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Premier League: Early impressions.

QoS looks at the main contenders after the first round of action from the Barclay’s Premier League.

The ten-game mark tends to be cited as the first time at which significance can be read into the league table, when long-term class really starts to manifest itself over temporary form. Indeed, it was at exactly this point last season that the "Big Four" occupied the top four positions for the first time. There will nearly always be a middling or even poor team that has a statistically freaky run of results that sees them fly high for their fifteen minutes of fame, before the team attains their natural level. This effect was particularly pronounced last term, when the parvenu team were Hull City. In previous seasons, it has been the more obvious likes of Manchester City, Bolton Wanderers and Portsmouth. After four games, not much can be read into the embryonic table; we are (happily) only in a position to make more subjective visceral assessments of the sides.

This weekend saw the first heavyweight clash, with Manchester Utd beating Arsenal 2-1 in an odd game that suggested that neither side will be able to match Chelsea this season. Despite losing, it was Arsenal who looked the better long term bet. United lined up with Ben Foster in goal, a back four of O’Shea, the returning  Vidic , Brown and Evra, a hard-working if prosaic midfield of Fletcher, Carrick and Giggs, who was captaining the side, and a three-pronged attack of Valencia, Rooney and Nani.  Arsenal presented with Almunia in goal, a back four of Sagna, Gallas, new-boy Vermaelen and Clichy,  Denilson and Song as the holding midfielders with Arshavin, Eboué and Diaby supporting Robin van Persie up front.

It was Arsenal who were easier on the eye, as the engines of Song, Denilson and Diaby permitted the aristos of Arshavin and van Persie to strut their stuff. In contrast, United were ineffectual with Rooney well-marshalled by the athletic Gallas and the hard Vermaelen. A fellow correspondent has described Nani as a “beach footballer”, and he did little to dispel that impression. Valencia, a neat and skilful player, has a nigh on impossible task following Cristiano Ronaldo.

It was Arshavin who gave Arsenal the lead in the 40th minute, when, having seconds earlier been denied a clear penalty when Fletcher upended him in the box, he collected the ball twenty five yards out and with his trademark minimal backlift unleashed an exocet right-footer, which was too hot for the wrists of United keeper Ben Foster, who will be “disapppointed” that he could only deflect the shot into the top left corner. Had van Persie converted Arshavin’s low left-wing cross early in the second half, then Arsenal would have won the game but Foster pulled off a fantastic save with an outstretched left boot to deny him.

United did improve after the break but still looked anaemic in attack and it took two pieces of catastrophic Arsenal defending to turn the game. On the hour,  a well-weighted through ball from Giggs to Rooney saw Almunia sluggishly come off his line and trip the striker, who was heading away from goals. Rooney expertly converted the resultant penalty. It was another swing of Giggs’ left foot that led to United’s winner five minutes later, as he delivered a right wing free-kick into the box for Diaby to obligingly head past his own keeper. The majority of own goals are in some sense unavoidable or desperately unlucky, this was not one of them and Diaby, hitherto one of the best players on the pitch, deserved the mouthful he got from van Persie.

There was still time for late drama, as van Persie, whose performance merited a goal, had one chalked off for offside, prompting a prematurely jubilant Arsene Wenger to lash out at a water bottle in frustration and get sent to the stands in a jobsworth piece of officiating.

Arsenal will take more positives from the game – the slick looking back four, the continuing evolution of Song and Diaby as bona fide Premier League midfielders, the effortless talents of Arshavin and van Persie, with lots in reserve. The only real concerns for Arsenal fans must be the oafish liability that is Manuel Almunia and the decision of Wenger to play Eboué in a position beyond his intelligence.

For United the picture is bleaker, granted with Ferdinand to come back in, the defence is very strong but the midfield is a veritable no man's land and whilst there is talent up top, it is far from a reliable Roy of the Rovers kind: the hothead Rooney, the decadent Berbatov and the waning Owen.

