Bliss

FOURTH TEST

At the toss Ponting was so self-assired, so jokey, that he seemed not to have a care in the world and I wondered if he had told the selectors he would retire at the end of the series. We'll see.

To lunch (Australia 58-4): After three overs, two dropped catches and a missed run-out opportunity it looked as if England were going to mess up but Watson skied a rising ball to slip, Ponting batted 51 minutes for ten and Hughes was as out of his depth as ever. The key wicket was Hussey caught behind for eight, He has been their run provider throughout the series and long before tea England has the game in a vice-like grip.

To tea (Australia 98): The infinite weakness of the Australian middle and lower middle order was exposed on a pitch with tiny amounts of devil; if Smith is a Test No.6 so am I, Haddin attacked, Johnson survived four balls and the Prior-Anderson combo was too much for Clarke, inappropriately out of form at the same time as Ponting.

To close (England 157-0): In 47 overs, Cook and Strauss barely played a false shot, Cook survived one lbw verdict and the runs came so easily that as he headed off back to his hotel room Strauss must have thought he had had the perfect day. He had won the toss, put the other side in, dismissed them for their lowest score at the MCG and - don't count your horses the way I did at Perth - kept the Ashes. Bliss.

At the end Anderson, the often sour interviewee, was so relaxed I full expected him to tell us a joke or sing a song. He managed to interject "there's a lot of hard work to be done" but hey surely we cannot avoid this victory.