this where the toss is worth it's weight in gold. Even so, England have made better use of the conditions, I just think the conditions suck. Shame on you groundstaff.