Johnson alternatives begin to form a queue

The sight of Mitchell Johnson clutching his hamstring near the end of England’s innings yesterday and apparently taking some painkillers was met with concern by a portion of the Edgbaston crowd, although not the portion wearing yellow shirts. While Australian fans remain perplexed at the toothlessness of a fast bowler who was meant to be the new Terry Alderman, Patrick Kidd in the Times believes the visitors must consider changing their attack for the fourth Test at Headingley

It is like one of the Road Runner cartoons when Wile E. Coyote unpacks an elaborate bird-catching contraption only for it to backfire. This Acme device is a dud; “beep beep” say the England fans, blowing a raspberry.

The batting of Andrew Flintoff and Matt Prior on Sunday showed how important England's middle order has been in the Ashes, says Christopher Martin-Jenkins in the same paper.

England may not yet have an aura, but they have started to develop the knack of pulling something dramatic out of the bag. Patrick Kidd says it is the pace at which the likes of Andrew Flintoff, Matt Prior, Stuart Broad and Graeme Swann have scored that has tilted games this summer.

Richard Hobson thinks that umpire Rudi Koertzen's struggles in the third Ashes Test beg the question why is the world's best, Simon Taufel, not one of the umpires.