Staying in the North-West, Liverpool were deserved 3-2 winners against Bolton at the Reebok albeit they did it the hard way, twice coming from behind with goals from Johnson, Torres and Gerrard, as the belligerence of Matt Taylor, Sean Davis and Kevin Davies in particular made a match of it. The first four games have thrown up two very obvious features of the Liverpool side, the first is that, as was feared, Lucas has proved woefully inadequate as a replacement for Alonso (although there is still Aquilani to come in) and the second, an equally expected positive, is that Glen Johnson is worth every bit of the £17.5 million transfer fee.

Switching to the capital and it’s plus ça change at Stamford Bridge, with the changeover from Hiddink to Ancelotti seemingly seamless as Chelsea dispatched Burnley 3-0 to make it four wins in four games. If anything, the relatively easy fixtures considered, the side are in better shape than at the end of last season because Ballack is finally looking like the captain of Germany and the partnership of Drogba and Anelka, for the first time, has an air of permanence to it.

Elsewhere, it’s also four out of four for Spurs as they won a hard fought duel with Birmingham City, who look a decent bet to stay up. It was the strength in depth of the strikers that was in evidence on Saturday as Peter Crouch got an overdue chance to do his thing off the bench and he do it he did. His goal in the 72nd minute was quickly equalised by the itinerant Lee Bowyer before Aaron Lennon sneaked in an injury time winner, helping him to earn a recall to Capello’s England squad. It remains to be seen how well Spurs will cope with the broken leg suffered by playmaker Luka Modric.

There was a painful juxtaposition of the haves and the have-nots on Sunday at Fratton Park, where a Portsmouth side who have literally lost a team of players in 2009 hosted a Manchester City side, fair brimming with opulence and pretensions to something big. It was easier than Adebayor’s solitary goal suggested; it will be interesting to see how he and Touré play against Arsenal next week.

Of last season’s Europa cuppers, Everton are off the mark with a win against Wigan and Martin O’Neill won the battle of the brains with Roy Hodgson, as Villa beat Fulham 2-0.

 

Wrapping up the Ashes 2009.

Our man by the urn, The Worm, offers some honest and thoughtful reflections on the series as a whole.
 
So much has already been written about England’s series victory in the Ashes that it becomes a challenge to be both honest and original 72 hours on. Much has been focussed on the result, asking how and why the series came to pass as it did. But to study history means submitting to chaos while retaining faith in order and meaning; there was no unifying destiny to this series and but for a few moments here and there it would be Australia celebrating a retained urn. Sport is of course about results but results are sometimes the product of a moment or a millimetre.
 
What has passed has passed. These teams were every bit as close as predicted, and the series swung on a few crucial moments. Monty Panesar looked embarrassed to join in the Oval celebrations but in truth his last wicket stand with James Anderson in the first test was as decisive as any contribution to the series outcome. The opening session at Lords was another defining moment, Strauss and Cook wrestling initiative back before Australia’s measly first innings total. But just as the last minute goals are remembered best, so it was Stuart Broad’s thrilling spell on Friday afternoon that finally swung this series into the lap of the home side. But for any of these and we might be focussing on four centurions in an innings in Cardiff, the lawless first morning at Headingley and England’s failing middle order.
 
Yet no matter how well matched the teams were, it was rare to see them both playing at a level. Where one side dominated the other crumbled, more often than not in the first innings of the match. The three results told of heavy wins, heavy losses; 115 runs, an innings and 80 runs, 197 runs. None of the games were close, revealing parity even in the emotional fragility of the sides. Emotionally fragile? Australia? What must Allan Border and Steve Waugh make of this?
 
Much has been made of the disparity in statistics- Australia had the three highest wicket takers of the series and scored eight centuries to England’s two. But these are skewed by Cardiff where Australia achieved half of those three figure totals and took thirteen more wickets than England. Moreover, Anderson, Flintoff, Onions, Broad and Swann each had their moment where they took the initiative and provided match-winning spells. England had four fiver-fers, Australia two. Bowling wins matches, batting provides the platform.
 
