4-0: England eventually win T4 comfortably

England 6/591 dec (I Bell 235, K Pietersen 175) def India 300 (R Dravid 146*) & 283 (S Tendulkar 91, A Mishra 84, G Swann 6/106) by an innings and 8 runs: T4D5 at The Oval. England win series 4-0.

The result was the same as the preceding Tests, but this time Rahul Dravid 146* /266b (20x4) carried his bat through India's first innings and showed his teammates what might be done to resist the powerful England bowling attack and bolster India's self- respect.

In the follow-on Sachin Tendulkar 91/172b (11x4) and Amit Mishra 84/141b (10x4) showed more fight, batting through a session (the first time India had done so in the series) without losing a wicket. But once they were out, Tendulkar courageously but correctly adjudged lbw by umpire Tucker within sight of his 100th international century, Graeme Swann snuffed out any wild hopes of a draw by running through the rest.

Once again England outplayed India in all departments, a result which I for one didn't expect. It has nevertheless whetted my appetite for the forthcoming India tour of Australia, even though neither of the teams are now at the top of the Test rankings. It's hard to imagine the Indian batting peforming this badly again and, if their best bowlers are fit, their attack lacking so much penetration. I'll wait and see how the Tests v Sri Lanka go before venturing an opinion about Australia's chances.

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One partnership but little else as England put South Africa on back foot : T2D1

South Africa 5/175 (61ov, G Smith 75, J Kallis 75) v England: T2 D1 at Durban

Fortunately Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis were in good form as England made early inroads into the South African batting on a day truncated by bad light (and a slow over rate).

From 2/10 Smith and Kallis batted beyond tea, increasingly asserting their authority over a disciplined England attack and adding 150 before Graeme Swann had Kallis well caught at slip for 75/132b (7x4). 3/160.

At 166 Smith was run out in a mix up with AB de Villiers for 75/186b (9x4). 4 runs later J-P Duminy was plumb lbw to Graham Onions, leaving de Villiers and Mark Boucher to grope their way in the deteriorating light to 5/175.

So it was England's day, though it's hard to tell what a good score for the team batting first in the humid conditions might be (250 is my uninformed guess), or whether the light, weather and over rates will allow enough play on days 2-5 to achieve a result.

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Wickets from first two balls and it didn't get much better thereafter: Ashes T3 D2

England 2/116 (36ov, A Strauss 64*) trail Australia 263 (70.4 ov, S Watson 62, J Anderson 5/80, G Onions 4/58) by 147 runs on first innings with 8 wkts in hand: Ashes 09 T3 D2 at Edgbaston.

Graham Onions wouldn't have been everyone's choice to open the bowling on D2 but he was Andrew Strauss's. With his first delivery Onions had Shane Watson lbw, then bowled Mike Hussey, who misread the line, with his next. 1,2,3 for 126 and the game had swung England's way, where it stayed for the rest of another short day.

A generally assured Ricky Ponting (38) and a less so Michael Clarke (29) were unable to mount the salvage operation required. Jimmy Anderson took over from Onions as the spearhead and cut through the middle order: Clarke was fifth out at 193, which became a dispiriting 8/203 at lunch and a not much better 263 all out not long afterwards.

Onions and Anderson bowled magnificently, swinging the ball in conditions which favoured them somewhat. One or two of the umpiring decisions might have gone the other way but most of the Australian batting looked inept.

Could the Australian bowlers take a leaf out of Anderson's and Onions' books? Short answer no, despite Peter Siddle having Alistair Cook caught neatly by Graham Manou. Strauss showed his class and in the gloaming kept his team on target for what should be a first innings lead.

I will say it again: Australia missed Stuart Clark.

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