FOURTH TEST - DAY TWO

Ponting arguing against logic with Dar on a day to forget.

Today was the day that Ricky Ponting jumped the shark. Let me preface this by saying that I have no problem with a captain questioning an umpires decision in a diplomatic manner, but Ponting's badgering of Aleem Dar was churlish to the extreme and unbecoming of the post of Australian Captain.

I don't wish to pontificate on the rights and wrongs of the NRS/third umpire process, but Aleem Dar got the decision right in the flesh. Dar has been pretty good with his decision making all series, so it was no surprise that the review showed that Pietersen had not edged the ball. What was the point of Ponting berating Dar after the fact?

Ponting has been a wonderful batsman and has achieved everything that the game offers, but this outburst will only give his detractors ammunition that could so easily have been avoided.

Australia was on a hiding to nothing today. The early conditions were helpful, but the ball was old and battered, so conventional swing was hardly going to be possible as it was for the English seamers yesterday morning. In spite of this impediment, Peter Siddle produced a marvellous cameo whereby he had both Cook and Strauss removed with little addition to their overnight totals.

Peter Siddle was on fire early with the wicket of Strauss.

Alistair Cook edged to Watson at slip for a well made eighty two and Andrew Strauss was defeated by one that jagged off the pitch and flew off the edge high to gully where Mike Hussey took a wonderful leaping one handed catch. Strauss compiled sixty nine and like Cook he would have been disappointed with himself for not going on to register yet another Ashes hundred when there was one there for the taking.

Jonathon Trott and Kevin Pietersen then consolidated with a partnership of ninety two before Pietersen was dismissed for fifty one when he was LBW to Siddle who had picked up his third wicket in a quality spell of fast bowling.

Paul Collingwood continued his recent run of outs when he gifted Johnson his wicket when he picked out Siddle at fine leg with a pull shot that was played uppishly. This brought the inform Ian Bell to the wicket, but he too seemed to have caught Collingwood's malady when he attempted to hook a bouncer outside off stump and merely ballooned the ball via a generous top edge to that man Peter Siddle who held a splendid catch to be involved in all five wickets to have fallen to that time.

At 5 for 286, Australia were not back in the game per se, but the deficit they were going to face was looking more manageable with only Trott and the out of sorts Prior standing between them and the brittle English tail.

Trott had some early scares, with a couple french cuts past his leg stump and a near run out when on forty eight. Prior also was all but dismissed by Johnson when he edged behind to Haddin when he was on six, but for the small fact that Dar had a sneaking suspicion that Johnson had overstepped and referred his own decision, and low and behold - Dar's suspicion was correct as Johnson had indeed overstepped the popping crease.

Thereafter Prior played with the abandon of a man who was bullet proof, regularly top edging over the keeper or the slips cordon, catches flying just out the fieldsmen's reach. In time he settled to play some marvellous strokes and supported Trott's vigil which ultimately yielded a well deserved century.

By stumps England total had reached an imposing 5 for 444 with an overall lead of 346. Trott trooped off unbeaten on 141 and Prior 75 with an opportunity for both to add many more tomorrow.

Jonothan Trott celebrates yet another Ashes century.

For Australia, it was a sad day of cricket to go with many other sad days this series, but the saddest episode of all was Ponting's demented debate with a cool headed Dar and the fool proof hot spot. This surely signifies the end of the line for Ponting who has not looked himself all series.

There comes a time, and sadly for one of the great batsmen of our era, that time might well be now.