SECOND TEST - DAY THREE

Pietersen was imperious during his unbeaten 213

The third day of the second test played out like the second - Australian bowlers toiling and England's batsmen plundering runs like there was no tomorrow. With the whole of the last session being rained out - there may very well be no tomorrow.

Alistair Cook who looked set for a tilt at Brian Lara's world record score was dismissed for 148 from a splendid ball from Ryan Harris that caught the inside edge and flew to the left of a diving Haddin who pulled off a very good catch. The form Cook has displayed thus far in this series belies the fact that until his century against Pakistan in the last test of the Northern summer, it was not certain whether Cook would be even picked to tour Australia.

In similarly atrocious form, but over an extended period of time - nearly two years to be precise, Kevin Pietersen has also found the emasculated Australian fast bowling stocks on flat wickets to his liking...by feasting on them.

Today Pietersen was majestic in his stroke play, placing the ball to all points of the compass at will. To be fair, the Australian bowlers were already gutted like a lizard by the time he exploded, never the less, it was an innings of magnificence under any circumstances.

Paul Collingwood was almost unobtrusive in his innings of forty two, such was Pietersens dominance and presence. Collingwood would surely have been kicking himself for falling LBW to Watson and missing out on a test century when there was one for the taking.

Haddin takes a fine catch to dismiss Alistair Cook

Collingwood's demise brought Ian Bell to the wicket, notionally, the most inform batsman in the English touring party after his first innings top score in the first test. Bell has had to be patient since then as the English top three have refused to be dismissed. Bell was yet another batsman that has spent time out of the English team due to doubts over his test match temperament.

Today Bell took up where he left off in Brisbane more than a week ago playing sumptuous shots all around the wicket in his unfinished innings.

As the English players supped on their tea contentedly in the knowledge that they had killed off Australia in this test - and probably for the rest of the series, the fast darkening skies would have been their first and only concern for the test.

Much to their chagrin, it started to drizzle during the tea break thus necessitating the covers to be laid out over the wicket. Soon enough, what started as a drizzle soon developed into a full blown down pour.

With Pietersen unbeaten on 213 and Bell on forty one, Lord only knows the fireworks they would have put on in the last session as a prelude to a declaration. It would seem that Strauss will likely declare over night in light of the fact that rain will likely impact both days four and five. Time is now of the essence to avoid allowing a punch drunk Australia to get off the hook.

What of the Australians?

After the last two England innings, they would have a unique insight into how Colonel Custer felt in the last ten minutes of the battle of Little Bighorn - surrounded, under siege and with no relief in sight. A slaughter imminent.

Only the benevolence of the Gods delivering the mother of all down pours over the next two days can save Australia. Even if it was so, it is surely only a matter of time before England take a lead in the series...and when that happens, there will be no coming back from there for the out of form Aussies.

There were concerns prior to this series as to just how Australia was going to take twenty wickets to win a test match - at the moment, taking ten wickets seems hard enough.

The hard road has gotten harder with each passing hour of this Ashes series for the Australians and the English are now circling their prey waiting to strike the killer blow.