A really good batting display from England, I reckon they will bat unil they get 500 run lead then declare about mid afternoon.

Ponting's behaviour was appauling and how it was only deemed a grade one offence I don't know.

Ponting on Sky now saying that there was a mark on the bat on HotSpot for the incident he was fined for. From the Hot Spot replay I watched the mark was at the bottom of the bat (probably caused by Pietersen hitting the ground with the bat during the bowlers approach) and not in the centre of the bat where the ball passed closest to it.

He's had a mare, there is a hot spot about 6 inches lower than where the ball passed the bat.

desperate man, clutching at straws...all of that was clearly evident at the time, including seeing the ball wizz past much much higher up

Tough morning so far, be lucky to reach 400 run lead. Still if we get bowled out then it is potentially good news for our bowlers.

How?

Prior out for 85, Bresnan for 4; Trott still going strong; Swann won't hang about, if he stays there he'll score quickly. I suspect we'll be bowled out during the first hour of the afternoon session with a lead of around 450, which I think would suit nicely.

Sounds like Ryan Harris has broken down and is unlikely to bowl again in the match. (I saw him score his career best 94 at a run-a-ball batting with a runner for Surrey at Northampton in summer 2009 - he's certainly a tough customer who won't lie down easily.)

Presumably he means that if their bowlers can skittle ours easily there must be enough in the pitch for the likes of Anderson, Tremlett and Swann to have a go at.

The Aussies thought that after we skittled them out for 98. 503 runs later and they're still toiling

Swann's gone now, hopefully Trott gets to make his double before he runs out of partners.

He moves too slowly to do that. The 'other' batsmen would have to get through about another hundred deliveries the rate he's moving at now.