Congratulations to England for knocking over the Aussies for just 269. The bowlers had picked themselves up off the deck and given themselves a miniscule chance of victory.
By the time of there being 13 runs on the board, however, Crawley and Pope were both back in the pavilion.
Being asked to score 50 runs more than the highest ever winning total on that ground, in just three and a half sessions, was always a 200 to 1 shot. That is now rather nearer to 500 to one, IMHO.
If only England had taken proper advantage of the pitch, in their first innings, during that narrow window of opportunity when the atmospheric conditions had made batting pretty easy.
Still. Never say never. (5-20 pm.)
