Live Blogs / Ed Hawkins / 03 December 2010 / 1

Ed Hawkins was here until lunch keeping you updated with the in-running action and tipping England at [2.00] for victory. Don't miss his wrap of the day's action and a look forward to day three once the 90 overs have been bowled

LUNCH 02.00 Eng 90-1
England are in total command. Yet there remains little faith in their ability to win the Test on the match-odds market. The draw, predictably, is heading south rapidly. It is [2.68]. England have shortened from [1.91] at the start of play to just [1.89]. And they have lost only one wicket. We are more than happy with our wager at [2.00] on the visitors. That's a keeper. We expect them to win. Anyway, that's all from me as far as the blogging is concerned tonight. Don't forget to check back for the day two review and preview first thing.

01.54 Eng 88-1
Xavier Doherty is coming on. Shane Warne said he looked excellent in the nets, getting dip and turn. Warne said he was excited about seeing him bowl. Ricky Ponting obviously didn't concur. In a doff of the cap to the Public Schoolboy's Handbook of Cricket Captaincy, the spinner gets a bowl minutes before lunch.

01.46 Eng 81-1
England have slowed right down as the break approached. The run rate over the last 10 is 2.60. That's almost a two-run drop in the last 20 minutes or so. I seem to recall they did something similar at the Gabba in second innings. Worth putting that in the notebook. England consciously shut up shop to avoid chucking away an advantage at the end of a session. And no, not all sides are as cautious as that.

01.42 Eng 78-1
Doug Bollinger looks as though he has applied his sunscreen in a deliberate attempt to look like the Ultimate Warrior, he of wrestling fame. The Warrior had better hair. We don't know whether he was also better at bowling away swingers.

01.35 Eng 78-1
Cook is not making it easy for those battling heavy eyelids. He is striking at a stupefying 33. Oh well, we can't all be Flash Harrys. I heard an amazing stat about Cook the other day. At the age of 25, only Sachin Tendulkar in the history of the game has scored more runs. But speak to anyone who knows a bit about the game, and they will tell you Cook's technique is no good. They are right, it isn't. I suppose it all comes down to 'eye' and mental strength.

01.28 Eng 74-1
Alas I will only be blogging up until lunch today folks. Why? Because I have a gig on Saturdays at a national newspaper and it can be quite an arduous one. Hence the need for a snooze. However, I will be writing a sort of review-preview after play on day two to see where the game has gone, where it's going and where we should consider putting our hard-earned.

01.24 Eng 72-1
Hurrumph! Two maidens in a row. Australia not playing fair. Negative tactics. They are quite entitled to do so, though. If I was on the Aussies I would probably have been screaming at Ponting to do it earlier.

01.20 Eng 72-1
In the last 10 overs England's run rate is 5.10. Quick. If they continue in that vein until lunch - probably another 10 overs - they will breach 120 runs for the session. They are [3.00] to do so. How about playing safe though and backing them at [2.20] for 110 or more?

01.09 Eng 64-1
So England looking pretty cosy. They shouldn't be. Trott should have been run out by Doherty. And he should have been held by Hussey in the gully. Of Ashes in Australia of old, it was always England who would be hapless in the field, never the other way round. On day one, England were brilliant. Just another example of why they are the superior value so far. Makes such a difference to punters' confidence knowing that the majority of chances produced will be snaffled.

00.56 Eng 45-1
The average second match-innings score at Adelaide in the last 10 Tests is an astonishingly high 432. Jeez, that's big. Five sides during that period passed 500. England are [2.00] for 425 or more.

00.46 Eng 38-1
We have had our first glimpse of The Rug then. Doug The Rug Bollinger that is. Remember when Bollinger played for Worcestershire a few seasons back? He was dreadful. But the difference was, he was bald then. Now he has hair he is an ICC award-winning bowler. A more original nickname than 'The Rug' would be Sampson but I suppose that would be asking too much of these Aussies' intelligence.

00.33 Eng 23-1
Trott would be my pick. I know he's not really English, but I think that's the appeal. He is so bloody-minded. One gets the feeling he would sledge his own mother. He doesn't look particularly pretty but he might prove to be England's version of Mike Hussey. He just grinds bowlers down. He is the only batsman, on either side, in the world's top 10. Shame we can't get more than [1.80] about him scoring a 50. As I type, he's just been dropped. Hussey with an easy chance!

00.28 Eng 21-1
Time to have a look at England's top-bat market. The men who have ground form are Paul Collingwood and Kevin Pietersen. Colly made a double ton at the venue four years ago and KP 150 odd. They don't have recent nick, though. Alastair Cook does. He has ground form, too. No, not four years ago. Three weeks ago. He made an unbeaten century in the tour match against South Australia. Cook is [4.00], Trott [3.95], KP [4.60], Bell [5.80] and Any Other [6.00].

00.20 Eng 17-1
At the start of day two in Brisbane, with the boot on the other foot as it were with England under the pump, these were the prices: Eng [6.80], Aus [1.45], draw [4.80]. Look how short Australia were. England were [1.89] at start of play today. It suggests there are quite a few who need convincing of England's ability to take 20 wickets, particularly on a flat surface. Still, we have to be ecstatic with the [2.00] on the tourists given historic odds I think.

00.10 Eng 10-1
The conundrum at the start of day two was to hope we got our timing right on England. We believe they performed well on the first day, with a little help from Australia, and they should be capable of building a big lead. What was a concern was losing an early wicket - say in the first 10 overs or so. There is nothing more annoying than backing the batting team only for them to lose one a few minutes later and be dealing with a price deficit. But Strauss went so quickly this morning that it was taken out of our hands. Lucky.

00.06 Eng 7-1
We'll have some of that [2.00] about England thanks. Quick, go get it. Detailed explanation to follow.

00.04 Eng 7-1
Gosh, they do like their first-over drama in Adelaide. Hadn't even had time to discuss the prices. A shocking leave from Strauss. It was a straight ball. England drift to [2.00], Australia [4.70] and the draw [3.50].

WICKET 00.01 Eng 3-1
A Strauss b Bollinger 1

00.00 Eng 1-0
Evening all folks. I'm in position. Slap bang in front of the telly for day two from Adelaide. Got the heating up to full blast, too to try to replicate a scorcher in south Australia. Got some sizzling wagers lined up, too.

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1. Chris | 04 December 2010

   The Public Schoolboy's Handbook of Cricket Captaincy states that the spinner should only be introduced if all else has failed and both batsmen are well set. The schoolboy openers very rarely got to face spin and on the rare occasions they did had no idea what to do with it.

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