He look a little nervy against the new ball but after that short spell once he got passed a hundred he looked as good as ever. He tried to avoid playing the shots that have been getting in trouble, and towards the end of the day he was playing those same shots with authority for four. I really hope this knock gets him back in touch and we have the old Strauss back; he's a great player on form.

Well played to both Bell and Strauss.  Bell looked really good out there.

I reckon they should give Strauss the chance to go for the 200 then declare when he gets it, or gets out.  An hour or so of extra fielding time won't do the Kiwis any favours.

why are we batting on?  i can understand in giving strauss time to score 200 but he's out so what is the point?  a 50 for panesar?

I could see the point in batting on with Strauss there but once he went then I would have declared.  Looks like we may have missed the overcast conditions and the chance to nick one or two out early.

Anderson bowling like a drain again.

Interesting discussion about the way Broad is holding the ball - using the cross seam grip. 

Used either when the ball is swinging too much or if the pitch is particularly dead.  The idea is that if you can hit the seam it may bounce unexpectedly, giving you a bit more of a chance of a wicket.

If New Zealand have to chase 552 then they've got the right start for it. But I don't think that going to happen as New Zealand don't have the depth in their batting lineup. I'd like to see their middle order contribute more.

Has the pitch improved or the batsmen started using their brain because the second innings scores have been much better for both teams. After England dropped Harmison they look like a changed side to me. They deserve credit for bouncing back after the pathetic first test.

It was inevitable that England would win after the crossed got a lead in excess of 400. NZ suffered a familiar collapse once Fleming was dismissed. Two good batsmen are batting but there is no chance in hell that they can make the remaining 331 runs.

Pitch has always been good, was a combination of good bowling and bad batting in the first innings.  Also, it seems that there is a little period of play in the morning when the sky is overcast which helps the fielding team.  Once the sun comes out then batting gets a lot easier.

Whilst it seems that we should win the match (you never can quite trust England to do the job, can you!), it seems that the NZ tour should be the end for a for players.

I really can't see Harmison coming back in unless he has a rip roaring county season and by that he has to be bowling fast (90 mph+ consistently) and taking a ton of wickets. 

It should be also be the end of Anderson as a test player (at least for a couple of years).  He'll remain within the OD squad but he is just too inconsistent for the test team.  You need someone you can rely on, not someone who might bowl 5 for 40 one game and then go for 6 an over in the next.  Maybe a few years back at Lancashire can sort him out.

On the batting front, despite his century I'm still not 100% convinced by Strauss and would want to see how he fares back at Middlesex.  Vaughn is also at a crossroads, as there is a ready made captain waiting in the wings (Collingwood, although not my first choice he seems to be the man in possession) and he is no longer able to turn his starts into big scores.  Again, lets see what the early part of the county season brings before writing him off though (and in any case, I can see him being there for the NZ tour at least and most probably through the summer). 

Do you reckon the matches that'll be played here in the UK in May will be covered by real tele (BBC or Channel 4 or maybe even Channel 5)?

You may get a highlights package somewhere but that's about it.  Sky has the rights for a few more years yet.

edit:  Channel 5 should be showing highlights between 7.15 and 8pm after the end of each days play.