On a day when Ricky Ponting lost his cool with the umpires, Jonathan Trott was a picture of composure as his second century of the series kept England on target to retain the Ashes. Led by an aggressive Peter Siddle in front of his home crowd, the Australian fast men tried to drag their team back into the contest but after their first-innings 98, the hosts needed a miraculous day, not a solid one.

Trott was the anchor for England, with support from Kevin Pietersen and Matt Prior, and by the close of play their advantage had grown to 346 runs, already an ample lead that will grow on day three. Trott went to stumps on 141 and Prior had 75, and Australia's inability to break through in the final session sapped any energy they might have drawn from Siddle's early strikes.

Three days of rain might be feasible in Brisbane, given the recent weather in the north, but it won't happen in Melbourne, and Australia's batsmen must find remarkable resolve in the second innings if England are to be denied victory and the urn is to remain up for grabs at the SCG. And judging byPonting's outburst, levelheadedness is not widespread in the team right now.

He was convinced the review of a not-out caught-behind decision against Kevin Pietersen showed a deflection on Hot Spot, but it was a misguided thought as the ball had passed much higher on the bat. After the third umpire correctly backed Aleem Dar's on-field decision to reprieve Pietersen on 49, Ponting heatedly argued with Dar, Pietersen and the other umpire Tony Hill.

It was an ugly incident that took the attention away from a solid 92-run partnership between Trott and Pietersen, which ended soon afterwards when Pietersen was plumb lbw to Siddle for 51. What followed was an eventful mini-session as the out-of-form Paul Collingwood (8) and Ian Bell (1) both hooked short balls from Mitchell Johnson to Siddle at fine leg, before Prior had a lucky escape on 5.

In amongst it all, Trott survived a tight run-out chance when his dive to complete a third just beat Ponting's throw from the outfield, and he brought himself serious pain when he inside-edged Ben Hilfenhaus on to his left knee. After a couple of minutes of lying flat on the pitch in agony, Trott continued to annoy the Australians with his fine, disciplined innings.

There were occasional cover-drives from Trott, but generally he showed as much leg as a burlesque dancer. Trott would walk across and expose his leg stump, dragging anything and everything through midwicket or fine leg, and by the time he brought up his hundred with an appropriate clip through square for a boundary, 87% of his runs had come through the leg side.

Not that there were many boundaries from Trott, who was content to nudge through the gaps and keep the fielders chasing. It was that kind of cool that Australia's batsmen lacked on the first day, and England's strong performance continued with Prior reaching a fifty from 81 balls as the shadows grew longer in the late afternoon.

It meant five of England's top seven had made at least a half-century in the innings, and it was all set up by the 159-run opening stand from Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook. But neither man was able to kick on during the second morning, and both fell to Siddle after adding only a few runs to their overnight scores.

Cook moved from 80 to 82 before he was caught low at first slip by Shane Watson, having edged a delivery that was tight enough in line to make him play. Strauss went from 64 to 69 when he was surprised by a well-directed shortish ball from Siddle, and it lobbed off the bat above the head of the gully Michael Hussey, who thrust his right hand up to take a good catch.

It was the best spell of the day by an Australian bowler, as Siddle collected 2 for 5 from his first six overs, before his final over of that period was dispatched for 13 as a confident Pietersen drove and pulled. Steven Smith was handled with ease and didn't look threatening, Hilfenhaus couldn't find much swing and Harris was well below his Perth form, also struggling to move the ball.

James Anderson and Chris Tremlett destroyed Australia's batting line-up for 98 in less than two sessions on Boxing Day, as the Australians were dismissed for their lowest Ashes total in a home Test in 74 years. The frailties in the batting order were exposed as every man but the not-out Ben Hilfenhaus was caught behind the wicket, unable to handle a little bit of movement off the pitch.

Anderson and Tremlett finished with four wickets each, and Tim Bresnan collected the remaining two, more than justifying Andrew Strauss's decision to send Australia in on a pitch with a green tinge and some moisture. The bowlers hit the right lines and found some nibble off the seam, but several of the Australians would be disappointed to have played with hard hands at deliveries they could have left.

They lost four wickets before the first break and even a long lunch couldn't help them regroup, as the rest of the order collapsed after the resumption. In one particularly ugly patch for the home side they lost 3 for 0, as Michael Clarke, Brad Haddin and Mitchell Johnson all edged behind or to slip, and a few late runs from the tailenders Ryan Harris and Peter Siddle could not get the side to triple-figures.

When Matt Prior pouched the final catch, his sixth of the innings, the batsman Ben Hilfenhaus raced off the field immediately, knowing that he and his bowling colleagues have a mammoth task ahead of them to save the game. Five men reached double figures in the innings but Michael Clarke's 20 was the best score, and there was no repeat of Michael Hussey and Brad Haddin saving the day as they have in previous matches this series.

