Majestic Anderson

Lord's. Second Ashes Test - day two

Preview
Will it rain all day? If not, will England reach 500, which is at the top of Andrew Strauss's wish list? Will Strauss reach a huge score? He probably needs to if England are to hit the 450 mark which is his minimum requirement. Will Nathan Hauritz play any further part in the match? One piece of good news - start on time.

To lunch

Jimmy Anderson's morning. He - with tremulous assistance from Graham Onions put on 47 for the last wicket after three wickets had fallen in the first three overs. Strauss left a ball that was too close to the off stump, Stuart Broad, played on, and Graeme Swann was caught in the slips.

Anderson hit intelligently and Onions streakily to take the score to 425 just as the Queen was arriving for her annual visit. Not that her presence helped but Anderson made it a Royal occasion by taking the wickets of Phillip Hughes and Ricky Ponting. Umpire Rudi Koertzen probably mistook the noise of Ponting's bat on his boot as an edge but all the technical evidence suggested Ponting did not touch the ball. I'd say "Hard luck, Ricky, mate" but I'd be a hypocrit if I did.

So as the teams paraded for the Queen Australia were still more than 400 behind after a dozen overs of struggle. I bet England thought the interval, extended to take in all the handshaking, would never end.

To tea

A wretched couple of hours, twice interrupted by rain, but at the end Simon Katich and Michael Hussey had restored a solid feel to the Australian innings.

To close

England took complete command. Led by their four pace bowlers - Anderson, Flintoff, Broad and Onions - they sent Australia toppling as six wickets fell for 53. At the close, after 20 minutes play under lights, Australia were 156-8 and the debate in Strauss's mind could only have been about sending them in again tomorrow morning, perhaps 240 behind.

It was the decision by Flintoff to pitch the ball further up that seemed to unsettle the Australians. Katich and Hussey were going well at 103 for two when Flintoff led the charge for wickets on a pitch that was in favour of bowlers, under a sky to fill the heart of a quick bowler with pleasure and backed by some of the finest England fielding. Anderson,with four wickets, must be sure a place on the honours board is waiting.

Broad snatched a brilliant running catch to get rid of Katich and from that moment everything Strauss tried worked. It is too early to count chickens but the smell of the first England victory over the Aussies at Lord's since 1934 was in the air.