Ashes 2010: The best pictures from day two of the third Test

Preamble Hello. In a world that has gone tragicomically wrong, every single day of Test cricket is a joy. But some are more joyous than others, and this should be one of those. Broadly speaking, there are two scenarios for today's play, and both are utterly thrilling in very different ways Photograph: Paul Kane/Getty Images

Scenario one: England's top order play with the detached authority they have shown in their last two innings, calmly batting Australia right out of the game. When they close on 312 for four, the Ashes have effectively if not actually been retained Photograph: Hamish Blair/Getty Images

Scenario two: Australia rage, rage against the dying of the light, their quintet of quicks (we'll upgrade Shane Watson in the name of some cheap alliteration) hustling through an England batting line-up that struggles to adapt to life on the back foot. After a day of the highest-octane cricket, England are all out for 271 and Ricky Ponting spends the night visualising the innings of his life Photograph: Rob Griffith/AP

15th over: England 40-0 (Strauss 20, Cook 20) A huge let off for Strauss! He drove at a full-length delivery from Harris, and the ball flew off the edge at catchable height between the keeper Haddin and Watson at first slip – but they both left it to each other and it went away for four. "What is going on?" says Bumble. "Gracious me!" They should both have gone for that. Extraordinary stuff Photograph: Jason O'Brien/Action Images

16th over: England 40-0 (Strauss 20, Cook 20) Hilfenhaus is getting some nice shape into the left-handers, but Cook is in wonderful touch and he simply blocks the straight ones and leaves the wide ones Photograph: Mark Dadswell/Getty Images

17th over: England 52-0 (Strauss 32, Cook 20) Twelve from the over? Yes please. Harris tries a surprise short ball and Strauss pings it classily round the corner for four. That, as Nasser Hussain says on Sky, is not the length to Strauss. Get him driving. Or, if you prefer, keep banging it in and keep getting pulled to the boundary. That's what Harris does with the fifth delivery, and this time Strauss dumps it in front of square for four. The next delivery is much fuller but too straight, and Strauss times it through midwicket for his third boundary of the over. It also brings up the fifty partnership Photograph: Jason O'Brien/Action Images

18th over: England 54-0 (Strauss 33, Cook 21) Two from Hilfenhaus's over. That Strauss reprieve has done something unpleasant all over Australia's bonfire; they've been pretty flat since Photograph: Stephen Wake/AP

WICKET! England 78-1 (Cook c Hussey b Johnson 32) This is such an important wicket for Australia on three counts: it's a wicket, it's the wicket of the run-machine Cook, and it's the first wicket of the series for their potential matchwinner Mitchell Johnson. Cook drove loosely at a wide delivery at sliced it low to gully, where Michael Hussey took a smart two-handed catch. Cook asked if it carried, Hussey said yes and Cook walked. He will be disappointed with that shot, having done the hard work, but it's hard to be too critical of a man who has scored 9881 runs in the series already Photograph: Hamish Blair/Getty Images

WICKET! England 82-2 (Trott LBW b Johnson 4) It's happening. Mitchell Johnson, having worked Trott over with a couple of short balls, traps him in front with a beautiful inswinger. Trott planted his front leg and had nowhere to go as the ball snaked back at the last minute. It would have hit off stump halfway up. That's Johnson's magic ball, the inswinger to the right-hander. It was brilliant bowling, and these are extremely good signs for Australia Photograph: Jason O'Brien/Action Images

WICKET! England 82-3 (Pietersen LBW b Johnson 0) This is sensational cricket! Johnson has nailed Pietersen with another full inswinger Photograph: Rob Griffith/AP

Pietersen referred it but that was plumb. Like Trott, he wafted around his front pad and was stone dead. It would have hit leg stump. Johnson may well have got his inswinger back, a ball that has hardly been seen for two years. If he has, that is a serious plot twist Photograph: Gareth Copley/PA

WICKET! England 94-4 (Strauss c Haddin b Harris 52) I don't really know what to say. This is marvellous cricket from Australia, and the heat is getting to England. Ryan Harris returned to the attack and struck with his third delivery, a good one in the corridor that swung in a touch and found the edge as Strauss fished outside off. The line was excellent and he had to play at that. England have lost four for spit Photograph: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

