If honours were just about even at the end of day one in Adelaide, there was no doubting which way the balance of power had shifted come stumps on day two.
Moment to remember
On a day of precious little cheer for England, Ben Stokes provided some respite as he picked up his first two wickets in Test cricket. It was well-deserved reward for his toil with the ball although, as previously mentioned, his wait would have been shorter had he not been called for a no-ball by the third umpire having found the outside edge of Haddin's bat in the morning session. If there was any consolation, it did mean his first Test scalp proved to be the prized wicket of Clarke, with the Australian skipper chipping to James Anderson at mid-wicket.
Stokes admitted it was a "special moment", but England now desperately need the Durham all-rounder to prove his worth with the bat as well.
Late drama
Although things look somewhat bleak for England at present, they can at least comfort themselves in the knowledge that their predicament could and should have been worse! With captain Cook having already departed and Johnson steaming in with his tail up, it was imperative that they did not surrender more ground in the closing stages. They managed that, but not without a scare as
Joe Root called Carberry through for a suicidal single off the penultimate ball of the day - replays showing the left-hander would have been susceptible to a direct hit. But there was more drama to follow, with Carberry then rapped on the pads by Johnson with the following delivery. A largely disinterested Australia opted not to review the appeal and England will be delighted they didn't as DRS showed Carberry would have been on his way!
Blast from the past
England fans looking for some light relief, come this way. There has not been a great deal to smile about on this Ashes tour thus far, but
Jimmy Anderson and Graeme Swann have provided a temporary antidote to that. Having won the toss, Nasser Hussain's decision to put Australia into bat in Brisbane back in 2002 has gone down in Ashes folklore... although for all the wrong reasons! Here Swann and Anderson recreate that fateful moment with Jimmy (rather cruelly) dressing up as Nasser and Swanny doing his best Richie Benaud impression. Time to look away Nasser! (
Video courtesy of the ECB)
