Hussey and Haddin punish England

Hussey, 35, celebrated his 12th Test century with a highly-charged display of emotion, having been under pressure for some time to hold his place in the middle order. Haddin was more blase´, smashing Graeme Swann back over his head for six to reach his third Test century.

Throughout, Haddin was as still as a statue and as patient as a farmer. Previously he had impressed as an excellent straight driver and a dangerous but sporadically inconsistent scorer. He did not become a great player overnight but he did emerge as a proper batsman. Certainly he thought along those lines, establishing himself at the crease, building his innings and gradually widening his range of shots. In that regard it was a classical display. It was the most measured innings of his career.

By rights, when Australia's late wickets suddenly fell, they should have fallen upon Jimmy Anderson, who can rarely have bowled better in a Test outside England, or with such ill luck. But it was perhaps timely that they fell to Steve Finn, the baby of the England attack, the bowler who might have found the experience hardest to withstand. Finn's six for 125 when compared to the figures of Anderson and Finn was a statistical absurdity, but when he took his fifth wicket, Anderson's congratulations were among the warmest.

Andy Flower owes his life to Reg Dickason, the security officer who took him to a skin clinic in Brisbane this week, according to the man who diagnosed the England coach’s malignant melanoma. Dr Shobhan Manoharan believes that the cancerous growth just beneath Flower’s right eye had been developing at some speed, and would have caused potentially fatal complications within months.