Day three at the Adelaide Oval

I'm beginning to run out of superlatives to describe how well England are playing, while at the same time struggling to describe how badly the host's game is falling apart. The bowling has been disciplined and well balanced while the batting has been nothing short of mesmerising.

It has given England fans renewed confidence in their team having been the whipping boys for Australia during the host's golden era. To have scored 517-1 in the first Test, only to continue that trend by reaching 551-4 at the end of the third day of the following Test will have many English fans curiously, but happily scratching their heads.

Another breathtaking innings from Alastair Cook (148) was emulated by a man who had not scored a century in 16 Tests since March 2009. Kevin Pietersen (213 not out) ended the day as the hero, displaying the kind of swagger and confidence that took him to his current status within the England setup.

Off the legs he was sumptuous, his cover drives were precise, and his pull shot was lethal, dispatching everything Ricky Ponting had to offer to the boundary. Aided beautifully by Paul Collingwood (42) and the in-form Ian Bell (41 not out), Pietersen went about his work in devastating fashion.

A recent trip to South Africa to play for province side Kwa-Zulu Natal has seemingly brought renewed vigour into the 30-year-olds game, working closely with former coach and close friend Graham Ford to eradicate the cracks within his game.

On a bowling note, Graeme Swann will be licking his lips at the sight of the growing rough patches appearing on the wicket. Part-time spinner Marcus North found tremendous spin that surprised many, and with Xavier Doherty struggling to find his stride, Nottinghamshire's Swann could well be the key player in the business-end of the game.

The question is how long will England bat before putting Australia in? Taking 10 wickets on a pitch as flat as this will not be easy, and Ricky Ponting will not need telling twice how important their second innings will be.

Day two at the Adelaide Oval

In 1928 Wally Hammond, only 25-years-old had the Test series that defined his career. On the tour of Australia, the Kent-born batsman averaged 113.12 after scoring 905 runs, including four centuries.

England won the series comfortably 4-1, with Hammond almost doubling the total amount of runs scored by Australian Jack Ryder lying behind him. It remains one of the strongest performances by an English team in Australia.

Alastair 'the chef' Cook (136 not out) is in danger of outgunning one of England's greats, having made 438 runs in three innings. He has scored with an air of confidence far beyond his years, refusing to give the host's any glimmer of hope as England began to turn the screw against a misfiring bowling attack.

Ryan Harris, a replacement for the out-of-sorts Mitchell Johnson, was the only man who made the tourists work for their runs, conceding only 51 runs in 19 overs. Doug Bollinger, Peter Siddle and Shane Watson felt the brunt of England's top-order, consistently failing to find a good line and length.

The less said about Xavier Doherty the better; the Tasmanian living up to his first-class bowling average of 48.10 with a series of short deliveries that offered the batsmen enough time to have played the shot twice. But we must praise the brutal display by Andy Flower's team, Jonathan Trott (78) riding his luck but retaining his good form, before Kevin Pietersen (85 not out) finally arrived at the crease after waiting a total of 574 minutes with his pads on following the unbroken 329 partnership between Cook and Trott at the Gabba.

Cook produced a scintillating combination of drives and cuts that England batting coach Graham Gooch will be swooning over. Form such as this defines a series, and when you realise that Hammond was 25 when he put the Baggy Green to the sword on the 1928-29 tour, Cook, of the same age, now has an opportunity to match if not better him.

Now 72 runs ahead with eight wickets in hand, England have Ricky Ponting's men in the palm of their hand. To top it off, Essex-man Cook overtook Nasser Hussain at the top of the charts for an Englishman unbeaten at the crease by a mere 60 seconds, reaching 1,022 minutes at the close of play.

Day one at the Adelaide Oval

England have rarely enjoyed success in Australia in recent tours, but the Adelaide Oval in particular has given the the English nightmares. The last three attempts at leaving the city with anything other than defeat saw them disappointed.

The latest will have hit the team and the fans the hardest, falling to a six-wicket loss having posted 551-6 in their first innings. The demons of the past need to be put to rest, and what England would give for stalwart Paul Collingwood to notch another big innings after scoring 206 here in 2006.