After lunch, Steven Smith was the first to depart when he prodded hard away from his body and got a thick edge behind off Anderson for 6. He was followed by Clarke, with a thin edge to Prior off Anderson when he wafted outside off, before Haddin edged to slip off Bresnan and Johnson was caught behind off Anderson.

Tremlett picked up the two remaining wickets, Siddle (10) and Hilfenhaus edging behind to Prior. It had all finished rather the same way it began, with Tremlett and Anderson causing problems by teasing outside off stump and keeping the batsmen tied down.

Shane Watson was dropped twice on 0; Anderson found the edge from the fifth ball of the match and saw Paul Collingwood spill the chance at third slip, and his next over Anderson watched on as Kevin Pietersen at gully couldn't cling on to a hard cut that flew over his head. Watson's luck ran out when he couldn't get out of the way of an excellent bouncer from Tremlett, and the ball lobbed off the gloves to Pietersen at gully.

The out-of-form Phillip Hughes cut the first runs of the match with a boundary through point, but fell for 16 when his attempted cover-drive was edged to gully to give Bresnan a wicket in his second over. That was followed by Ponting (10) edging a cracking ball from Tremlett to second slip where it was snapped up by Graeme Swann, who was required to bowl only two overs.

Tremlett got the ball to rise sharply and nip away significantly off the seam, and Ponting was doing well to even get bat on such a good ball. There was more bounce in the surface than the batsmen might have expected from the usually slow and low drop-in pitches, which helped Michael Hussey survive an lbw review when Tremlett's delivery was shown to be going over the top.

But Hussey didn't survive in the last over before lunch, when he edged behind off Anderson for 8. It was a fine bowling and fielding effort from England, who will retain the Ashes if they win the match, and provided their batsmen don't fall into the same traps that Australia's did, that is looming as the most likely outcome over the next few days.

The youngsters shone for New Zealand as they defeated Pakistan by five wickets in the first Twenty20 at Eden Park. Tim Southee ripped the heart out of the Pakistan line-up with a brutal spell of five for 18 in four overs, and Martin Guptill's fearless half-century ensured the chase went smoothly for the hosts. The visitors had rocketed to 58 for 1 in 5.5 overs before Southee struck five times in nine deliveries to derail the middle order, using his height and pace to torment the batsmen on the quick, hard surface, and throwing in the odd slower ball to keep them guessing. Guptill then attacked the Pakistan bowling with style and chutzpah, to get his team off to a rapid start, and continued to attack throughout his innings, despite the fall of wickets at the other end.

Guptill began with gusto as he flayed Abdul Razzaq for 15 in his first over with two commanding strikes and a tickle down to fine leg, before hoisting Shoaib Akhtar for a giant six over square-leg. The pace of the Auckland pitch showed up three balls later as Jesse Ryder's thick edge off Shoaib flew at shoulder height to slip, almost at the edge of the circle. Guptill continued to make merry despite the loss, hitting Shoaib for another six on the leg-side before the bowler struck again, this time to remove debutant Dean Brownlie for five.

Scott Styris uppercut his second ball for six, but was undone soon after by Shoaib, attempting an ugly slog across the line to an indipper that pegged back leg stump. Shoiab had another, and the aeroplane was on show for the third time in three overs, but although there were breakthroughs, Guptill's fireworks at the other end boosted the score to 55 in five overs.

The Pakistan spinners provided some respite, but Guptill motored to his maiden Twenty20 fifty in 23 deliveries, hitting Wahab Riaz for consecutive boundaries and lofting Mohammad Hafeez over long-on. The dazzling knock came to an end when he was run out attempting an ill-advised single on 53, after having pushed the Pakistan fielders to the limit with swift singles during his stay.

Ross Taylor was content to cruise alongside James Franklin while the spinners operated, with his side well ahead of the required rate. Hafeez picked up his second wicket when he hurried one onto Franklin, but with 29 runs to get in more than five overs, the victory was all but secured. A couple of trademark slog sweeps later, New Zealand were within striking distance, and Peter McGlashan finished the job for the hosts with 2.5 overs to spare.

The Pakistan innings too was off to a rollicking start, thanks to some aggressive intent from the Pakistan openers. Shahid Afridi, having promoted himself to the top, wasted little time unfurling his signature slogs, while Hafeez also swung away with abandon to propel Pakistan to 36 in 3.5 overs, before the wickets began to tumble.

