Oh I'd still have batted first, the pitch has flattened out a bit, and if you put Ponting in first under that much pressure you know damn sure he's going to get a hell of a score. If you bowl the wrong length on this pitch at the moment you will get punished. Plus, if we bowl on the first day then we have to use Swann earlier in the game than we would like, particularly as Johnson's left-arming will create rough for him outside the right-hander's off-stump, and with just the three seamers otherwise it would be a very trying day for us. No, I agree with Strauss's decision to bat. I just don't agree with his decision to play at that ball like that so early in the game!
