The draw is 30-100, but if England don't get the 34 runs needed to avoid the follow-on the Aussies look a good bet at 3-1.

Wonderful innings by Bell and a real surprise when he got out. A very responsible knock by Pietersen. Let's hope that Prior, Broad and Swann can knock off a few more runs (hopefully 200) and make the Aussies sweat. The weather forecast on BBC gives about another 4 hours play possible over the next two days so I hope my bet is safe. I'm now looking at long range forecasts for Durham....

England in real trouble and doubtful if they would last the nominal 98 overs - oh look it's raining again and they'll possibly be saved

What mystifies me about hotspot is how it either isn't visible on some screens or simply doesn't show. On ch5 highlights yesterday a glow appeared on one of Aussie's horizontal bat shots and yet it was given not out; KP's dismissal today had "clear audio" but not hotspot

Snicko to me looks much more precise.

Then there is the case of referrals and "umpire's call" - one of the TMS team suggested it was harsh for a team to lose an lbw referral if the replay clearly showed that quite a lot of the ball would have hit a stump, even though it wasn't 50% of it.

Fair point well made IMO, but filling the game with yet more caveats and fiddly detail.

It would help if the match official could see the hot spot footage on a screen bigger than 10 inches Some serious work needed on how they use the technology. I disagree with them not losing a referal if it goes with umpires call.

The whole system was to prevent howlers and not marginal decisions. The captains would do well to remember that.

Loving rain, my garden needs watering.

You won your bet, Tim, and England retained the Ashes. Some would say it's a disappointing way to do so, which is true and others would argue that Australia coulda, woulda, shoulda won this game.

All very well and I'm sure England would rather have won on the field, but if Australia had performed like this from the first test, their hopes of regaining the urn wouldn't have gurgled down a Manchester plughole.

Yep, and looking at the long-range forecast for Durham I might be tempted to reinvest....

The hot-spot technology is really not very good; nothing showed on Pieterson's dismissal, and the only slight confirmation came with a mini spike on snicko. The chat on TMS is that the third umpire position should be taken by a techo geek; knowledge of cricket is not essential but knowledge of the equipment is. I would have to agree. The on-field umpiring has been of a poor standard... the best eight umpires in the world are either Australian or English and the next best is retired (Billy the finger Bowden). Let's have an Aussie and an English umpire sorted for the next match - both captains would accept this.

England really need to concentrate at the top; we have been 30-3 far too often and Bell has really held the side together. No change in personnel but a change in performance required, although I would still play Tremlett or Onions (on his home ground) instead of Bresnan. The Aussies will be drawing straws again in a pub on Thursday night (while the rain pours down).

Well what an anti climax that was! I was looking forward to a thrilling day's play with the Aussies fighting back to keep the series alive. Alas the English weather conspired against us. Still, we brought this on ourselves after a woeful performance at Lord's.

Also, I must say the umpiring has been pretty dreadful so far in this series. Ending play yesterday due to bad light was ridiculous. And don't even get me started on the DRS and third umpire decisions...

Love the cartoon....

Regarding Durham I can see Onions and Tremlett playing for England instead of Broad and Bresnan, and for Oz I would play Jackson Bird instead of Starc. The pitch at Durham will reward line and length rather than outright pace - Bird has bowled beautifully when I have seen him and won't give away too many four-balls. Onions is a similar bowler going wicket to wicket, and although Tremlett is a bit of a blaster I feel that Broad could do with a break before he breaks himself.

Warner should open and Watson should bat six where he can express himself (assuming he's not going in at 50-4) without putting his team in jeopardy. His bowling will be valuable at Durham, as will his catching at slip.

Oh well, it is bound to rain in the North-East anyway, so I might have a little punt on a draw.... currently 2-1

Truly disgusted that Onions has not been given a chance. Cannot understand why! England seem attack could do with a change and we have retained the Ashes. If he does not play this game when will they play him. Blinkered outlook from England and I hope we struggle as a result. Poor poor poor and bloody boring.

I'm just amazed. Surely if ever there was a game to give Onions a chance to shine it was this one.
I'm sure England are glad to be able to show consistency, but there is a very strong case for Onions to play and - whisper it - Anderson to be rested.

I'd also have been looking at Compton and James Taylor - we should now be preparing for the series down under as well as trying to win this one. Give these lads a taste of Ashes cricket.

Still, it's Flowers and Cook that have got England to this fortunate position, so perhaps they have a right to do things their way...!

Agree.

But as you say their tactics have worked so far. It just seems a little too conservative given the position we are in and the opportunity as you say to gain strength in depth.

Well, it's been attritional and rather disappointing.
I know Pietersen saved England's bacon at Old Trafford, but he's had so many unconverted starts or poor scores in the last couple of years that I really don't think he can justify his place for a lot longer.

People also saying that - excepting the big knock at Lords - Joe Root has not kicked on as an opener. I'm a big fan of Root, but he should be worth more runs, especially as an opener and against such a modest attack. Drop him down to KP's slot and bring in Compton? Drop Root for Compton and substitute Taylor for KP?