The incredible comeback at the Gabba in Brisbane was a perfect advertisement for Test cricket, taking each team to the brink before settling on a draw. There was everything from record scores to hat-tricks, so could the second Test emulate this? It didn't get off to a bad start if your an England supporter.

Simon Katich (0) departed without facing a ball following good work by Jonathan Trott at mid-wicket, Ricky Ponting (0) recorded only his fifth golden duck in his career after nicking through to Graeme Swann off the consistent James Anderson. The Lancastrian picked up the walking-wicket of Michael Clarke (2) whose inconsistency shone through in his brief spell.

Marcus North (26) stuck around for a painstaking 93 balls while the ever-present Mike Hussey (93) rode his luck to torment England's bowlers once again. A long tail does not want to be called upon in the first afternoon, particularly when the side have only made 207 before Ryan Harris strolled to the crease.

A pitiful 245 was all that Ponting and co could muster, and England must now seek to eradicate the poor Adelaide history to replace dampened memories with a morale-boosting win. Time for the batsmen to follow up an excellent start by the bowlers.

Day four and five at the Gabba

Defiance is a term England batsman are unfamiliar with, year after year we see them attempt to recover from dire situations only to implode with consummate ease. Andrew Strauss (110), Alastair Cook (235 n.o.) and Jonathan Trott (135 n.o.) took this record and tore it up to rewrite Ashes history.

The tourists' seem more acquired to falling like Italian striker's who have had their knee grazed, yet they stood taller than the Burj Khalifa tower in Dubai. When everyone doubted the man they dub 'the Chef', he has put all of his critics, including myself, to bed.

The trio broke a total of ten records including Cook reaching his top first-class score, achieving the highest ever partnership (329) by two batsman (Cook and Trott) at the Gabba, while the Essex batsman also claimed the highest score in a Test match after he passed Sir Don Bradman's 226.

But 517-1 is a score that I recommend that you print off and frame, for it is one that will struggle to be replicated for the foreseeable future. Strauss appeared in a different nous by showing a vast array of attacking strokes, Cook showed maturity beyond his years, and Trott reached his fourth ton for England after gaining starts on plenty of occasions.

There were some comical drops in the field, most notable Mitchell Johnson when Strauss was on 69, and Michael Clarke when Trott was on 75. Two catches that you would not expect to see in international cricket, but it summed up the body language from a miserable Aussie side.

Only part-time bowler Marcus North claimed a wicket on wicket showing so many cracks in it that you could probably lose a lifetime's worth of keys down them. Mitchell Johnson will be called into question, a wretched run of form was epitomised by his 0-170 in this Test.

Doug 'the rug' Bollinger was brought into the 13-man squad for Adelaide along with Ryan Harris, but there will be serious doubts that either team can claim 20 wickets in a match after only 11 were claimed by the respective sides. Two partnerships of over 300 underlined how much of a batting paradise these pitches are proving to be, and both captains' will need to identify bowling line-ups that they believe have the ability to wreck their opponents chances.

Simon Katich's (4) failure summed up a sorry last few days for Ricky Ponting and co, but now they have time to regroup, but also prepare for the barrage of criticism the bowling line-up will take for being as ineffective as it was.

So the Adelaide Oval is the next port-of-call, much like Brisbane, I'm expecting a high-scoring encounter. Until then, let me leave you with the fact that England's trio of heroes are the first to all achieve centuries for the nation in a single innings since 1924, when a certain Jack Hobbs and Herbert Sutcliffe opened the batting.

Day three at the Gabba

When England first boarded the plane at Heathrow on the 29 October, fans, pundits and former players were saying this was the best chance in 24 years that they had at achieving mission impossible, winning the Ashes in the Baggy Green's backyard.

It's not every day that Ricky Ponting's side go into a series as underdogs, but with several first team players misfiring, and an initial 17-man squad selected, no-one was questioning it.

Yet day three at a sun-drenched Gabba saw the Aussies bring their opponents back down to earth with thump. Mike Hussey (195), who scored an confidence-boosting knock of 118 for Western Australia against Victoria eight days ago, recaptured this form is sublime fashion.

