Andrew Strauss's Nail-biting Betrays the State of Play

In July 1934 the FBI finally caught up with their Public Enemy No1, John Dillinger, outside Chicago's Biograph Theater and gunned him down. It was a long and painful pursuit, like England's attempt to win an Ashes Test at Lord's. The last time that happened was summer 1934 and by the end here today it looked as if their Dillinger might escape again.

With Australia 287 for five, chasing 522 to win, the England captain, Andrew Strauss called a huddle. For several overs during Michael Clarke's 125 not out, and Brad Haddin's unbeaten 80, Strauss had been gnawing his fingernails. Convening an EGM as the umpires went off to fetch the new ball was his way of reminding the team that England would be chasing the phantom of a victory over Australia here for even longer than 75 summers unless someone produced something special.

It was not the full, heads-bowed scrum of 11 men in crisis but you could see the panic in Strauss's eyes. Clarke and Haddin were hacking away at what would be the biggest successful fourth-innings run chase in Test match history. Logically these huge targets are all in the mind. Australia scored 674 for six declared in Cardiff only last week. With benign conditions Andrew Flintoff bowling on one knee, and two days left to bat, was it really inconceivable Ricky Ponting's backs-to-the-wall gang would punish Strauss for his decision not to enforce the follow-on?

The 75-year hoodoo was unlikely to be erased without a fight. But no one here could have forecast that Australia, who were on the wrong end of three dubious umpiring decisions, would progress from 128 for five to the point where they went out to dine with a sporting chance of going to Edgbaston with a one-nil lead.

Hypotheticals are the enemies of serious analysis but many Australians were wondering where their side would be had Simon Katich, Phillip Hughes and Mike Hussey not lost their wickets to marginal or erroneous calls. The converse is that Clarke and Haddin might not have performed so valiantly had they come to the crease in different circumstances. You could argue that Australia's fight-back was ignited by rotten luck, or indignation, as Clarke assumed the leadership duties he will inherit one day from Ponting.

At least Marcus North and Ponting were definitively out. If Australians need a grievance to explain away Mitchell Johnson's erratic bowling and the deep technical flaws in Hughes' batting, they could cling to human error by the umpires in this fourth day's play.

What we needed was an Australian Didier Drogba to march on to the field in his flip-flops and shriek "it's a disgrace", into a Sky camera. Ponting is the closest the Ashes holders have to a Drogba but he confines himself to glares. Third umpires, though, will seem a grand idea down under after three decisions went against Ponting's suddenly ragged side. In October the ICC will roll out its Umpire Decision Review System (UDRS) to allow players to challenge verdicts they believe to be incorrect, as tennis players do, in a different form, with line calls at Wimbledon.

Katich fell to a no-ball from Andrew Flintoff that was missed. The bowler's lead foot landed beyond the crease before Australia's senior opener, who was on six, slashed it to Kevin Pietersen at gully.

Hughes' removal was the most contentious and is bound to provoke long-running Australian ire, because Ponting and co may suspect Strauss of claiming a catch he knew had bounced fractions of a second before it reached his fingers. The England captain had his digits under the cherry by the end but did it graze the grass first? It seemed to. Ponting certainly thought it might have and told Hughes not to walk until the possibility of a review had been discussed.

None came, in contrast to the Nathan Hauritz non-catch off Ravi Bopara yesterday, and Hughes traipsed off, with 17, as Australia slid to 34 for two. Not even Pointing could dispute the fall of his own bails when he dragged a Stuart Broad delivery on to his stumps. But the Hotspot monitor suggested no contact between bat and ball when Hussey wafted at a delivery from Graeme Swann and Paul Collingwood took the catch. Swann then bowled North, through the gate. Nothing to complain about this time.

But UDRS did seem a better idea by the end of play, even if there is confusion about which of the contentious dismissals could have been referred upstairs. Keep an eye out for angry Australians in sandals, looking for a camera to shout into.

Marginal umpiring decisions were not the root cause of Australia's disintegration in the first three days of this match. Until Clarke and Haddin laid on a manic Monday with a partnership of 185, Australia's batting had lacked the authority and bite of Cardiff and their bowling has been a tangle. There is pressure on them now to save Johnson from himself. Yesterday the new leader of the attack bowled full-toss wides and was in poorly disguised agony. Hughes, too, has run out of tutorial time in the unenviable role of taking over from Matthew Hayden at the age of 20.

Then again England's two match-winners, Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen, are lame, in the injury sense, and appear incapable of contributing fully in Birmingham, unless England are happy to field damaged players. First they have the Lord's ghost to gun down.