"The game is still up for grabs. If we don't bat well tomorrow we will give Australia a chance to put their foot in the door and we don't want that to happen. By lunch we will be clearer where we are and where we are heading."
Some turnaround.
Starting the day staring down the barrel, England at stumps batted themselves into a position where, whilst all three results are still possible, an England defeat is the least likely.
It was a superb performance from Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook, continuing the trait of batsmen under pressure making important innings, and in doing so set a new opening partnership record for England openers - surpassing Hobbs and Sutcliffe now less as they posted a partnership that erased the considerable lead Australia had built.
A further positive for England is that as well as they batted, it highlighted that Australia's attack holds few fears; Peter Siddle's hat-trick an abberation from an attack that looked short of genuine menace, with Mitchell Johnson yet to prove he is over his Ashes demons.
Of course, an early morning burst from Australia could put the cat amongst the pigeons, but the likelihood is England forego an opportunity to dangle a carrot in front of Australia to tempt a late afternoon run chase, instead batting as long as possible to not only build some momentum but demoralise the Australian attack in the process.
Day 4 reports:
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