Test cricket is played until the 5th afternoon.
Test cricket is bloody hard to win.
Test cricket is not about playing draws in matches you are miles ahead in.
England’s first six wickets fell to prods.
Prods.
F#@#en prods.
They were 150 runs behind with 10 wickets to spare, and they are trying to prod their way to a draw.
Play a f@#@en shot.
Take the game on.
Make the most of your huge advantage.
Win the test.
Kick the opposition when they are down.
Never give a sucker an even break.
Because next test, England could lose the toss, end up on a green top, get bowled out for 54, and go 1-0 down with one test to play.
Collingwood, Strauss and KP looked as if they were waiting to go out.
Cook was batting like a man on 5 not out when he was on 50.
Vaughan was 24 off about 84 balls at one stage.
Bell showed more intent than most of them, but the intent left him when Martin worked him over.
Ambrose made the sort of mistake that costs people careers.
This was not a minefield of a pitch, it’s the sort of pitch that a bowler in top form can hurt you, but Mills and Southee were looking very hittable, Vettori was bowling well, but he was hardly attacked, and Oram was placing them down softly as always.
Virtually all of them just sat at the wicket, calling it batting would be unfair to batsmen who actually bat.
It reminded me the Adelaide oval test from the last Ashes.
England decided it would be a tame draw, but they forgot to tell the opposition of their prediction and they lost.
They probably won’t lose this, unless the pitch turns hostile on the last afternoon.
But that doesn’t matter, you never ever drop your guard in test cricket, because like a freaky ex girlfriend, she will stab you in the back with a hair pin.