Do the maths

FOURTH DAY

To lunch: If the 50 minutes Australia needed to bowl England to defeat were wretched, the next 50 minutes were equally miserable. England were all out 123 to an assortment of loose shots and then commentators and cricketers alike seemed to be far too keen to submit to Australia. For instance, I listened to the whole of the summary section of Test Match Special and not once was the size of the victory in Adelaide mentioned. Jim Maxwell, as Aussie as any wallaby, was allowed to dictate the terms of the discussion; how many changes do England need to make, is there any way Australia can be stopped now, isn't it great that Johnson is back in top form, Ponting will not allow his broken little finger to keep him out of the Melbourne Boxing Day Test. Ponting was exceptionally relaxed, jokey even; Strauss was his usual conservative company man. I just wished someone - Broad tried but his voice does not carry the authority yet - had said: "Hang one. Didn't we win by a massive margin against the same team two weeks ago?"

Jo King, Stats Queen says: Brisbane 517-1 declared, Adelaide 620-5 declared or 1137-6 declared; contrast with Perth 187 and 123 or 320 for 20. Is that a one-off because of the pitch or what? The worry is not in the stats but in the sombre expressions on the faces of Flower and Strauss.