The teams differed in their response to underachievement. Australia were too quick to discard Philip Hughes, a fledgling talent upon whom too much was expected. Fifty seven runs in three innings was far from the planned return but Hughes was dropped because the Australians feared that England had found a weakness in his response to the short ball that could not be fixed on this tour. Had they not lost at Lords, they may not have panicked. Shane Watson came in and averaged 48, but with a top score of 62 it never seemed that he had a big score in him, admirably managing to survive the new ball before losing his wicket when he should have pushed on. He fails to convince as a genuine opener.
 
They showed more loyalty to Mitchell Johnson in spite of only one performance of note. This left Brett Lee in the role of team butler and crucially kept Nathan Hauritz out of the Oval team, where the surface made Marcus North look like Shane Warne reincarnated in the body of a golfer. Australia relied on the bowling of the supposed second string - Ben Hilfenhaus throughout and as the series progressed, the impressive, aggressive Peter Siddle. Neither deserves to go home a loser.
 
England stuck with Ravi Bopara until his position became untenable. Pieterson’s injury may have earned him selection in the fourth test but after Headingley the media were right in their unanimous calls for a change. Like Hughes, he will return, and probably for the winter tour to South Africa. Bopara’s failure opened the way for Jonathan Trott’s timely, distinguished, nerveless introduction to test cricket. The Worm is delighted to admit he was wrong in criticising this selection; Trott displayed a refreshing ability to embrace the highest pressure that speaks of a long career in the high middle order. One wonders what this reveals of the South African mentality, thinking back to Pieterson’s self-assured early test innings. Of those who started the series, only Andrew Strauss (born in Johannesburg) showed such consistent steel; playing with purpose throughout the series, Strauss was justly voted England’s most influential player and has earned the lifelong mantle of "Ashes-winning captain". On such things are careers defined, and as an Englishman and Middlesex supporter it is with some pride that The Worm can reflect on the manner in which Strauss has turned his form around since the tour to New Zealand eighteen months ago.
 
Australia still have an enviable middle order; Hussey had a torrid series, unaware of the location of his off stump. His series would have been summed up by his first-baller to Graham Onions on the second morning at Edgbaston but for his brave hundred on the final day. Ponting and Clarke need no justification, while North showed calm once off the mark, likely to score either a duck or a century whilst making worthy contributions with the ball. Crucially, however, the lower order failed with the bat.
 
Matt Prior won the battle of the two wicket keepers, Brad Haddin scored more runs but not at crucial times. Prior played with an authority that belied the criticism that has dogged his test career. Few men in the England side have leadership quality about them; Prior does, and for the first time in his England career he has gone an entire series without looking out of place behind the stumps. He raised his game well. Behind him, Flintoff, Broad and Swann all scored telling runs to compensate for the failures of the higher order. This perhaps was the greatest difference between the two sides, saving England from substandard totals at crucial times. It is a while since England batted down to number nine and if they intend to make good on their claims to reach number 1 status they need a batting all-rounder to replace the leviathan Flintoff.
 
As the sun sets on a curious series, the unanswered questions return. This win is inconclusive and it ends with big doubts over Alastair Cook and Paul Collingwood, both of whom had only one big, if influential, innings. Cook may be redeemed by the lack of obvious openers to replace him, and his questionable standing as vice captain. Collingwood can only be redeemed by his evident value to the team ethic, but his first team status may not last to the winter. Cameos by the faces of ’05 did little to change their stock - Bell was exposed by nerves but still managed important runs, Harmison appeared as a welcome old friend but did nothing to warrant selection over Onions. If not quite a cameo, Flintoff’s role became more peripheral after his moment at Lords although his run-out of Ponting at the Oval was sublime sporting theatre and his celebration a perfect farewell. Come to me, he calls, his teammates and the nation obey.
 
