Can there be a better feeling in the world for an England batsman than a century at Lord’s against Australia in front of a packed house basking in summer sun? Midway through the final session of the first day Ian Bell angled Shane Watson just backward of square on the offside and trotted through for the runs that took him to the 19th hundred of his career.
If it lacked the dramatic context of his innings at Trent Bridge last week, first to save and then help win the match, without it England might have been in dire trouble.
Only Jack Hobbs, twice, Walter Hammond and Chris Broad have previously made Ashes centuries in three successive matches. That England recovered after three wickets fell inside the first six overs of the day was down to Bell, who walked to the crease with the board reading 28 for three and left 243 runs later for 109, but also to Jonathan Trott, whose 58 continued a trend of getting in, playing beautifully but then failing to capitalise.
It was also down to Jonny Bairstow, who made 67 and was fortunate to get that far, his stumps having been demolished 46 runs previously by what subsequently proved by the barest detectable millimetre to be a Peter Siddle no-ball.
Australia came back strongly in the last hour, though, to nab the day's honours, Michael Clarke's intuition bringing him the breakthrough he wanted.
Out of desperation
Bell and Bairstow were in the process of adding 144 for the fifth wicket when, out of desperation perhaps and with the new ball due shortly, he turned to the leg spin of Steve Smith.
What Bell got from the final ball of his first over was something that pitched around middle and off, turned sharply away from a perfect length, and took the edge. Clarke made no mistake at slip.
Two overs later Bairstow drilled back a low full toss and the day had begun to turn once again. There was more: Smith found something flipperish to Matt Prior which took the edge, Brad Haddin completing the catch, and he had taken three for 12 in 22 balls.
For some unaccountable reason Stuart Broad, the number nine, was protected by a nightwatchman, Jimmy Anderson, who, with Tim Bresnan, survived to the close, including two overs of the new ball, to see England to 289 for seven.
This was a pristine day for batting. The pitch was dry and looked full of runs. Both sides made changes from the first Test, with Usman Khawaja and Ryan Harris coming into the Australia side in place of Ed Cowan and Mitchell Starc, and Bresnan replacing Steve Finn.
Swung sharply
The new ball still swung sharply from the outset and Clarke's enterprise brought Australia their first wicket. It went to Shane Watson who with his second ball had the England captain lbw.
Harris removed Joe Root, also leg-before, and had Kevin Pietersen caught behind in the same over and England were floundering.
Trott meanwhile was starting to play as if in a parallel universe, clipping his first ball nonchalantly from middle and off to the square-leg boundary, sending his second through backward point and generally gallivanting along at an uncharacteristically skittish rate.
Then, on 58, an innings ended when he hoisted a short ball from Harris to deep square-leg.
Until his lazy dismissal Bairstow had capitalised well enough on his good fortune. But when Siddle detonated his stumps from the ground, it exposed the glaring technical error which causes him to be bowled more often than a good player should be. So over-reliant is he on his bottom hand that his top hand is for little more than somewhere to put his left glove.
Guardian Service
