Strewth, as we Aussie’s like to say. Until Friday, I could not conceive of a situation in which I would be relieved to see Kevin Pietersen come in to bat, but this was one such occasion. I have never, ever, been bored while watching cricket, but today I came close. Until Pietersen strode out to the wicket, the opening day of the second Test felt like it might never end.

The day started out badly for the Aussies, with Freddie Flintoff calling correctly and choosing to bat. On what looked to be a very friendly deck, the decision to bat first seemed to be a no-brainer, but that’s when the game stopped making sense. Brett Lee opened the bowling, only to be greeted by one of the least attacking fields that I’ve seen.

It has been some time since the opening bowler for Australia sent down the first over of the match to only two slips, but that was the case today. I’m not sure if it was as a result of some scientific analysis of Ally Cook and Andrew Strauss’s batting patterns, but the impression it gives is one of not having confidence in the bowler. Predictably, in Lee’s third over, a catch went through third slip at waist height. I think that sometimes the game is a little over-analysed while forgetting about the basics.

The first hour saw Cook and Strauss grind their way to 32. Stuart Clark managed the breakthrough shortly after drinks, dismissing Strauss and followed up with the wicket of Cook shortly after. Strauss, after being a standout last series, looks like he’d be out of his depth in a car park puddle this time around whilst Cook has similarly failed to impress.

The lunch break couldn’t come soon enough, with England only managing 52 painful runs.

The second session saw a marked improvement in the scoring rate with Paul Collingwood picking up the pace. But it was still well short of what we’ve come to expect, particularly as the bowlers weren’t beating the bat or bowling a tight line and length.