Headingley Test, Day 4, Lunch
Sunday, August 19, 2001

The weather is turning into an interesting factor in this match. I'm actually hoping for some more rain, so time gets taken out of the game. That would force Australia to go for a declaration knowing they'll have to bowl England out in a short period. It would also mean less time for England to survive. If that happens we could see some pretty exciting cricket.

Otherwise, it's just been trouble, trouble, trouble all the way for England this morning. The bowlers pulled it back a bit with those two wickets, but they just don't seem able to get things right at those crucial times. Whenever things get tight – that's when you need to be at your best, and those are precisely the sessions England seem to lose it in. Probably that's down to pressure and trying too hard. They're focussing too much on the importance of the situation rather than just concentrating on keeping that line and length – although I thought Darren Gough got it together after the rain-break.

Australia have piled on the runs and they've been able to bat with a sense of freedom that the England batsmen won't have. Ricky Ponting just carried on where he left off yesterday and caused England some real headaches. Matthew Hayden looked a little out of sorts. His balance is wrong, which is affecting his timing. But he's really battling to come good, and did pretty well for a bloke out of nick.

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 Camilla Rossiter

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