The Ashes: 3rd Test Day 2

England 52/2 (30.0 overs)
Australia 527/7dec. (146.0 overs)
England trail by 475 runs

Australia cemented their strong position in this test by declaring with over 500 runs on the board. Michael Clarke made 187, his highest test score both outside Australia and against England. Clarke was in an attacking mood this morning and was hitting some big drives down the ground. He was dropped at cover albeit a tough chance. Steve Smith though would be disappointed he missed out on a hundred as he went for a big hit off Swan on 89 and was caught in the deep. It wasn't a very smart shot by Smith, but he's relatively inexperienced and will learn from it. He has certainly impressed throughout this tour and is poles apart from the man who made his test debut three years ago.

David Warner came in to a chorus of boos as expected after his pre-series indiscretion with Englishman Joe Root. He laughed it off but it was the crowd who were laughing at him when he referred a pretty obvious edge. Warner nicked the ball which rebounded off the keeper's gloves before being caught by slip. He talked to Michael Clarke and it appeared (and later confirmed) that the captain thought he hit it as well. Warner was adamant though that he didn't and the replays revealed that he had smashed his pad with his bat which must have stopped him from hearing the edge. The English crowd were delirious though and Warner had to walk back to many jeers.

Haddin came in and played in an attacking fashion, before Clarke was dismissed by an inswinging Broad bouncer. As seen throughout the series Broad has been deploying the short ball tactic against Clarke regularly, and this time it got the wicket (albeit after 187 runs). Siddle came in and went but Mitchell Starc came in and reminded us of his batting ability. He made a run a ball 66 before Clarke called an end to the batting side's innings. Starc is certainly a capable batsman but he tends to only score runs on tracks that aren't doing anything. He has struggled immensely in swinging conditions as evident at Trent Bridge. I guess though I might be being a bit harsh as he is a tailender and it is not like he is the only Australian to struggle against swing.

Swann managed to pick up 5 wickets which is a telling sign of what is to come on this dry and turning pitch in Manchester.

England started off alright although they would have been worried by some probing deliveries from recalled spinner Nathan Lyon. It was Siddle though who provided the spark for Australia (yet again) snaring two crucial wickets before Stumps. He dismissed Root with an intelligent wider of the crease approach, before having nightwatchman Bresnan caught behind. On closer replays though it showed that Bresnan had not hit it at all, the ball brushed his hip instead. He inexplicably decided against reviewing though which meant that he had to go.

Hero of the Day: For once there is no real standout for the hero. Clarke made another 60 runs, which was matched by Haddin and Starc. Swann completed a five wicket haul, while Peter Siddle picked up two key wickets before the end of play.

Villain of the Day: I guess the real villain for the England crowd was David Warner who was booed upon entering the ground. He did though provided some much needed joy when referring an obvious decision which left him being jeered while leaving.

Who won the day? Australia consolidated their first day's domination to be in a commanding position. There is rain predicted over the next three days though which may leave them with not enough time to push for a win. The pitch is still a good batting track and England will need to make the most of it on Day 3 to ensure they can at least get away with a draw and therefore retain the Ashes.

The Ashes: 3rd Test Day 1

Australia 303/3 (90.0 overs)

Finally Australian fans had something to cheer about with an stellar batting display led by Michael Clarke. Australia's captain scored an unbeaten 125*, while Steven Smith is unbeaten on 70. This all came on the back off an impressive innings by Chris Rogers who ensured Australia got off to a brisk start. He was in fine touch with some fine drives featuring heavily amongst his strokeplay. He brought up his fifty off only 49 balls in an over from Anderson which included three boundaries. On the other hand, Shane Watson was playing second fiddle and was clawing along until being caught behind for 19, yet another start. Mind you, I don't actually mind the way Watson was playing. Opening in test cricket is a partnership and as long as the team score is ticking along, it doesn't matter who is scoring the runs.

Then came controversy (can't we just have a day without any!) when Usman Khawaja was given out caught behind off Swann by Tony Hill, who was umpiring his first match of the series. Even live it certainly didn't seem out as you could tell the noise didn't match up with the bat passing the ball. The video confirmed this with Hot Spot showing nothing, and the sound coming from when the bat hit the pad. Even just a basic slow motion replay should have been enough for Dharmasena to overturn the decision as you could easily see the gap between bat and ball.

 Image courtesy of screengrabs from Sky Sports

Published on the Guardian website

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2013/aug/01/third-umpire-appeal-ashes-australia

Amazingly the decision remained and Khawaja had to go. People may criticise the DRS, but even without it the decision was out. The problem we have is the people using the technology are incapable. I think there is a lot of merit in the idea of professional full-time third umpires. Whether the ICC are willing to explore this is yet to be seen.

Steve Smith came in and joined Clarke at the crease and things were going along nicely for the away side, although Smith survived a close lbw referral which was given umpire's call. England had used up there referrals, and for once it came back to bite them (and not Australia) as Smith was given not out on 24. HawkEye confirmed that Smith should have been out, and for once an umpiring decision went Australia's way.

Clarke and Smith saw the day out and will be looking to continue on Day 2. For England their two main pace bowlers went wicketless, as it was Tim Bresnan who picked up the wicket of Watson. Swann got the other two, albeit including the shocker of a decision for Khawaja.

Hero of the Day: Michael Clarke
We all knew at the start of the series that if Australia was to post a big score, then Michael Clarke would need to score a century. Unfortunately for Australia, it just took until the third test to happen.

Villain of the Day: Kumar Dharamasena
Unfortunately it's becoming an all too common theme for an umpire to feature as "Villain of the Day." The outrage over this decision is because it was made with the use of technology. At least if it was an on-field howler, then some degree of forgiveness can be made but when everyone in the ground knew Khawaja didn't hit it, you know a mistake was made. Plus it was such a bad decision, Prime Minister of Australia Kevin Rudd tweeted that it was the "one of the worst umpiring decisions" he had ever seen.

Who won the day? For the first time Australia had a convincing win. There is still more to do though to get close to winning the test, but it is certainly a good start. You would think Australia will want to put on at least another 150-200 runs.

The Ashes: 3rd Test Teams

Australia have wrung the changes for the series defining third test with David Warner, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon returning to the XI. Phillip Hughes, injured James Pattinson and Ashton Agar are out. Warner will bat at 6 in his return to the side after being sent to Africa with the Australia A side. His 193 against South Africa A has meant he has dislodged Hughes in the starting line-up. Hughes could feel a little hard done by considering he has the most runs on tour so far, but his twin failures at Lord's has ultimately cost him. Agar is replaced by Lyon which will hopefully improve Australia's spin bowling stocks. However Lyon may be low on confidence (fair enough too) considering his consistent shabby treatment from the selectors. Mitchell Starc regains his place after playing in the first test. I thought Jackson Bird might have got a run here, but the selectors like having the variety of a left hander in the side.

On the other hand England are unchanged for the match. Kevin Pietersen has shrugged off his injury cloud meaning James Taylor remains out of the squad despite his century for Sussex in the tour match. These changes symbolise how the teams are faring at the moment. Australia with constant shuffling in and out and being unsure of their best XI. Meanwhile England are settled and determined to land the killer blow.

Update: Michael Clarke has won the toss for the first time in the series which means Australia will bat first.

Teams
England: Cook (c), Root, Trott, Pietersen, Bell, Bairstow, Prior, Bresnan, Broad, Swann, Anderson
Australia: Watson, Rogers, Khawaja, Clarke (c), Smith, Warner, Haddin, Siddle, Starc, Harris, Lyon