Afridi was caught at mid-on by a backpedalling Ross Taylor, after New Zealand's other debutant, Adam Milne, had shelled a chance off the previous delivery. Pakistan kept the foot on the pedal as they raced to 50 in five overs. Southee then came on to cripple the innings with pace, movement and bounce to leave Pakistan reeling at 68 for 6. Southee's barrage included a hat-trick - New Zealand's second in Twenty20 internationals, and third overall - which accounted for Younis Khan, Hafeez and Umar Akmal, who was wrongly given out lbw.

Umar Gul and Riaz were on hand for Pakistan, scoring invaluable thirties as the tail pushed Pakistan towards respectability with some sensible batting and a flurry of late boundaries. Southee's spell, however, had done the damage, and 143 proved too few to defend on a ground with a hard surface and short straight boundaries.

Arsene Wenger set for fight with FA over Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere

Arsene Wenger has put himself on a collision course with the FA after making it clear that he will oppose Jack Wilshere's inclusion in the England Under-21 team for next summer's European Championship.

Sir Trevor Brooking, the FA's director of football development, has indicated that he wants Wilshere included in Stuart Pearce's under-21 squad, but Wenger believes it is counterproductive to select players who are already senior internationals.

The Arsenal manager is also adamant that Wilshere will need a proper rest next summer if, as seems certain, he plays more than 40 games this season.

"What the English FA have to decide is whether the player is in the first team or in the under-21s," said Wenger. "I don't believe a player ever performs when he has been in a top team and comes back down to the under-21s. It is always a bad decision. It's because you feel you go down. You take any player who plays at Arsenal in the Premier League, put him down to Division One, you would be disappointed by him."

Wenger also clashed with Pearce in 2009 when Theo Walcott was selected for both teams, against his wishes. Walcott then had a horribly disjointed season with injury.

With Wilshere only establishing himself in the Arsenal first team this season, Wenger is sensitive to the impact of him then playing in a two-week tournament in June.

Those who have followed Suresh Raina's career closely will think they are caught in a time warp. It was in November 2006 that he first played in South Africa. The game was an ODI in Durban, the same venue where India now strive to keep the series alive. Back then, the whole team collapsed alright, but the way Raina got out has become instructive. Andre Nel bowled a short-of-a-length delivery, around off, angling away, and Raina with his feet stuck poked at it away from the body, and Jacques Kallis accepted the offering at second slip.

That was all Raina could manage on that tour. He was sent back home mid-tour, and was not considered for the World Cup, India's next major assignment.

Four years later, just before another World Cup, Raina has come back to South Africa, and nothing seems to have changed. In Centurion, Kallis bowled short of a length, around off, Raina anticipated bouncers, didn't get close enough to the ball, and poked. Twice in one Test: edging one, and guiding the other to slips. Things, though, were supposed to have changed. In those four years, Raina has established himself as a dangerous batsman in limited-overs cricket. He has become one of the few batsmen in the world with a century in each of the three formats, including a Test ton on debut and 62 and 41 not out in his second, in a stiff chase. He has scored loads of runs in South Africa in the IPL and in the Champions League. Overall he has grown a lot in confidence. The way he got out in Centurion, though, remains a massive worry for India.

Moreover, Raina now has scores of 32, 3, 20, 3, 1 and 5 in his last six Test innings. Neither the captain nor the coach has tried to hide concern regarding his No. 6 position, especially given they are in the middle of their biggest challenge in Tests, and in a country where top-class bowling is bound to test Raina. And in Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Kallis, South Africa have top-class bowling that will go all out on a track whose primary feature is thick grass. However, the team management says it is yet to decide on whether to drop Raina.

We are always at risk of reading too much into nets sessions, but symbolism was easy to get into as India practised two days before the Boxing Day Test. After the warm-up, Gary Kirsten kneeled down to give slips practice to what has now become a regular cordon of Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Raina and Virender Sehwag. A few hits into that session, Raina was hit in the ankle by a half-volley. Soon Dravid went to the physio for some attention to his finger, and in came Cheteshwar Pujara, the man who should be the obvious replacement if the team management decides against Raina, to take slip catches.

By the time Raina got repair work done and came into the nets, Pujara was already batting with the regular middle order in the nets either side of him. Raina even bowled a few loopy offbreaks to Pujara, which the latter played comfortably. And when Raina did get a bat - which does suggest that that hit on the ankle didn't do much damage - he found Pujara in the net on his off side. Pujara remained in his eye-line, and there is no doubt Pujara is in the eye-line of the team-management.

However, as Pink Floyd asked Eugene to be, this team has - barring exceptions like Abhimanyu Mithun - been careful with that axe. MS Dhoni's funda has been to give a player enough chances before dropping him so that he can look beyond the said player without thinking of him. A three-Test series, though, hardly gives him that luxury, especially when his side is 0-1 down already.

