England wrap up Second Test in the calm before the storm

england-wrap-up-second-test

england-wrap-up-second-testSome might have called it fate, and others lucky, but the way England finished off Australia in the early hours of this morning was nothing short of orgasmic for the travelling army of fans. You could have watched the end of Australia’s second innings and still had time to crack open the beer before Mark Sanchez’s demonstration of how not to quarterback an NFL football team.

A win by an innings and 71 runs may sound convincing but it doesn’t tell the whole story. Anyone in England will tell you that our cricket team don’t do this kind of thing. To take six wickets in the space of an hour and a half is impressive. Doing it to win a match and take control of a series is all the more dumfounding. The cherry on top of this tea and crumpet lunch was the spectre of thundery weather that was looming large.

Graham Swann ended the innings as the pick of the bowlers taking 5 for 91 runs, James Anderson and Steven Finn both posting two wickets each as the hosts were all out for 304. The third test starts a week on Thursday in Perth, and Ricky Ponting will be searching for some much needed answers in the meantime.

So, as KP tweets and the Aussies try to find a way to coax Shane Warne out of the world of poker and hair commercials and onto the cricket pitch, England will be toasting their victory into the night.