quite ! talk about throwing your toys out of the pram ?????

it was brilliant seeing Ponting lose the plot - should get a hefty fine or even a ban UNLESS Tony Archer is the match referee of course !!!

We're already nearly as far in front as when we declared at Adelaide, and we've got an extra day left! Even if we bat slowly until we're bowled out it's difficult to see how we could screw this up now unless it rains heavily for long spells. Our opponents must be totally demoralised by now; the best they can realistically hope for is a deficit of 400 or so, even if they knock us over quickly in the morning.

Ponting has been fined 40% of his match fee by referee Ranjan Madugalle for a "Level 1" offence. Apparently the maximum he could have been hit with was a 50% fine.

Pretty much on perfect course for the win, don't know what Bell and Collingwood were doing with their dismissals though - luckily it's not crucial.

I'd bat for another session and a half (if we can) then stick them in I think, though if it's overcast in the morning I'd be tempted to stick them in straight away and try and roll them cheaply again.

newsthump.com/2010/12/27/fined-p ... -/

newsthump.com/2010/12/27/fined-p ... -/

An excellent all round test for England so far. Fantastic to see Ponting losing the plot yesterday and 40% of his match fee. Nice to see a captain fearing for his job







Would imagine there will be plenty of plastic on view today at the MCG and the weather's getting better!! Happy days......

A really good batting display from England, I reckon they will bat unil they get 500 run lead then declare about mid afternoon.

Ponting's behaviour was appauling and how it was only deemed a grade one offence I don't know.

Ponting on Sky now saying that there was a mark on the bat on HotSpot for the incident he was fined for. From the Hot Spot replay I watched the mark was at the bottom of the bat (probably caused by Pietersen hitting the ground with the bat during the bowlers approach) and not in the centre of the bat where the ball passed closest to it.

He's had a mare, there is a hot spot about 6 inches lower than where the ball passed the bat.

desperate man, clutching at straws...all of that was clearly evident at the time, including seeing the ball wizz past much much higher up

Tough morning so far, be lucky to reach 400 run lead. Still if we get bowled out then it is potentially good news for our bowlers.

How?

Prior out for 85, Bresnan for 4; Trott still going strong; Swann won't hang about, if he stays there he'll score quickly. I suspect we'll be bowled out during the first hour of the afternoon session with a lead of around 450, which I think would suit nicely.

Sounds like Ryan Harris has broken down and is unlikely to bowl again in the match. (I saw him score his career best 94 at a run-a-ball batting with a runner for Surrey at Northampton in summer 2009 - he's certainly a tough customer who won't lie down easily.)

Presumably he means that if their bowlers can skittle ours easily there must be enough in the pitch for the likes of Anderson, Tremlett and Swann to have a go at.

The Aussies thought that after we skittled them out for 98. 503 runs later and they're still toiling

Swann's gone now, hopefully Trott gets to make his double before he runs out of partners.

He moves too slowly to do that. The 'other' batsmen would have to get through about another hundred deliveries the rate he's moving at now.

That's all folks.

Aussies need 415 to make us bat again. Hint of ball movement in the last couple of wickets.

England 513 all out. Trott left high and dry on 168. That'll be an early lunch with under ten minutes to go. TMS's post-Frindall Safa reckons it's the second biggest first innings lead we've had in Ashes history. Nice!

This

could be

a very late night.

It's my call to go off to bed. I cannot understand why he's not just hammering them. It seems a very cautious approach so far.

What an absolute fool Mr Watson is. That could well be curtains for Hughes' international career, particularly if the Aussies look for wholesale changes in light of an embarassing Ashes series. Not good.

Great stuff from Swann and, in particular, Bresnan after tea. Halfway there now.

Correct.

Swann did a great job, just kept it really tight at one end and allowed Strauss to rotate the seamers. Really pleased to see Bresnan bowling so well! Saker seems to have got the tactics on this wicket spot on!

Credit to Flower too, the plans have worked to their batsmen and he has assembled a great backroom team. Ashes almost retained but would still like to win the series, Swann could be the go to man in Sydney,

More than halfway when you consider Harris has a stress fracture and will take no part.

Well done Brezza! Cas are proud of you