TOPIC:

2 wickets to fall from lunch to stumps.....good comeback by the Aust middle order.....touch wood the tail can go into Bazball mode and wag......a total around 450-500, might get Cummins to appease all his detractors and set conventional test fields with a new cherry.....3 slips, 2 gullys etc etc

all too familiar up top after the rain overnight - England got the Dukes hooping and our wickets started falling 
very fortunate the wicket has been made for runs
but even more fortunate that Travis Head is playing because again he turned the innings
absolutely no doubt England will go after the bowling even harder to get a big lead so the rest of the bats have to stick around for a lot of day 3

I doubt even the likes of Don Bradman, Viv Richards, Brian Lara, Sachin Tendulkar even WG Grace over time were not nervous to get off the mark as batsmen and yet here we have Cummins in unison with Ronald McDonald and his merry men of selectors Hamburgler, Grimace, Officer Big Mac et al just allowing the Poms that luxury on both the off side and leg side with men out on the boundary from the get go and not only did it fail in putting pressure on the new batsmen at the crease it didnt dry up the runs either as the Poms still made virtually 400 in only 78 overs before declaring at over 5 an over.
And how these same selection clowns continue to pick Warner in England is just laughable...Stuart Broad must giggle to himself every time he sees the Australian team sheet knowing there is another 2 certain poles coming up for fark all runs!

Good recovery from 3-67 to 5-311, Uzzie played a classic test innings with support from Head, Green and Carey. 
England still hold the advantage though as Greens dismissal showed that the pitch is going to be hard to bat on come day 4 and 5. Australia need a first innings lead, problem is that there is not a lot of batting beyond this current partnership so Carey and Khawaja need to bat till lunch time at least.
If Australia do get a lead of 50 or more I would hope that they will set more attacking fields in the 2nd innings

Well Eng are 2 down with a lead of 30 odd.....pity that session was ended with rain. Would of been nice to of snared another wicket of three with bowling conditions a tad more difficult for batting, then what Eng had on day 1.....and yeah the fielding placements were more conventional by Cummins 2nd time round, though day 3 batting looks more challenging than day 1.

BH, totally agree re Warner, but JL and the selectors, set a precedent in the last UK tour remember, playing Warner for all 5 tests, despite his obvious Broad short comings and 9 run average. Hopefully Ronald et al aren't as stupid this tour.....but with Harris in the shed as the next option, I can see Warner getting another crack for redemption.

Perhaps Renshaw is the better option with his height and reach to counter  act the  sultans of swing in Jimmy et al. I guess time will tell. A decision on Warner needs to be called early though, but if JL et al didn't have the balls or nous, to call it earlier last time round, then McDonald et al surely won't. Be ironic if he did though.

threw the last 5 wickets away and still fell short but rain might end up being the wildcard - will suit Boland & Hazelwood if it's overcast

Was astonished that the Poms doctored the pitch to be a road given the quality of their 2 old boys who can swing and cut the ball like few others, I know it was to suit this bash philosophy they have but wickets win matches in most cases. Having lost the best part of a day, not sure this one will see a result, but .......

Looks like the pitch is holding together. The rain and colder weather should stop the pitch from cracking. Bowl top of off stump.Wouldnt be pitching to short on this  wicket. 
We will see what day 4 delivers. A couple of early wickets.Could really put England on the back foot.And take Bazball out of the scenario. 

Eng came out full of intent and put the pressure right back on Aust. Aust chipped away, those runs by Robinson, Broad and Anderson at the end could be the difference in the end....though the lack of runs from Smith and Labuschagne just made a difficult chase even more difficult.

Up to Uzzie again to fill his boots....though perfect opportunity for Green to showcase his ability and step up with a 50 + innings.....Head and Carey need to play their part too.....be great if Head repeated that GABBA green top innings tomorrow, by pinning the ears back and giving Baz and Stokes a taste of their own medicine.

The obvious is Aust rolling over meekly with the cloud cover tomorrow....first session looks  wet though....then improves as the day goes on.....Aust problem is they lose wickets in clumps.....Boland did well to survive, sneak out another 10 or 15 from him and hopefully Ussie gets back to back 100s and some cameos from Head, Green and Carey then who knows....

Win or lose it definitely has been an entertaining affair....though sadly, that 36 will keep the Warner flame flickering  a bit longer.....go 1-0 up then most Aust fans will turn a blind eye.....go 0-1 down, then the melts will come.

at least 60 runs given away with an obviously pre-planned field set - those 3 late wickets are painful
if Head can get away to a flyer he could carve a lot of them
it'll be a battle