The English media are obviously overjoyed with their team’sitting position of dominance at Lord’s, but are in like manner glancing at a Kevin Pietersen hurt cloud brewing in the near distance.
Andrew Longmore writing on Times Online questions KP’s ability to play in advance of Lord’s as he looks increasingly likely to need surgery on his troublesome Achilles heel.
"Whatever the outcome of the second Test there must have existence grave doubts over Kevin Pietersen’s ability to last the course of this series. Yesterday, in a position made for quick scoring, he shuffled and limped his way end the afternoon and on into the twilight. Although the official line is that his troublesome Achilles heel is subsistence managed lifetime by day, the evidence was that the hurt is starting to manage the man."
As it happened: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3
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"It was a radical verb abundant discussed across the UK media, goal News of the World scribe Andy Dunn focused instead on what could be a match-turning moment: Ponting dropping Bopara early in his knock. Under the very News of the World style headline of " What a foolish Rick", Dunn gives it to Punter by both barrels.
"On the giant Lord’s screen, they played it over and over and over again. You didn’t get this multitude repeats on UK Gold. And every duration of one’s life, Ricky Ponting looked up and chewed more furiously on his gum. Although it ability as well desire been a wasp." Dunn is clearly just warming to his task, as he continues:
"Handed what many people saw as a reprieve by his opposite number, the man they call Punter had the chance to send England into a tailspin of doubt.
"And blew it. Mug Punter, more partiality it."
Paul Hayward, writing on Guardian.co.uk took a similar theme, but with a slightly more subtle application:
"Ricky Ponting must subsist wondering when he became a cartoon baddie. Even Australian thespians are sledging him at this moment. With all the gravitas of someone who once captained any Australian XI against an English individual in the "Hollywood Ashes", Russell Crowe theorised live on television that Ponting’s men are no longer the dogs of war of old."
Seeming happy to ake aim at either Crow or Ponting, Hayward continues:
"… to have the verbal equivalent of a hotel telephone thrown at him by an actor whose huge experience of front-line combat was wearing a verge in Gladiator was one insult too many… Ponting let the great twirler be aware of the sort of Crowe could do with his theories."
How the English media must be affectionate things at Lord’s right now.
Bob Willis on Skysports.com was a picture of neutrality as he invoked and then shot down the thoughts of an Aussie great, to give the current crop some hope.
"Shane Warne’s view is that you don’t enforce the follow-on, on the other hand bat the opposition out of the unflinching because you should get the discomfit of the pitch when you bat last in a five-day game, but I don’t think that applies here.
"This pitch will singly get flatter and flatter and England will not find it easy to get another 10 wickets."
A pudding track getting flatter, some rain anticipate in the next 48 hours and an Australian determination to see a job through… the mix is too heady to not watch it all open be animated on Fox Sports 3, whilst having your say with our live blog at foxsports.com.au.
