Yep. Seen it so many times before. Just supposing we had declared, two things change. 1/ Aus then have a more attainable target to make us bat again; psychologically it makes a huge difference as opposed to chasing a lost cause. 2/ We had 2 men in, tired bowlers, on a 4th day pitch with an old ball meaning we could score at 8 an over at will. To get those same 70 runs against a new ball and a fresh attack would have taken twice as long (I know we didn’t ‘need’ them as it turned out). Plus, once the target becomes attainable to make us bat again, there’s always the chance that psychologically you might then end up chasing 100, or 120……
Spot on from strauss. 9.5/10 for captaincy right through. Less said about judgement of where his off stump is the better…..