Friday 24 August, 2001

The batting of the Waugh twins was brilliant, almost as brilliant as the amount of spin Shane Warne generated in his few overs before stumps.

Obviously I am talking from a very biased viewpoint, because from where we sit, the more this Oval pitch spins, the more likely we are to win this final Test match.

'Warney' now holds the key to the Test, after the Waugh twins and Damien Martyn, built upon the solid foundation laid down on day one.

The top order believe that our job is to lay the foundation and build the walls, while the middle order are like the interior decorators coming in and putting down the furnishings and final touches.

Matty Hayden, Ricky Ponting, Michael Slater and yours truly, feel like we do the hard work and set the scene for the likes of the Waughs, Adam Gilchrist and 'Marto' to come in and break the hearts of our opponents.

It doesn't always happen this way, but it has been the case here at the Oval.

Steve Waugh's ton was a symbol of intent

Steve Waugh's incredibly courageous performance in scoring yet another Test century is a tribute to our captain's strength of character.

Batting on one leg for most of his innings, he proved that anything can be achieved if you put your mind to it.

On scoring his ton, you may have noticed him pointing to the changing room.

He was signaling to our fantastic physiotherapist, Errol Alcott, who has worked tirelessly on his calf since he was injured at Trent Bridge a couple of weeks ago.

For five or six hours a day the two of them have worked on getting the skipper back for this final Test of the summer.

While stretching tonight after the game, Stephen confided in me that during every minute he was being treated, he was thinking about scoring a century in this Test.

Again, it is incredible what can be achieved if you put your mind to it. The very fact that he was even out there on the field, sends a very strong message to England that we mean business.

Mark Waugh was elegance personified

At the other end, his brother Mark played a simply breathtaking innings.

He was almost Caribbean in his approach, smashing the fast bowlers, and Phil Tufnell, to all parts of the ground. What an innings!

He is a class act, and seeing him scoring runs is nothing short of a great day out for anyone who enjoys their cricket. He is described as elegant, pretty, and effortless in his approach and today was no exception.

The twins have us in a very commanding position at stumps on day two.

Having batted on this pitch, I feel we are in for a very hard three days in the field.

No doubt we will see the ball spinning, but for the fast bowlers there is very little assistance.

The reward of a Test victory will be worth the effort but we are under no preconceptions that this will be an easy triumph.

England may not be able to win from here, but they can make life uncomfortable for us.

Time will tell.

From London

JL