Advantage Pak?(-worma)

Not yet, I would say....with their lead still only 115+ and given their propensity to collapse, and with this Eng attack..I would think a lead of 200 with these two (or atleast one of them) still around is when they can feel safe. If these two are around, then probably thats when Inzy will look to make his move..and accelerate a bit.

And it seems Flintoff was again the prime mover for Eng...repeating his Ashes effort of bowling his heart out(as he did last evening, to remove Younis). Although I am wondering if the situation was really so desperate last evening that Tresco had to open with Freddie? Probably too early in the tour to over-rely on him(and over-work him in the process)...and not showing enough faith in Harmison? Derek Pringle touches the same point in his report today.

It was a different matter when England entrusted the new ball to Matthew Hoggard and Flintoff, promoted in place of Stephen Harmison. Although unlikely to have been a unilateral decision by Trescothick, Flintoff failed to make the breakthrough. Instead, that came when Harmison, brought on for the seventh over, had Malik caught by Trescothick at slip with his second ball.

Meanwhile, Vaughan's chances of return for the second match have improved. I think England may need him desperately in the second match, even if they draw this one, forget losing. Ofcourse whom to drop if he does come in would be a tough call for Eng.

Anyway...sort of open thread for test proceedings...

update 1: meanwhile...read this entertaining report from Martin Johnson in Telegraph about events on day 3. Sample this about the state of the pitch, and prospects of Giles getting a wicket here

On current evidence, any further attempts by Giles to grow some facial hair would leave him looking like WG Grace by the time he takes a Test wicket in this country, as bounce and pace are essential for a spinner who, essentially, doesn't spin it. There's nothing much in the pitch for the quicks either. If a batsman spots a bouncer he can duck, get up again to see if the ball has arrived, and if it hasn't, duck again.

update 2: Hoggard and Flintoff turn on the heat with second new ball. Inzy, Yousuf and Raza off in quick succession and that likely Pak collapse has surely arrived again. And a draw, a more than faint possibility at lunchtime, is certainly out of question now. The interest point now would be how far can Pak stretch this, and how much of a fight can they give with a 200-ish lead. Ooh...Butt also gone, as I write this...and 200 is looking more like a dream now.

And I guess we can now say that Freddie's performance has proven a point to those doubting his effectivity in the subcontinent(?)