The wicket count may have plunged from 17 to nine, but this was another gripping day. There was a bold counter-attack from Adam Gilchrist, matching Marcus Trescothick. There was plenty of incident and a whiff of intrigue. There was another fine spell from Alex Tudor, who has already taken more wickets in this series than Dominic Cork, Ashley Giles and Craig White put together. There was yet another big Ashes haul for Shane Warne (even if it was streakier than his own highlights). But the man of the day was Mike Atherton. At Lord's Atherton was not so much an acting captain as a passive one, swathed in reluctance. Not only could he not make his fielders hold their catches, but he caught their disease and dropped a sitter himself. At Trent Bridge, his favourite haunt outside branches of Waterstone's, he has been passionate and proactive, gathering his team into huddles, leading from the front when the umpires have allowed, even adding a stroke to his repertoire (the upper cut, specifically designed to enrage Brett Lee). His 50 was worth a hundred on a normal Trent Bridge pitch; if it hadn't been for a second dreadful decision, he might still be on the way to one. Not for him the brainstorms that did for Stewart and Ramprakash.

In the field, his handling of Tudor could not have been bettered by Adam Hollioake. He held all three edges that came his way, including both the Waughs, and his unfussy competence spread to Butcher next door.

In these strange circumstances, his old weaknesses as a captain - a tendency to go on the defensive, and a rather obvious mistrust of some of his bowlers - have turned into strengths. Three bowlers were quite enough to see off Australia, and it was his readiness to plug the gaps that allowed Tudor to bowl maidens and start the rot in the first place.

The Ashes have seldom brought the best out of Atherton, but they did today. The only thing he did wrong was not sending in a nightwatchman this evening. You would have thought Tudor had done a reasonable job last time.

Tim de Lisle is the editor of Wisden.com

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