It is an important decision for Dhoni, Kirsten and the senior players to make going into perhaps their most important Test match. If they do persist with Raina, it could have larger implications. For he is sure to play in the ODIs on this tour, which - going by evidence so far - is more of his game. And Raina is a confidence player. His strength is to make the most of it when the going is good for him. If the management thinks Raina might not be up for it on a green, bouncy Test track, it will make absolute sense to look beyond him for the next two games. There is a World Cup in home conditions to follow after this testing tour, where they will want Raina to be at the top of his confidence.

Before coming to South Africa, Raina said, "To succeed in Tests, your temperament is more important than your technique. How you handle pressure situations and how you work your way out of trouble through grit and courage is also important." If he plays a further part in this series, Raina will need all that grit and courage, for the technique has already been found wanting.

Incoming Fifa vice-president Jim Boyce has told the BBC that he believes new FA chairman David Bernstein can help repair relations between the bodies.

Boyce, who replaces Geoff Thompson on Fifa's executive committee next year, says Bernstein's diplomacy will be key after the 2018 World Cup vote debacle.

England are a major force in world football and relationships with Fifa should be at a high level," he said.

"I'm sure Mr Bernstein will try to ensure that relationships do improve."

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has expressed his shock at the decision to overlook former Gunners vice-chairman David Dein for the role.

Dein played a key role in bringing Wenger to the club and worked alongside him until 2007 when he stepped down and Wenger believes his former colleague would have been the ideal choice to take the FA forward.

I was completely surprised and disappointed [by the FA's decision]," said Wenger.

"He would have offered a competent knowledge of football and international football. It is a disappointment."

England's failure to land the 2018 World Cup, garnering just two votes, led to much criticism of Fifa and its voting processing by England bid representatives, with bid chief executive Andy Anson calling on the world's major football associations to come together and put Fifa under pressure to reform.

But Irishman Boyce is confident the former Manchester City chairman, who sits on the boards of several companies including French Connection, Ted Baker and Blacks Leisure, can bring stability to the FA and improve England's standing within Fifa.

"Mr Bernstein says he is a diplomat and diplomatic relations are important," added Boyce.

Ricky Ponting is almost certain to take his place in the Boxing Day Test after batting without any obvious discomfort in the nets at the MCG. Ponting faced a bowling machine, throwdowns, and then a group of young net bowlers as he aimed to prove that he can lead Australia on Sunday, despite breaking the little finger on his left hand during the victory in Perth.

It will be a different challenge facing the likes of James Anderson and Chris Tremlett, but Ponting had little trouble against the net bowlers, pulling and driving without hindrance. Usman Khawaja, the New South Wales batsman, was at training on Thursday but is not likely to be required, although Ponting's finger has not healed enough for him to field in the cordon during the Test.

"He said it felt pretty good after facing some balls on the machines and facing the bowlers," the vice-captain Michael Clarke said. "We're all hopeful and confident. Unless they cut his finger off, it's going to be really hard to leave Punter out. He's going to have to wait until tomorrow to see how it pulls up after having a bat today. But he's pretty happy with how things went today.

"Ricky definitely won't field in slips. He'll probably field at mid-off or mid-on. As long as you're pretty close to seeing the line which the bowlers are bowling, it's probably better for the bowlers that Punt's there to be able to talk to them as well. He has fielded there plenty of times in one-day cricket so I don't think it makes much difference."

Should anything happen to exacerbate Ponting's finger problem during the match, Clarke could find himself pulling the reins out in the middle as the team's vice-captain. He also looms as a potential second spinner if the selectors decide to keep their four-man pace attack with Steven Smith as the main slow-bowling option, ahead of Michael Beer.

"The ball's coming out of my hand okay as well," Clarke said. "I've been bowling pretty well in the nets. I've been fit to bowl in every Test. Having Steve Smith in the team gives them that option as well. Conditions will play the biggest part there, they'll wait and see what the wicket is like tomorrow, I would imagine."

Ponting and Clarke are the two members of Australia's top order that most need to lift for Boxing Day, with the team having relied heavily on Michael Hussey, Shane Watson and Brad Haddin during the series. Clarke made 80 in the second innings in Adelaide, where he couldn't salvage a draw, and his other scores have been 9, 2, 4 and 20.

"It hasn't been great," Clarke said of his form. "I thought I batted pretty well in the second innings in Adelaide. I made 80-odd which is nice. I was disappointed to get out in the last over of the day there. I felt very good in the second innings in Perth as well. I feel like I'm doing all the work. I feel like I'm training hard and hopefully there's some runs coming for Christmas this year for me."