When Australia lost Marcus North yesterday at 143-5, the match was walking a tightrope and could have fallen either way. As it was, over the course of the third day the Aussies not only passed England's mediocre score, they almost doubled it.

Now England skipper Strauss should hang his head in shame for a good part of what took place in the second session today. Clearly frustrated at the lack of wickets coming their way, a series of negative field placements to dry up the run flow coming from Hussey and Brad Haddin (136) will have driven several England fans in the UK to bed.

A defining moment, amidst the endless boundaries ebbing from Hussey and Haddin, the latter lashed at a wide delivery from Steven Finn after passing his century that would have gone straight down second slip's throat. An anguished look upon Strauss's face said it all, outstretched on the deck having been the closest to the ball, the skipper knew that desperate times had caused him to remove all remaining slip catchers.

Aside from Haddin gaining reprieves through dropped catches from Paul Collingwood and Alastair Cook, the former catching him later in the day, Australia batted with delightful craftsmanship and superb intelligence. They deserve to be in the position they have put themselves in, as despite a spirited performance by debutant Steven Finn who took 6-125, the day belonged to the hosts.

A tale of two men has given this game a plot, and now Strauss and co must give the story another twist in order to avoid going one down. The memories of Jonathan Trott and Stuart Broad's partnership of 332 against Pakistan, or James Anderson and Monty Panesar against Australia at Cardiff in 2009, need to be called upon to recreate what many now say would be a miracle.

The saying is, 'form comes and goes, but the talent is always there', and if England are going to wade out of this mire, it is crucial they perform with the bat. To end the day unscathed after 15 pivotal overs was the perfect start, but the job is long from finished, and they will need to bat for at least the next four sessions if they are to get any kind of result in this game.

It is clear that the hosts' were not too fond of the underdog tag, and while Hussey and Haddin prepare to dismantle England once again, Strauss will be pondering what they have done to find themselves on the end of a potential drubbing. Chapter four, ready when you are.

Day two at the Gabba

What a perfect advert for Test cricket, a game swinging back and fourth so much that a pendulum would struggle to keep up with it. At one moment Australia are seemingly in the driving seat before a couple of quick wickets bring England steaming back in.

Yet a certain Mr. Cricket, aka Mike Hussey, was to have the last word, having survived a stroke of good fortune on his first ball. A gem of a delivery found the edge of a loose prod from the Western Australian, but sadly for England, dropped just shy of Graeme Swann at second slip.

Ever since the arrival of Twenty20, many fans, players and even clubs have been drawn in to the multi-million franchise. It is rare to find a Test match that can create 'oohhs' and 'aahhs' on every ball, so much so that every wicket or boundary is greeted by ecstasy or agony.

Tests' themselves have a similar feel to that of a story that you are reading / hearing for the first time, you simply cannot predict what is going to happen. Several people cannot understand that even after five days no result can be finalised.

But it is not the result that makes or breaks Test matches, it is the journey that you experience along the way. Boundaries, wickets, dropped catches, run-outs and referrals are just a few aspects that create the storyline for a match.

Even Shane Warne on Twitter revealed that he believes this series will be one to remember, even if the cricket isn't to the best of standards. The match in Brisbane is nicely poised and ready for someone to take the initiative.

Resuming on 25 without loss, the Baggy Green openers of Simon Katich (50) and Shane Watson (36) settled into their stride with ease. The heat was matched by the sunshine racing across the outfield, bathing the stadium for a terrific days cricket.

Watson departed first, nicking the flawless James Anderson to Andrew Strauss at slip. Skipper Ricky Ponting (10) joined the scene, taking the home side to lunch at 96-1. But a slack stroke from 'Punter', attempting to glance a leg-side delivery, only succeeded in dabbing the ball to the gleeful Matt Prior who claimed his 100th Test dismissal.

Now Michael Clarke is known for his confidence, but nerves were showing more than a child beginning their first day of school. The 29-year-old played and missed six times in a mind-numbing innings that mustered only nine runs in the space of 80 minutes.

