Nggggggghhhhhhh....

Ridiculous. A little caution is needed to see England through an unexpectedly dicey period after a glorious morning. So why is Matt Prior flirting needlessly with one of Mitchell Johnson's three good balls of the day? And then looking astonished when it skittles him?

Prior, like Ravi Bopara and to a lesser extent Kevin Pietersen, is fantastic to watch when he's on song, but they simply have to be more adaptable. The refusal to acknowledge a change in situation by knuckling down for a few overs amounts to a technical failing. Bopara came flying out of the blocks with some typically fluid drives after lunch, but it was all so cavalier - watching it you knew he wouldn't last long. I don't want to come over all Boycott here, but he's batting at No. 3 in the Ashes - it's a lynch-pin position, take it seriously.

The point of Test cricket is that it ebbs and flows, and good players negotiate these changes by moving up and down the gears, not just ploughing on regardless. Pietersen's talk of "just playing my natural game" is meaningless - if your natural game has only one dimension, however attractive or entertaining, then it's too limited. Paul Collingwood should have a word, although perhaps not today.

The Australians can't believe their luck. Just as in Cardiff, the England middle order have given their wickets away and let them back into a match that should have been secured by lunchtime tomorrow. England will be lucky to top 450 here. From there, you can see the Australians reminding them that it's a tame batting wicket, and that with a bit of concentration you can happily bat the other side out of the game.