If England had enforced the follow-on....

I've just checked the parallel universe where this indeed happened (I've got a tardis). Australia are 100 ahead with 6 wickets remaining. Looking slightly dodgy for England here. Better get back to where I belong (((((((((((((((( Phew! That's better! England are 521 ahead with two days to bowl 'em out. Think I'll stay in this universe, thanks. Good move, Strauss.

Seemed like the right move to me at the time (not enforcing the f/o), and I've not changed my mind.

Let's hope Botham sucks wind then ... heard that he and ChappellI were amongst only a handful who criticised Strausser for not enforcing the follow-on.

Was never going to happen - not under blue skies and on a flat track.

One worry - Why didn't Fred bowl this morning?

it was absolutely the right thing to do. Mind you, nearly all the TMS lot were against Strauss's decision. Not surprised Botham thinks they should have enforced it though, because every time a side follows on it means people start banging on about his heroics at Headingley in '81 again.

For how shit a captain he was, Botham's got a nerve to be going on about this and that. Then again, his teams never got the chance to declare, did they? I'm sure if they had it would have been on the bloody dot. But I wish he would just STFU, or better still that Sky would swap him for Bob Willis who is simply a more intelligent individual.

Beefy, aye. But why are we surprised? Every time he says a pitch is going to rag square and go up and down by the 4th day you know its tarmac.

Botham's biography; Volume 3, His Latter Playing Years, and I quote:

"England were already in trouble against (insert any team) at (insert any ground) when Beefy strode up to the crease. After biding his time for all of three balls, (insert any bowler) sent down a bouncer which Botham duly hooked to the man on the boundary. Half an hour later it was all over, but miraculously he was still picked for the next test at (insert any ground) where the exact same thing happened again. Surprisingly, the selectors stuck with him, but..." etc. etc. etc.

Yeah, Beefy does have a habit of getting everything wrong. Bodes well for this test really!