Andrew Strauss: 90mph bouncers can be fun

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Andrew Strauss reflects on a week which saw a frustrating end to the first Test and a disappointing start to the second. More... Andrew Strauss: 90mph bouncers can be fun By Andrew Strauss, Sunday Telegraph Last Updated: 11:29pm BST 28/07/2007 Have your say Read comments In pics: India take upper hand | Trent Bridge scorecard Video: The Analyst at the Test Sunday Day four of a Test match is always moving day. It is the day when any slight advantages that one team may have gained over the previous three days builds a momentum that is very difficult to stop. Whichever team is on top at the end of day four invariably wins the Test. Today was our moving day, and our chief architect was Kevin Pietersen. He seemed to struggle a little against the left-arm seam bowling in the first innings but, being the player he is, was able to digest where he went wrong, work out a new plan, and implement it perfectly all in the little time available between the two innings. His stroke play in the afternoon session, where quick runs were needed to give us time to bowl India out, was scintillating, and his hundred was the perfect reply to those who had criticised him for revealing that he was tired after the one-day series. Monday It's days like this that make you wonder why you bother. Four days of effort, fatigue, determination and graft all came to nothing as a combination of bad light and stubborn Indian battling left us an agonising one wicket short of winning the match. We knew from the weather forecast that as soon as rain and bad light arrived, it wasn't going to go away, and despite bowling two spinners for half an hour we were unable to dislodge the final pair before the inevitable set in. Unfortunately for us, the umpires were probably right to go off when they did. We all go on about them being consistent, and if the game has been stopped on previous days when the light reached a certain point, then they have to do the same on the final day, even if it meant all our best efforts went unrewarded. There was much to be proud of in the Test, though, and our supposedly weak, inexperienced bowling line-up has to take most of the plaudits.They responded magnificently to the challenge, and showed a depth of talent in bowling resources that many thought did not exist. Tuesday Made the journey up to Nottingham feeling a little jaded after five hard days, but positive about both my own form, and that of the team. The notorious swinging conditions at Trent Bridge should help us this week. Nothing would erase the frustration of the first Test quicker than a victory here this week. Wednesday Our usual pre-match preparation was severely disrupted as rain lashed down most of the day. A gym session was followed by a game of tennis, where Andy Flower's silky touch at the net betrayed that he had spent far too much time at Harare Sports Club as a youngster. His skills were more than enough to carry him and partner Alastair Cook to victory over Strauss and 'Goran' Vaughan, whose big serve was far from matched by his ground strokes. The big news of the day surrounded Marcus Trescothick declaring himself unavailable to tour with England this winter. Knowing him as I do, I suspect that it was an incredibly tough decision to make, and a very brave one. Those who were clamouring for his return to the one-day side have probably made the decision harder to make, as Marcus is not the sort of guy who likes to let people down, but anyone who saw what he had to endure over the past couple of winters will know that there can be nothing worse than for Marcus to come back when not completely ready. Thursday No outdoor practice today (again!) due to rain, so off we trudged to the Academy in Loughborough for another innovative session organised by the coach. It was in name a skills session, where aspects of fielding were to be intermingled with a bit of agility work, a little fitness, and some reaction drills. In practice, however, it was throwing ourselves around on a mat covered in talcum powder to allow maximum sliding, and then trying to get out of the way of bouncers delivered by the bowling machine at 90 miles an hour without a bat or pads. It was hard work, but immensely enjoyable as the cries of one player after another reverberated around the hall after being hit by the bowling machine tennis balls. Friday When play finally did get under way at 3pm, we were faced with twin challenges. The first was to get ourselves in exactly the right frame of mind to get out there and play after five hours of lethargy, and the second was to bat on a wicket that was always going to offer the bowlers some assistance after the recent weather. I don't think we overcame either challenge quite as well as we would have liked as we finished the day at 176 for seven, although we probably won't know how good a toss it was to win for India until both sides have batted on it. Wickets where balls leave indentations when they pitch can get harder to play on as the game goes on, so another 50 odd runs, followed by a disciplined bowling performance could change the course of the game. Saturday We couldn't quite reach the 200-plus score that would have been par in difficult conditions. Still plenty in the wicket for the swing and seam bowlers but we simply didn't have the rub of the green. India's batsmen were really disciplined in the alien surroundings. We'll have to finish off their innings quickly to limit their lead to controllable proportions.