Ashes and captaincy on line
The Ashes 
/ Andy Morris / 28 December 2010 / Leave a comment Bet Now View Market
It will be blasphemous for the visitors if they do not win from this position – unless it really rains hard – and they have odds of 1.18 for their win.
Two days into the fourth Test match at the 'G', and, like the rest of us, Andy Morris is watching the Ashes slip away from Ricky Ponting's grasp.
Unless the Aussies can come up with something special, England look to be running away with the urn, relegating Ponting to becoming the second ever Australian captain to score a dismal Ashes hat trick loss.
It ended up being a cruel second day for the Australian side as they looked to overcome the effects of their first innings' batting performance. Not only had they been bowled out for 98, they had also allowed England to get away with a score of 157/0 on the first day.
The day started off well for the home-side as they snapped up both openers with little added to their overnight score.
Then, Kevin Pietersen joined Jonathon Trott and they looked to be driving the English side to the realms of invincibility until Peter Siddle removed Pietersen. Mitchell Johnson then sent back Paul Collingwood and Ian Bell off identical short deliveries, and almost had Matt Prior before the third umpire intervened to say that Prior had been dismissed off a no-ball.
Prior did not need a second invitation as he plundered the tiring and demoralised Australian attack in the company of Trott, who made 141.
The lead is now 346 runs and there is so much time left in the game that it looks like Ponting needs a miracle. What will definitely not help him is to point fingers at the umpire and convert the cricket field into a more uncivilised soccer pitch. Ponting was left with a fine after he argued over the third umpire's ruling of Pietersen as not-out, but now will need to quickly put that behind him, get England all out and then bat to save the game.
And his career.
It will be blasphemous for the visitors if they do not win from this position - unless it really rains hard - and they have odds of 1.18 for their win.
Australia, on the other hand, will look to draw the game - with odds of 7.4 - than winning it (at 46).
A century each from the two beleaguered batsmen, Ponting and Michael Clarke, will help.
