CricDigs Blogs

The England team was well served in having two all-rounders at number seven and eight. With Flintoff and Stuart Broad walking in after mark prior, it means that this English side does have some serious depth to its batting and it showed on Sunday. Hillfenhaus would have seriously dented any chances of England gaining a lead as he kept on dismissing the top-order batsmen. However, with these two bowler-cum-batsmen coming together, England was able to pile up the lead and more critically, at a fair clip. The run rate and the volume of runs were both important considering that this is a rain-hit match and conditions and the length of session could both go awkward at any time. As it turned out, Flintoff was the highest scorer for his side and Broad too contributed with a half century.