So, England managed to do it again. They batted all day to draw the match, in the same way they did in Cardiff vs AUS and at Centurion vs. SA. in the first match of the series.
England are showing an admirable stickability at the crease, and a refusal to lose. I am pleased that we have now beaten AUS in the Ashes and at worst we are going to draw this series in SA. What we need to do, in my opinion, is turn that refusal to accept defeat into a hunger for victory. Our bowling attack was the best in 2009, with Swann at 2, Broad at 3 and Anderson at 5.
I am firmly of the opinion that we can be top of the tables, with little change. We need our openers to do a better job, play as if they like it, and be confident that the middle order can hold things up if wickets fall quickly.
Pietersen needs to temper his approach and get into a groove where he's regularly getting 40s and 50s. Cook and Bell, although they both play well, need to turn that class into runs more frequently. Although Cook is quietly coming on - I read that he and Strauss have the third highest opening partnership aggregate scores.
So the parts are all there, they just need to click into place. I would like us to have been tested against India this year, but tests against Bangladesh and Pakistan should keep our eye in...
TTFN.
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