Trent Bridge Test, Day 2, lunch
Thursday, August 3, 2001

It's been a very interesting morning, and I'd say it's game on. England will be a little disappointed not to have a first-innings lead, but Australia have to bat last so the ledger's about even.

Mike Atherton's captaincy has been very proactive. He's been communicating well with his bowlers, and has been willing to try different things in the field. My only criticism would be that he took a while to bring Robert Croft on. Once Croft was on he managed to keep one end tight, which allowed Alex Tudor to attack more - and that was when the last two wickets fell.

Tudor has really impressed me. He was the best England bowler throughout the innings, and he deserved his five-wicket haul. Justice was definitely served today. It was him who got things started on both days - he showed the way to Darrren Gough and Andy Caddick. Both Gough and Caddick have been below par so far in this game, but maybe we'll see them perform better if England can put some runs on the board and give them a total to bowl at.

England couldn't have done a lot more to break the partnership between Adam Gilchrist and Jason Gillespie. They were right to give Gilchrist the singles. With a player like that, you have to try and stop his boundaries, especially on a small ground and a quick outfield. He's such a difficult batsman to set fields to, and his fifty has got Australia back in the match.

Mark Taylor was the winning captain in the last three Ashes series. He was talking to Camilla Rossiter

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