The series enthralled and there were snippets of great quality but it will not live long in the memory as a whole. The nation was gripped at the weekends, but off the terrestrial channels it was noticably missing in the workplace. Remarkably, over twenty two days of intense cricket, the teams have not developed. They are, as the rankings suggest, fourth and fifth in the world and will move on with doubts, England to S Africa and Australia to home series against West Indies and Pakistan. This series suggest they are both international also-rans.

Athletics World Championships: Day 9

Ich bin ein Berliner.

Results

Women’s marathon

Gold  Xue Bai   CHN 2 hours 25 minutes 15 seconds 
Silver  Yoshimi Ozaki  JPN 2:25.25
Bronze  Aselefech Mergia ETH 2:25.32

Women’s long jump

G Brittney Reese  USA 7.10 metres
S Tatyana Lebedeva RUS 6.97
B Kerin Mey Melis TUR 6.80

Men’s javelin

G Andreas Thorkildsen NOR 89.59 metres
S Guillermo Martinez CUB 86.41
B Yukifumi Murakami JPN 82.97

Men’s 5000m

G Kenenisa Bekele ETH 13 minutes 17.09 seconds
S Bernard Lagat  USA 13:17.33
B James Kwalia C’Kurni QAT 13:17.73

Women’s 1500m

G Maryam Yusuf Jamal BRN 4:03.74
S Lisa Dobriskey  GBR 4:03.75
B Shannon Rowbury USA 4:04.18

Men’s 800m

G Mbukeni Mulaudzi RSA 1 minute 45.29 seconds
S Alfred Kirwa Yego KEN 1:45.35
B Yusuf Saad Kamel BRN 1:45.35

Women’s 4 x 400m relay

G USA (Dunn, Felix, Demus, Richards)   USA 3 minutes 17.83 seconds
S Jamaica (Whyte, Williams-Mills, Lloyd, Williams)  JAM 3:21.15
B Russia (Kapachinskaya, Firova, Litvinova, Krivoshapka) RUS 3:21.64

Men’s 4 x 400m relay

G USA (Taylor, Wariner, Clement, Merritt)   USA 2 minutes 57.86 seconds
S Great Britain (Williams, Bingham, Tobin, Rooney) GBR 3:00.53
B Australia (Steffensen, Offereins, Thomas, Wroe)  AUS 3:00.90

 

The famous quote from John F. Kennedy’s 1963 Berlin address has featured extensively in the marketing backdrop to these Championships, which have been replete with international bonhomie. It was all smiles from the American delegation today after the traditional final event of major Championship athletics, the 4 x 400m relays, where both the US men’s and women’s quartets ran out comfortable winners, taking the US gold medal total to ten and first place in the medals table, finally stretching clear of Jamaica, with whom they were surprisingly tied on seven golds at the start of the day. The third-placed nation was Kenya.

The first track final of the evening saw Kenenisa Bekele claim a tenacious victory in the 5000m, to add to his 10000m gold. Whereas the 10000m final had been a true run race, where Bekele had used his fourth gear to win after attacking at the bell, he needed his fifth full-on sprinting speed today to hold off 1500m specialist Bernard Lagat, after a disjointed concertina fast-slow-fast-slow race rhythm. How the race is run is usually irrelevant to Bekele, who can win every which way, but it was surprising, given the presence of Lagat in the field, renowned for his finishing speed, that some of the other athletes didn’t make it a true run race to try and draw his sting. It looked for all the world that Lagat would win after moving level with Bekele on the final straight but Bekele used all of his physical and mental reserves to go again and claim the first 5000m and 10000m double in World Championship history. The Ethiopian is to long-distance running what Bolt is to sprinting, it’s just he’s, well, a tad more demure!

In the second track final, the women’s 1500m, there was a wholly avoidable incident 200m from home, in which the Spanish athlete Rodriguez, itching to get to the front of the field, pushed the slightly built leading Ethiopian woman Burka to the ground, in attempting to go through a gap that simply wasn’t there. She rounded the final bend and strode to victory but it was already apparent in her face and the negative crowd reaction that it was hollow. The steward’s enquiry was swift and she was duly disqualified, the gold passing to Olympic champion and pre-race favourite Jamal. Taking the silver, just a hundredth of a second behind, was Great Britain’s Lisa Dobriskey, who again ran an excellent race. The effort of staying with the leaders on the final lap and avoiding the stricken Burka meant that she didn’t have much left in the tank on the final straight; yes, she might have got the gold, but realistically the silver was a great result.

