I would have said it was Smith that got the collapse to start, although the shots the batsmen chose were that of batsmen who felt like they were under much more pressure than they actually were.
However, Tait was definitely on song, from short to full, outswinger to reverse inswinger, from 76 to 96 mph, it was one of those days that makes him such a must-watch cricketer. That first ball from Tait to Bresnan, that hit the shoulder of the bat and almost carried to point, that ball was the chance of the win; if it had gone to Clarke, they would have pulled it off. You could tell it just wasn't going to happen again.
Of course, with the need to get wickets long before the final over, it was going to be something of an afterthought if the game actually reached it. However, I think there was one trump left unplayed. It could have been a chance for Watson, as much as anyone. Tait and Bollinger were getting the ball to just shape in a little. We've seen that Watson has demonstrated a good grasp of reverse swing in Tests, so there would have been something in an otherwise random one over spell.
However, this is still making up for those four missed overs from the first innings. No game put Australia's bowlers under so much pressure as this one and even if the batsmen are failing to respond to situation, the bowlers are.
Unless Hazlewood plays, I'm not gonna bother watching the other 2 matches.