Not going to happen is it? Not if they haven't picked Onions for a test on his home turf...

Are we finally going to see a big score from Cook? None of the top order has looked in good nick, so it would be refreshing if he could get another of his "daddy hundreds".

The bowlers looked knackered at Old Trafford, so I hope we don't need to rely on the usual suspects here.

Well, I proper did for Cook there, didn't I?

Talking of players that need to do something special to justify their place, here's that nice Mr Bairstow...

England horlics today as fa as i am concerened. We won the toss and should have put the Aussies in. Onions should be playing and Peterson could have been rested.

Let's hope Bells form continues (OMG did I just type that )

Win-win for you, surely!

Then again...

Oh dear..... the odds on a draw are now 5-1.

Root - if he had been caught on 8 at Lords his average would be 11 for the series.

Cook - just not in nick

Trott - in far too much good form; come back the scratchy Trotty

Pietersen - what can we do about Kevin? Nothing!

Bell - Oh dear.......

Bairstow - having ground it out why slog across the Lyon?

Prior - see Cook

Broad - unspeakable shot

If the answer is Bresnan and Swann batting the question might need revising. Oh, and the odds on a draw are now 6-1

and to think I took 5-2

After my bad tempered rant yesterday I was reminded, by Jonathan Trott, not to judge any 1st innings score till bothe teams have had a bat. And how right he was.

Amazing match - proper test match cricket with momentum swinging one way then the other. It's too close to call; Australia almost have too much time to score the runs.

Unless the weather goes mental, tim's lost his bet on the draw!

and queue the rain. Fantastic game, I think scoring over 250 given the now erratic bounce on the wicket could be quite a challenge.

Hmmm, well the Aussies (as you would expect) look up for a challenge...!

Simply stunning game!

Amazing result. Sat in Pizza Express this evening (Hughie's birthday) constantly refreshing my phone for the result! Fantastic!

At tea the consensus was that the Aussies would win, but Bresnan picked up a couple and tied an end up and Broad was simply on fire. A fantastic spell, especially as the wicket wasn't really helping and the ball was old. An ancient formula - aim at the stumps and bowl fast.

A great result considering that England's batting is still suspect. Root is a novice who should still become great, and Cook, Trott and Pieterson still didn't really contribute as they should have. Prior has barely made a run. I will doff my cap to Bresnan who bowled steadily and batted excitingly this morning - still don't think he is the 3rd best seam bowler in the country though, and any runs should be scored by the top six/seven.

What odds Tremlett playing at the Oval? Zero! I would bring Carberry in to open, put Root back down at six and get Bairstow to make some runs for Yorkshire as apart from the Test matches he hasn't played a first class game since April.

Still reeling from that final 2 hours...

A superb result from England and I think Shane Warne made a good point: England had to stare defeat in the face before they awoke from their complacency - they may be better than Australia (I think they are, by a bigger margin than they have demonstrated), but they will still have to work hard to win.

Australia must be demoralised after that - I hope they can put up some sort of fight for The Oval.

Similarly, England must be desperate for a better display from the batsmen: Cook, Root, Trott, Bairstow and Prior all need to make a bigger contribution. They know this and with any luck the pressure will be off and they will be able perform.

Bresnan is now out for the rest of the season with a stress fracture, so I would expect Tremlett to have a trundle at the Oval.

Tough luck on Bresnan, a player who has always been rather underrated (a bit like Collingwood). Even tougher luck on poor Graham Onions; an opportunity finally comes up (though the selectors were MAD not to play him in Durham) and the poor sod picks up an injury a few days before.
I doubt they would have picked him (Tremlett is probably the more suitable bowler for the Oval), but it is still a bit gutting.

They could go with 2 spinners at the Oval. I wonder if they will rest Peterson, i think he could do with it. Maybe rest Anderson too ? Really want us to win this and take a 4-0 drubbing into the winter series

I agree with this, Pietersen could probably do his knee being treated cautiously if he is to appear in the 1-day series. Anderson too looks as he might do with recovery time but how likely is he to play in the above? Not very, I reckon.

Rotten luck indeed for Onions, so i imagine Finn and Tremlett would play alongside Broad who seems to have got into his stride again - and how

If KP is rested it does leave the door open for a tweak of the order - Compton to open and Root to drop down as iirc has been mentioned above.

Younger and alternative players ought to be given some test match practice if they are suddenly required to step up, and with the series and ashes done and dusted what better time to do it.

I agree with much of what you say, Edinburgh, but I doubt it is part of the "if it ain't broke, stick to the plan" philosophy of Flowers and Cook.

Woakes? I'm surprised, at least after his disappointing show in the one-dayers. The selectors perhaps see in him a new Bopara (who promised so much at the highest level but didn't hit the highs). This is to replace Bresnan clearly so maybe he the only option.

Kerrigan I know nothing about but since Monty P is going through a rough time at home right now he's going to be off the horizon - lucky if he keeps his job at Sussex Two spinners can work well at the Oval historically.

So the new players may be being blooded after all, but hey, will they ever listen to us?