The whole series has been blown open in a crazy, bewildering and magnificent half-hour Photograph: Mark Dadswell/Getty Images

WICKET! England 98-5 (Collingwood LBW b Johnson 5) England are suffering death by inswing. Paul Collingwood jabbed around another big inducker and, although he was given not out by Marais Erasmus, it looked very close and Australia went for the review. There were two issues - whether he was outside the line and especially height – but Virtual Eye showed it was straight and hitting a good portion of the stumps. Collingwood was always a candidate for that type of dismissal Photograph: Mark Dadswell/Getty Images

England have lost five wickets for 20 in 8.3 overs; if that wasn't bad enough, Australia's matchwinner Mitchell Johnson has got everything back: his groove, his mojo, his dignity and most of all his inswinger Photograph: Gareth Copley/PA

WICKET! Prior 12 b Siddle (England 145-6) What a way to get out. Prior has played on in the most unfortunate manner. It was a half-tracker that hit Prior's thigh pad then took a double ricochet back onto his bat and on to the stumps Photograph: TIM WIMBORNE/REUTERS

Prior's body position, points out Mikey Holding, was all wrong. He had come far too far across his stumps because of the way he was being worked over with short balls Photograph: Rob Griffith/AP

48th over: England 149-6 (Bell 30, Swann 0) How will Bell play it? Beautifully, is the answer. He clips two runs to leg, and then pulls away a couple more Photograph: Hamish Blair/Getty Images

56th over: England 178-6 (Bell 50, Swann 8) Ian Bell, who is playing superbly well here. He slashes four through point and then cuts away another to the same part of the ground. That's his fifty Photograph: TIM WIMBORNE/REUTERS

WICKET! Swann 11 c Haddin b Harris (England 182-7) Swann's gone. He edged that straight through behind Haddin. He leant tentatively forward, poking at a ball which moved away from him just enough to snick straight off the outside edge Photograph: TIM WIMBORNE/REUTERS

WICKET! Tremlett 1 b Johnson (England 186-9) That's too good for Tremlett. Too good for tail-enders. Too good for a lot of batsmen. It was a near-perfect inswinger, slipping through the gate and shattering the stumps. Johnson has 5-37 now, and he raises the ball up above his head to acknowledge the applause of the crowd Photograph: Jason O'Brien/Action Images

So from 78-0 England have lost all ten wickets for 109 runs. Starting from the moment he took his first wicket onwards Mitchell Johnson has figures of 12.3-4-21-6 Photograph: Tom Shaw/Getty Images

9th over: Australia 30-0 (led by 81 on first innings; Watson 19, Hughes 11) Steven Finn replaces James Anderson. This is a really important spell because if Australia target him and/or he feels that calf injury, England have major problems. Finn is the joint leading-wicket-taker in this series but only Doug Bollinger has a worse economy-rate than Finn's 4.24. And in that over he goes for 14! Watson goes for him straight away, hitting three boundaries: a savage pull wide of the diving Cook at deep midwicket, a cut and then another pull through square leg. That sound you can hear in your head is the theme from Jaws. England are in serious trouble here Photograph: TIM WIMBORNE/REUTERS

WICKET! Australia 31-1 (Hughes c Collingwood b Finn 12) Boy did England need that. Finn angles a good one across Hughes that bounces enough to take the edge of a crabby defensive push before flying to Collingwood at third slip. That's so impressive from Finn. Hundreds of young bowlers would have crumbled after disappearing for 14 in their first over, but Finn followed up with an excellent maiden to Watson and now he has the wicket of Hughes. It makes him the top wickettaker in the series Photograph: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

WICKET! Australia 34-2 (Ponting c Prior b Finn 1) Unbelievable. England have strangled Ricky Ponting down the leg side for the second time in the series. He tried to flick a short one from Finn off the hip as he jumped across the crease, and England went up very confidently for the caught behind. Marais Erasmus gave it not out, but England reviewed it – Andrew Strauss looked a little reluctant, actually – and Hotspot showed that it kissed the glove on the way through. Ponting looked unhappy with the decision but there's no doubt he was out. That is desperately sad for him. You could go five years and not be out like that; it's happened to him twice in three Tests. England are right back in this, but I really hope that isn't the last we see of Ricky Ponting. A true champion like him doesn't deserve such a tame ending Photograph: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images