Oval Test, Day 2, Close
Friday, August 24, 2001

That was an impressive batting performance from England at the end of the day. Marcus Trescothick was excellent - he's kept his technique compact and simple, and there have been no flaws. That's why he's timed the ball so well.

England will need a similar dogged approach tomorrow, so they will be sorry that Mike Atherton's gone. The others will have to wear the fast men down, score some runs off them, and sit on Warne. And they need to work out a plan for Warnie - maybe to kick him away if he pitches outside leg - to make sure he doesn't get on top of them.

Australia don't want to rely on Warne. Strange things happen with pitches, and it may be that all the scraping and sweeping that goes on will mean that the pitch doesn't turn much until late tomorrow. I've already been surprised at how well the wicket has held up, and it now looks as if it should play well tomorrow. That's why the fast men are important for Australia.

Steve Waugh's declaration was a good one, as it gave Australia a dip at England tonight. Personally I might have gone just a bit earlier, but Steve knows it's a good pitch and that the bowlers might be doing a lot of work tomorrow.

He won't have fancied much more than 18 overs in the field anyway, after his heroic effort with the bat, which was one of his gutsiest innings. I reckon he'll sit in a bath for half-an-hour now and then the physio will go to work. As we've seen, Steve Waugh hates being off the pitch when Australia are playing.

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