Left field

When England’s bowlers awoke this morning they would have had the sound of stinging criticism ringing in their ears following their poor performance on day one, but how they responded.

They ripped out nine Australian wickets for the cost of 137 runs as the tourists collapsed from 126 for one overnight to 263 all out, with England closing on 116 for two as bad light cut the day’s play short.

The tone was set for the day by a ferocious opening spell by Graham Onions who took wickets with his first two deliveries, crucially that of Shane Watson, unbeaten overnight on 62 and looking in imperious form.

Onions also took the wicket of Ricky Ponting but not before the Australian captain became his country’s leading run scorer in test cricket. Onions also took the final wicket of Australia’s first innings to finish with figures of 4 for 58.

All credit to Andrew Strauss, who has bounced back remarkably from a shaky first test at Cardiff, for opening the bowling this morning with Onions after the Durham man had been splayed about Edgbaston, going at seven runs an over, the night before.

Onions repaid his captain’s faith by bowling full and straight and got his just rewards.

It wasn’t long before James Anderson joined the party as England’s premier swing bowler found conditions to his liking to rip through the Australian middle order to end with figures of 5 for 80.

It was a stunning display from Anderson and the delivery that will stick in my mind will be the cherry that dismissed Graham Manou.

Anderson deliberately ran wide of the crease on his run, arrowed the ball into the right hander, swinging it away at the last minute and smashing the wicket keeper’s off stump clean out of the turf. A perfect exhibition of the art of swing bowling.

England’s reply began nervously as Alistar Cook fell for a duck driving at a ball wide of his off stump, a dismissal that will infuriate the Essex opener, who continues to be suspect to that exact delivery.

But cometh the hour, cometh the man and captain Andrew Strauss is making this series his series with another top performance with the bat. Resolute in defence and commanding in attack, he finished the day unbeaten on 64.

Along the way he lost Ravi Bopara for 23, again dismissed playing a loose shot when he was looking set, and Ian Bell should have been out lbw to the luckless Mitchell Johnson, who finally managed to produce the perfect left-arm delivery into the right hander only to be thwarted by the umpires.

Two more wickets for not many runs and Australia will feel they have a chance to level this series at 1-1, but only if the rain stays away, which by the looks of Saturday’s forecasts is doubtful.

Another superb day of entertaining and seesawing cricket. Just where is this series going?