Headingley Test, Day 2, Lunch
Friday, August 17, 2001

I was impressed with Damien Martyn's batting this morning. It was one of the best and easiest Test-match innings you'll ever see. He never ceased to flow and go for his shots, even if some of them didn't hit the middle of the bat.

Simon Katich did well, too. It was a typical innings from him. He does tend to let the tight ones go, and he made a mistake when Darren Gough got one in the right place. It just hit the top of off stump, and those ones are very difficult to play.

England bowled better this morning – they had to, really, as they only had one way to go. But their performance was typical of this series – they have got their act together when it's too late. They haven't been able to put together a good session when it's needed. What's required is to keep it sound, keep it tight, and then throw in an impact ball – a bouncer or a yorker – and the batsmen will make mistakes. The Australians are only human and they will make mistakes too, as Katich did, if they are put under pressure.

The pitch seems to be a bit quicker today, which is probably bad news for England. It will make it more dangerous, because there's a bit of inconsistent bounce, and any edges will fly to the keeper or the slips whereas yesterday they were keeping low. The Australians won't be too worried – once again they've got the runs on the board.

Ian Healy made a record 395 dismissals in 119 Tests for Australia, and was on the winning side in the last six Ashes series. His comments will appear on Wisden.com at the end of every session for the rest of the series. He was talking to Steven Lynch

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