Highlander999
ICC President
- Joined
- Apr 15, 2006
- Location
- London
England stutter but Bell and Pietersen come to the rescue
So after Australia were bowled out for a measely 92, it gave the chance for the English batsmen to really get an unassailable total. Iam Botham had a quick word before the openers Owais Shah and Alistair Cook walked out and afterwards he told us that he was telling them to make sure they got themselves settled before playing any flamboyant shots.
However this advice was obviously not taken onboard. Alistair Cook fell very early on when he went after a wide one from Kasprowicz which he edged to gully for a simple catch. The Australian team were really pleased to have made such a breakthrough, as they really needed early weickets if they were to get England out for a low total, and leave them any chance in this match. Alistair Cook was very angry with himself and had to endure the jeers of the Australian fans as he walked back to the pavillion.
Owais Shah had heeded Botham's advice and did make a very careful start to the innings, with a lot of deliveries being left or given a dead bat. Warne was introduced into the attack as Shah had begun to try some more agressive shots. Warne did make the breakthrough when he put the doosra in there, which completely deceived Shah and he was plum LBW. Shah would have been hoping to impress the selectors with these two innings but he will be very disappointed to have made such low scores. Hopefully he will be able to get a second chance but if Strauss is fit his place will be in doubt.
This meant that Ian Bell and Kevin Pietersen were the two new batsmen at the crease. With it still being only Day 2, these two had a lot of time to play for and so could afford to play a defensive game, putting away the bad balls but not being drawn into any stupid shots. It begun to tell as the partnership begun to grow. As the partnership reached 50, both batsmen were in the thirties and had taken a long time to get there. They were receiving a lot of abuse from the Australian fans who wanted them to bat more agressively. However they ignored the comments, and knuckled down and begun to move England forward to a big total.
These two made it to the end of the day with Pietersen on 37 and Bell on 39. It was 103/2 with the English fans very pleased at the way the Second Innings had been going, especially after the early departure of both openers. 29 Overs had been played and so the ball had lost it's shine and so Warne, Hodge and Clarke will be eyeing it up.
The main bowler for the Australians in this session had been Kasprowicz who had got through 12 overs and picked up one wicket. The other wicket taker had been Warne. It had not been a bad session for the Australian bowlers even though they had only got 2 wickets, they did keep the score down, but they really need to get England out for a low total tomorrow
Sky Sports Prediction Contest
The contest for who will pick up the most wickets is closed now. Good luck to all who entered.
Cricketer's Corner (with Robert Croft)
Unless some Windies style collapse occurs for England, they are safe. 
