'Teams in this era find it hard to play from behind'

In the Sydney Morning Herald, Greg Baum writes that while it may not be easy to predict the result of the upcoming fourth Test at Trent Bridge, he says the result of that match - like the other three in this series - will be known early in the contest.

Anticipating Trent Bridge, we can be certain that the result will be counter-intuitive. It has been that sort of series. But what should we intuit? That it is Australia's turn? England's pattern this summer has been win-loss-win-loss-win-loss, and now win. Oddness prevails even in this detail. Australia scarcely has been a model of consistency, winning five of 11 Tests in the last 12 months. So another reversal stands to reason. Or should we think that England now has not just the lead, but a road map and Australia's measure?

We can presume that the result will be known early. It has in all three Tests so far; the team that has taken the initiative on day one has dominated. Cricket teams in this era find it harder than ever to play from behind. They do not know how to pause and neutralise a match. They are trained and tuned to press on, even to their own certain ruin. The arrival of Ian Bell at the crease on Friday heralded an instance of this syndrome writ small. Bell drove five fours from the first nine balls he faced from Mitchell Starc, who kept bowling him balls to drive. From the 11th, he was dropped.

Barney Ronay, writing in the Guardian, says how well England leave the ball in the last two Tests could determine whether they win the Ashes.

This quality of stillness was notably absent this week over two opening days of amphetamine-grade Test cricket at Edgbaston, during which the majority of 32 wickets to fall came from balls that might have been left alone, or were left alone incorrectly. And during which batsmen on both sides skittered about at the crease like startled kittens ... Key to all this is the leave: the least fashionable shot in cricket, but as an opener in England also the most important. At its best the leave is a tangible presence, an act of decisive, aggressive non-engagement, a challenge to the bowler to blink first, go seeking a response and find yourself counterpunched by some maddening little opener's nudge, or cuff or clip.

Writing for The Independent, former Australia fast bowler Damien Fleming is baffled by the unpredictability of the Ashes after Michael Clarke's team lost inside three days at Edgbaston. However, given England's seven-match win-loss sequence and James Anderson's injury, he anticipates Australia "are due to win at Trent Bridge."

What a see-sawing Test series. Can anyone explain the 11 days of Test cricket we have witnessed, where each day rotates like a Shane Warne leg-spinner? I can't. As an ex-player you are frequently asked a variety of questions from keen cricket followers and generally my answer takes in the form of the players and the momentum of the respective teams. For me this series is harder to read than Rocket Science for Dummies translated into Latin. It's been as volatile as the relationship between Oasis's Gallagher brothers