Is England Real?

England looked tentative, nervous and played stupid cricket. At no point did any batsman on view look convincing despite getting some runs on the board. Bell and Cook looked like they would grit it out despite the fact that they had not gotten on top of the bowling. But they were simply done in by good, honest, blue-collar bowling.

Siddle, Hilfenhaus and Watson bowled with aggression and purpose and got just rewards. Johnson was the only bowler not to hit his stride. I'm not sure Australia have the luxury of carrying him, if he continues to be so inconsistent. Many had said that Siddle could be the difference and he showed up. His bowling doesn't have the flash of a McGrath or Lillee, but he has the Gillespie-esque quality of bowling with an earnestness of a newcomer and a Vaas-like perseverance of a veteran. Watson is probably enjoying himself more now that his role is clearer. Although, I still feel he is more Manoj Prabhakar than Mudassar Nazar. Or better bowler than batsman. Hilfenhaus constantly probed the off-stump and bowled with a passion that I didn't see from the Australian bowlers on their tour of India.

All in all, it appears that the Aussie bowlers are reveling in home conditions and having Siddle back has been the right boost. Bollinger appears to me to be in the Bichel mold. Solid and decent bowler, but not someone that can consistently turn test matches on their head with bursts of wickets. So it was the right decision to bench him in favor of Hilfenhaus and Siddle. Watson's wicket of Trott was the pick of the wickets.

If there's any ray of hope for England, it's in the fact that they scored 60+ runs after the hat-trick. Australia has a vulnerable batting line-up too. It'll be up to the English bowlers to show that they can exploit the poor forms of Hussey and Clarke and put England right back in this contest. At this time, Australia have England by the jugular. Usually, they don't let go, but who knows.