The last individual final was the men’s 800m, which was won by the rank outsider, South African Mbulaeni  Mulaudzi, to add to his compatriot Semenya’s triumph in the women’s 800m. In all honesty, it was a poor race, not helped by there being ten rather than the usual eight runners (after reinstatements), as the big guns all seemed cagey. Mulaudzi had led from a long way out but, other than a burst from American Nick Symmonds onto his shoulder, which one would have thought would have precipitated further moves from the others, no-one was pushing. Come the final straight and the South African still had the lead, Symmonds was tying up, but the others had finally roused and were bearing down on Mulaudzi. Leading the charge was the 1500m champion Kamal, but this was a race too far for him and he couldn’t make it, getting pipped to the silver himself.

Earlier, out on the streets, watched by a million people, the women’s marathon was won by the 20-year-old Chinese Xue Bai, who completed her first marathon aged just fourteen. She and the Japanese runner Ozaki had been tracking the Ethiopian Mergia, whose exaggerated swinging arm action looked so much more energy inefficient than the running actions of the Asian women. They sped by her and in the final kilometre on Unter den Linden, the Chinese pulled away decisively.

Continuing the rise in general quality of the field event finals over the week, there were two first-class such today, the men’s javelin and the women’s long jump. The javelin is the prince of the throwing events and there was a worthy winner in the Norwegian Olympic champion Andreas Thorkildsen, who managed to pull everything together for his second round effort of 89.59 metres. Behind him in silver was the rather incongruous sight of the Cuban, Martinez, who, even accounting for casual prejudice, really did look like he should have been weightlifting and the bronze medallist Japanese, Murakami, hot off the press.

The women’s long jump was an excellent contest, recalling the days of Heike Drechsler and Jackie Joyner-Kersee. On the European side was the Russian Tatyana Lebedeva, the technician with a high stepping approach and a classic hitch-kicking action; on the American side was the raw talent of Brittney Reese, who is all about runway speed and uses the hang technique. The women exchanged the lead in the first two rounds but in the third round Reese nailed a decisive 7.10m jump. Another turn-up saw a Turkish bronze.

The final reckoning for Team GB was a better-than-expected six medals, two of each colour. Added to Dobriskey’s silver, the 4 x 400m men’s relay team put in a sterling performance, just outside the magic three minute mark, to get the silver behind the USA. The women’s team were slightly disappointing in placing fourth.

These have been a hugely enjoyable Championships, extremely well organised and lit up of course by Usain Bolt, but having a depth of quality that should carry the sport nicely until the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Auf Wiedersehen!

Performance of the day:  Andreas Thorkildsen

 

correction: Chris Tomlinson finished eighth not seventh in yesterday’s long jump final.

 

 

Athletics World Championships: Day 8

Bolt on the blue part 3…he’s only human.

Results.

Men’s Marathon

Gold    Abel Kirui KEN  2 Hours 6 minutes 54 seconds
Silver  Emmanuel Kipchirchir Mutai KEN  2:07.48
Bronze Tsegay Kebede    ETH  2:08.35 

Men’s Long Jump

G  Dwight Phillips    USA  8.54 metres
S  Godfrey Khotso Mokoena RSA  8.47
B  Mitchell Watt     AUS  8.37

Men’s pole vault

G  Steven Hooker   AUS  5.90 metres
S  Romain Mesnil    FRA   5.85
B  Renaud Lavillenie   FRA   5.80

Women’s Hammer Throw

G  Anita Wlodarczyk  POL  77.96 metres (world record)
S  Betty Heidler   GER   77.12
B  Martina Hrasnova  SVK  74.79

