Nick Teale - England can corner Australia
02 Dec 2010 - 15:59:45
All this snow may have caused a large amount of frustration for those who cannot get into work, but look on the bright side; those who can't normally stay up and watch the Ashes can do so tonight.
For the first time since England last won the Ashes Down Under, we have denied the Aussies a lead going into the second Test. But if Andrew Strauss and co want to get ahead in the series, they are going to have to be more ruthless this time around. But if we are, we can corner Australia to a confidence low of no return.
In the first innings at Brisbane, England, and the captain in particular, just did not settle and looked very nervy.
Strauss did 'a Harmison' in giving his wicket away after just three balls. He looked too eager to get off the mark but made up for it with his second innings performance, setting the platform for Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott to heroically save the Test for the tourists.
If we can get off to a better start this time, I would expect us to win the Test. Adelaide always favours the batters and that will undoubtedly help the team who wins the toss.
There has been much talk of the Australian bowlers' inability to steer the hosts to what should have been an easy victory last weekend. But England's bowling attack performed little better against Mike Hussey and Brad Haddin.
James Anderson had a superb spell against the resilient duo with the new ball on the morning of day three but even then England didn't break the partnership.
Yes, Anderson was unlucky not to get Hussey out LBW that morning, but after that spell of pressure England allowed it to be easy for Australia to accumulate a big total.
On Adelaide's batsmen-friendly pitch, England must be more ruthless with the ball and in the field. We became sloppy in the last Test and must remain on our toes at all times in Adelaide.
After what happened in Brisbane, England have Australia worried but we must capitalise and keep them cornered. To do that, all eleven players must be on top of their game for the entirety of the Test.
