Ali: Similar qualities to Glenn McGrath

Great bowlers like Ambrose, Walsh, Akram and Donald all have one defining characteristic that makes them great.

Pressure overload

When they are in the attack, they consistently drown the batsmen with pressure.

It often feels like they are holding your head under water, waiting for you to surrender and die.

If there is ever the odd loose ball, the feeling is literally like coming up for a breath of fresh oxygen.

Not the fastest bowler in the world, nor even the best swinger of the ball, Glenn McGrath is simply the best bowler in the world because of this fearsome characteristic.

He applies so much pressure through sheer pitiless control, that opposition batsmen have no margin for error, and even worse, no method of scoring runs.

Ultimately, batting is about scoring runs, and if a bowler can deny you this basic commodity, then the atmosphere becomes claustrophobic.

On the third day of this Test, Glenn not only took seven England wickets, he also went past the 350-wicket mark in Test cricket.

He is the third fastest player in the history of the game to reach this milestone and he is an unbelievable asset to this cricket team.

Although the perception to many people is that he is an aggressive lout and yobbo on the cricket field, you can take it from me this could not be further from the truth.

Apart from his deadly sting when bowling, he is nothing more than a butterfly in everything else he does.

Saturday's achievement is an outstanding reward for an inspirational person.

Advantage Australia

With a lead of 200 runs, and a deteriorating pitch, we feel like we are in the box seat at stumps tonight.

After a day of Test cricket that had it all, the expectation is invigorating.

Solid and innovative innings by Mark Ramprakash and Alec Stewart helped England fight closer to our first innings total but the scoreline suggests we had the better of day three, after England's courageous fightback on day two.

McGrath: "floats like a butterfly"

Mark Butcher's run out by Brett Lee was unfortunate for the in-form left-hander from Surrey.

For me, though, it was a reward for the incredible endeavours throughout the tour by "Binga" in the field.

He has been like a cattle dog all summer, chasing the ball and diving around like his life depended upon it.

A run out in Test cricket is a cardinal error for a batsman and an incredible bonus for the fielding team.

It is no coincidence that Brett Lee's energy and enthusiasm eventually resulted in such a beneficial incident for the team.

It never is a coincidence or fluke in this game!

One of the other highlights of the day was the appearance of Steve Waugh doing 12th man duties.

As if to show England that he was not far from the action, he ran the drinks out when a wicket had fallen.

Wearing his baggy green and a lessening limp, he was as proud as anyone to remain involved in the proceedings.

You can just tell that he loves the battle and while he sits and watches, you can be sure he is hatching some sort of plan for a comeback or at the very least to see the remainder of this series going exactly to plan.

Day four again promises to unravel more answers as to who will leave Headingley as the victors of this highly entertaining Test match.

From Leeds,

JL