Katich reached his half-century with a tidy knock down to fine-leg, before a fullish delivery from Steven Finn was knocked back in the direction of the Middlesex man, who somehow managed to crumble his 6ft 7inch frame to take a wonderful catch just off the deck. Shortly after, Clarke, clearly susceptible to the short delivery, eventually attempted a pull that took a top-edge to Prior.

Marcus North (1), a man whose form is as predictable as the weather, emerged as Graeme Swann's first victim, nicking the ball to Paul Collingwood at slip. The 31-year-old has now passed 25 runs in only five of his last 23 Test innings.

The afternoon session was one that England savoured, however the pendulum was to swing with one more mighty effort. Hussey produced an array of shots, including dispatching the unusually nervy Swann over mid-on for a maximum, whilst being aided by a confident Brad Haddin (22 n.o.).

So the scene is set, the characters are ready and round three is about to begin. Can you predict what will happen? The name is Test cricket.

Day One at the Gabba,

Shane Warne collected the wickets of Phil DeFreitas, Darren Gough and Devon Malcolm in successive balls in Melbourne in 1994, hysteria gripped Australia. It was only the fourth time that an Australian had collected a hat-trick against the old enemy.

However, history suggests that it is now England's turn to claim the coveted three wickets in three balls. The following tour saw Darren 'Dazzler' Gough follow suit, leaving hat-tricks claimed against one another nicely poised at four apiece.

The pitch on day one was hard and flat with a green tinge to it, a standard Gabba track. The mischievous weather however decided to alter the typical situation of the opening Test, taking the sun away whilst leaving the stifling 27C heat.

Winning the toss for only the fifth time in 19 Tests between the Baggy Green and England, Andrew Strauss called his team in to bat, clearly taking note of Sir Len Hutton's and Nasser Hussain's crushing defeats after electing to field first in Test's passed.

The Gabba, pure and simply, has always given English fans little hope. It Not meaning to absolve on the negative side of the first day, but a total of 260 on a track as flat as that of Brisbane's finest, does not bode well. It was the length, pace, and precision of the only player representing the state of Victoria in the Australian squad, Peter Siddle.

Now, it being his 26th birthday was a generous bonus for him, but to dismantle England's middle order along with claiming a hat-trick was beyond most prior to the start of play. Alastair Cook (67) played a tidy, anchor-like innings, before he became Siddle's first victim.

Having been dropped when England were on 73-2 by debutant Xavier Doherty, Cook had taken his fair share of luck. Matt Prior (0) could have done little against his lone delivery, a peach of a yorker beating the Sussex man all ends up.

Step up Stuart Broad (0), a dazzling 169 against Pakistan earlier in the year had England fans hoping, but Siddle was not to be denied. Another full-length ball gave the Nottinghamshire man little room, cramped him up, rapped him on the pad, and that was that.

Prior to all the carnage, skipper Strauss (0) cut his third ball straight to a grateful Mike Hussey at gully, a ball nine times out of ten he would have belted through the gap. So with the captain back in the hutch, Jonathan Trott (29), averaging a mere 24 in five innings since arriving Down Under, stepped up to the plate.

With a threatening innings seemingly materialising, Trott played all around an up and down ball from Shane Watson to leave England at 41-2. Kevin Pietersen (43) showed typical gusto with a range of shots being brought out of the 30-year-old's locker.

A tentative prod off Siddle proved to be his downfall, with the usually rock-like Paul Collingwood (4) leaving the field soon after, having played an almost identical shot to his predecessor. Siddle's onslaught began soon after to provide the standard English collapse, going from 197-4 to a paltry 260 all out.

Graeme Swann (10) and James Anderson (11) stood their ground but could not prevent the inevitable, the latter falling to Doherty. Ian Bell (76) provided another superb display with the blade to prove that he has hit scintillating form just when needed.

Safely negotiating the last seven overs of play to end on 25 without loss, Australia will be feeling fairly smug after the taunts of the world's media over the past few weeks. It is also worth noting that in nine of England's 10 defeats at the Gabba, England's first innings score has not breached 265 runs, something worth mulling over.