250-5 after 73 overs, who would you say is on top at this stage?

It is pretty balanced. I think England need to get at least 350-400 and so they are on track for that, but they need Prior and Flintoff to stay together until the close. The pitch is already showing signs of spin, which could play into their hands after choosing two spinners.

How important was it for Pietersen and Collingwood to stay together throughout the afternoon session?

Very after a poor morning for England. They were wobbling at lunch, but Pietersen and Collingwood did well. It was attritional cricket with Ricky Ponting setting quite defensive fields and the scoring was slow, but the important thing was not to lose wickets in that session. It's just a shame that they both went after tea.

That was a silly shot Pietersen played against Nathan Hauritz to get out, wasn't it?

He will not be happy at all to get out like that when he was well set at the crease, but it was a clever wicket by Hauritz even though it looked a bad shot. Pietersen knew that he could score easy runs by sweeping down to fine leg where there was no man on the 45 to stop the single. But Hauritz tossed the ball that got him a little wider, which made the stroke harder. Really Pietersen should have pulled out of the shot.

Did England throw away their wickets in the morning?

Strauss was out to a good ball, but Cook's dismissal was a poor shot. Australia have done their homework on the top three. Ravi Bopara had an odd innings. He never really looked settled. Whether that was nerves or technical issues, I don't know, but he kept showing all his stumps to the bowlers and looked very loose. That is sure to have interested the Australia coaches.