Women’s 5000m

G  Vivian Cheruiyot  KEN  14 minutes 57.97 seconds
S  Sylvia Jebiwott Kibet   KEN  14:58.33
B  Meseret Defar     ETH  14:58.41

Women’s 4 x 100m

G  Jamaica (Facey, Fraser, Bailey, Stewart) JAM  42.06 seconds
S  Bahamas (Ferguson, Sturrup, Amertil, Ferguson-McKenzie) BAH 42.29
B  Germany (Wagner, Möllinger, Tschirch, Sailer)    GER  42.87

Men’s 4 x 100m

G  Jamaica (Mullings, Frater, Bolt, Powell)   JAM  37.31 seconds
S  Trinidad & Tobago (Brava, Burns, Callandar, Thompson)  TT  37.62
B  Great Britain (Williamson, Edgar, Devonish, Aikiney Aryeetey) GB  38.02

 

Such have been the exploits of Usain Bolt in Beijing and Berlin that whenever he steps onto the track, we expect new things to happen. When they don’t, when it’s just another day at the office, there is a sense of anti-climax. Initially we feel let down and then perhaps slightly ashamed of our vicarious cinematic pleasure-seeking.

The big man concluded his Berlin program as the third-leg runner in Jamaica’s winning men’s 4 x 100m relay team, the last track final of the evening. The winning time was fast but, for the first occasion in the last six big Championship finals featuring Bolt, a world record had not been set.

The relay events in athletics are interesting because they have the added dimension of teamwork (however fleetingly!), something which won’t feature that much in the life of the average professional athlete. Sure, there are coaches and training partners, but athletics is fundamentally a selfish sport, more obviously so than most and athletes are used to being in control of their destiny. When you put four raw instances of testosterone together to complete a task, the outcome might be brilliant but it can just as soon be comically inept or wretched – how many times over the years have we witnessed the US 4 x 100m men’s relay team, invariably composed of the fastest individuals, make a complete pig’s ear of getting the baton around the track?

This time round, the US team, trying to do it for JO, weren’t the strongest and didn’t drop the baton but did contrive to get themselves disqualified through a premature changeover between the third and fourth leg men in yesterday’s heats. The Jamaican team are pretty well drilled, with only Steve Mullings replacing Nestor Carter from the world record-breaking Beijing ensemble. The 200m finalist ran a solid first leg, the dependable Michael Frater took up the delivery down the back straight and handed on to Bolt, who didn’t look his usual self as he loped round the curvy third hundred metres, not discernibly pulling away from the other runners. Jamaica were still in the lead and just as well because the baton change with last-leg man Asafa Powell was a shocker. However, there was no fear that the tank-like Powell was going to be beat – he really seems to enjoy anchoring the team. Bolt had his third gold. Trinidad and Tobago set a national record in taking silver with Great Britain taking bronze in an excellent team performance.

Prior to this, the women’s 4 x 100m relay final had seen yet more Jamaican success, in a par-for-the-course time. With the US team again absent, this time due to injury, as Muna Lee pulled up in the heats, the Jamaican team put in safety-first baton changes and let their superior leg speed do the business.

In the first track final of the evening, the women’s 5000m, there was more disappointment for Ethiopian Meseret Defar, who, in a repeat of the 10000m, got out-sprinted in the home straight. The Kenyan contingent had taken the race up with seven laps to go, only Defar being able to live with them. At the bell, Defar made a bid for home but her break wasn’t decisive, with Vivian Cheriuyot and, at the last gasp, Sylvia Kibet, coming past her. Defar did at least hold on to get a consolation bronze.

If LaShawn Merritt had put in the big American track performance last night, then it was the turn of long jumper Dwight Phillips to do likewise this evening in the field, in a more resonant recalling of Jesse Owens, whose long jump gold in the 1936 games was the hardest earned of his four. Phillips bossed the competition from the first round, when he put in an 8.40m jump, which he extended to 8.54m in the second. Beijing silver medallist Mokoena responded with 8.47m but Olympic champion Saladino dipped out after three rounds, having fouled on all his jumps. There was to be no improvement by either Phillips or Mokoena and no serious challenge from the other competitors. Phillips was presented with his third World Championship gold medal by Owens’ granddaughter, Marlene Dortch, and he memorably described the moment:

"It was like history looking at me in the face."

