: Wed Jul 08, 2009 7:34 pm
Target should probably be around 375; Broad and Swann can both bat, and Anderson is capable of hanging around, even if he won't contribute many.
If we get stuck into them early tomorrow, I'm confident we can reduce them to 300/350. The new ball started swinging this evening which should be promising for Anderson especially, and although the pitch is far from quick, there is a bit of bounce in it for Flintoff. The way the pitch is cutting up, by the end of the day, Swann and Panesar should start enjoying themselves aswell.
To be honest, with us bowling second, I can't see Australia getting 200 in their second innings. The pitch is a mess already and come day four/day five Swann and Panesar should be laughing.
All in all, I'm confident we can pull off the win, even if the first day wasn't perfect.
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Pietersen is an idiot sometimes. He'd decided what shot he was playing before the bowler had even started his run up, and he's too arrogant pull out of the shot.
I'd like to see him being a bit more agressive as well. I understand that he takes a while to get in, and given the circumstances when he came to the crease, we couldn't afford for him to go out for nothing, however, the inexperienced bowling attack fell apart once Flintoff and Prior put their foot down, and I think Pietersen's alot more effective playing his shots rather than fannying about with premeditated sweeps.