Day two

Day two: Australia day.

And yet it didn't start like that. Momentum was the watchword from yesterday and England had seemingly lost it at the end of the first day's play. Nobody told Graeme Swann who blazed away for 48 entertaining runs with able support from James Anderson and Stuart Broad (and some less able support from Monty). Swann was left stranded as wickets fell at the other end, but they did what tail ends ought to: wag. Not only did they get runs, but they got them quickly and put pressure on players who may have been going out thinking they'd be batting sometime very soon.

The end did come and momentum swung again, back to the Australians, as Phil Hughes cut and slashed his way to a breezy 36. This kid is going to be a long-term pain in these Ashes contests. At the other end, Simon Katich had his Chris Tavaré head on and set about boring the pants off everyone (except the crowd-surfing young fellow who came dressed as David Gower) as he ground his runs out in no particular style whatsoever. Ricky Ponting was slightly quicker as they did exactly the job required and made slow progression towards the England total of 435 with both Katich and Ponting ending the day with grittily constructed hundreds.

Australia on top then, and by plenty. The England bowlers toiled on a day that failed to produce swing. Though spin was there aplenty, it was slow off the pitch and, consequently, easy to read. Swann was unlucky not to have had Katich lbw, but chances were few to non-existent. Tomorrow looks like being a long day for England in the field once again and these two batsmen could have taken one result off the table already; the one where England win. England need something inspirational in the morning session tomorrow, but it's hard to see where it's coming from.