Day Two of the First Ashes Test is well under way at the Gabba (Gabba Hey), and Australia have a commanding lead after declaring 602/9 earlier in the day ; Ricky Ponting (196) narrowly mising a double century. Three England wickets have fallen rather quickly, the first pair (Strauss and Cook) being bowled by Glenn McGrath. England are 50/3 at present with Kevin Pietersen facing Stuart Clark.

There’s been a bit of chit chat over the past two days about how U.S. based humanoids can follow the action. If you’re unwilling to pay DirectTV $99.95 for all 5 Tests (or pay a slightly lesser amount to LiveOnSports to watch streaming video on your PC), the following options should bring some version of ball-by-ball commentary to your home or cubicle :

1) ABC Radio (Australia) via Penguin Radio (Windows Media)
2) Radio Sport 1332 AM, Auckland, NZ (Windows Media)
3) CricketWorld Radio (Windows Media or Real Player). “Unofficial Commentary” which suggests they’re pulling a fast one on the rights holders.
4) Stan James Bookmaker (Windows Media). File under “last resort”

The BBC’s Test Match Special Coverage seems to be limited to those with UK based IP addresses. There are various schemes to access the Beeb’s restricted via proxy servers, but I’m getting a migraine thinking about it.