It was by far and away the best night of field event action, as following the long jump competition, both the women’s hammer and the men’s pole vault produced outstanding performances in different ways.  In the former, the Pole Anita Wlodarczyk went one better than male compatriots Majewski and Malachowski and took gold with an almighty hurl of 77.96m – a new world record by 16cm. In the men’s pole vault, Olympic champion Steve Hooker of Australia was nursing a groin strain and only entered the competition at the advanced height of 5.85m. He failed on his first attempt and passed up to 5.90m, which he cleared first time. No-one else could match this height.

The first medals of the day were decided in the men's marathon, on a scenic and vibrant city course, designed so as to get the most out of the spectator support. It was the usual battle between Kenya and Ethiopia, with the Kenyans prevailing. It was hard to get too excited about the race because it is very much second fiddle to the Berlin marathon proper, which takes place next month.

From the Team GB perspective, added to the 4 x 100m bronze, there were good performances from Greg Rutherford and Chris Tomlinson in the long jump, placing fifth and seventh respectively and both of our 4 x 400m relay squads made it through to the final.

Performance of the day: Anita Wlodarczyk

 

 

 

Broad puts England on unlikely brink.

Our man by the urn, The Worm, assesses the first two days of the final Ashes Test Match.

The pendulum has swung again as penduli have a tendency to do, and it is perhaps fitting that Flintoff’s heir apparent has taken the series away from Australia with a series-defining burst of 5/37, tearing through the heart of Australia’s batting line up with 4/8 in 21 balls. Stuart Broad has come to the party with controlled seam bowling that got such sudden results. Broad’s intelligence was particularly impressive, the planning which was so absent in Cardiff, perfectly executed. Ponting rushed by the bounce, forced to play on; Hussey given balls he couldn’t leave, defeated by the inswinger; Clarke encouraged to lean wide to scoop a drive to Trott. Broad played to the weaknesses of these experienced and high quality batsmen and showed how good, how bright he can be.
 
Jonathan Trott has impressed on debut. He has looked relaxed and undaunted, unlike the more experienced Collingwood who has been nothing short of terrible. Indeed, Trott’s authority, his footwork and his strokeplay suggest that he could, in time, graduate to the crucial number three position. And it helps that he is a terrific fielder. It would be nice to see him and Strauss put together a partnership this morning to take the game away from Australia and forestall the usual nailbiter. Strauss is playing a very personal game, bubbling with excitement at winning the toss and aware that he is the stability of the batting order, a captain who seems unable to rely on his batting colleagues. He has shown impeccable concentration, left anything he did not need to play and is leading by his actions. It is good to see.
 
Swann took 4 wickets but was given the benefit of some awful umpiring decisions, North got a huge inside edge and was given lbw, Johnson was a long way from the ball and was given out caught. On the other side, Bell and Strauss were both out to no balls on Day 1. For test cricket the umpiring standard has been uncharacteristically poor all series. As I write this, Asad Rauf has just made a magnificent decision to give Trott not out to the first ball of the day- it looked to all the world like it was caught behind but the replays showed it came off thighpad. Making up for some poor decisions yesterday, perhaps, but sadly for the visitors it is the inconsistency that can tip a close game in one direction or the other.
 
Australia are unfortunate to have lost the toss on this wicket. It put them in a situation of uncertainty which they did not respond to well. Batting collapses are rarely about great bowling in isolation; they tell of nerves and frailty, and for all their big totals it is the third collapse we have seen from them in the series. Telling statistics. As well as Broad bowled, as difficult as the wicket is, they should have got more than 160 and they faltered. Australia were defeated by the moment and it will probably cost them the series. Or is there time for another swing of the pendulum?