2009 Ashes

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6 for 370 - Haddin the man out.

Looks like a first-innings lead of 300 plus for the Aussies.


OOOOOOHHHHHH DEAAARRRRRRRRR!!!!

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All out 445.

A lead of 343.

Three days and one session to go.

Tufnell - "Tough couple of days at the office for England... Big knock for Bopara coming up..."

Wonderful opportunity for them to become heroes.

[ancienthibby]

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All out 445.

A lead of 343.

Three days and one session to go.

Tufnell - "Tough couple of days at the office for England... Big knock for Bopara coming up..."

Wonderful opportunity for them to become heroes.

So the Sassenachs are going to lose the last two Tests against the Aussies??

Wonderful, just wonderful!!

[--------]

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So the Sassenachs are going to lose the last two Tests against the Aussies??

Wonderful, just wonderful!!

Just caught the news.

Mr Kevin Gearey not quite as bumptious as he was last week.

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.... and from the looks of things he ain't going to re-inflate any time soon.

[Mikey]

They're dropping like flies.

Bopara's been Australia's man of the series

[ancienthibby]

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They're dropping like flies.

Bopara's been Australia's man of the series

74-4

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74-4

"I assure you, this ship is definitely unsinkable." (Captain Smith of 'Titanic', 11.00pm, 14th April 1912)

Blug, blug, blug......

[ancienthibby]

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"I assure you, this ship is definitely unsinkable." (Captain Smith of 'Titanic', 11.00pm, 14th April 1912)

Blug, blug, blug......

78-5

Ma sides are sair!!

Can some kind Aussie no end this agony!

Will they all be out before close?? - There should be no GBH on the Sabbath day!!

[Mibbes Aye]

Looks like Mitchell Johnson's back

The way things are going Brett Lee could miss out on the Oval- if Ponting wants a full-time spinner then two of the pace attack from this Test would have to drop down and that would be harsh.

Good to see Johnson bowling well though - potential to be a genuine all-rounder there.

[--------]

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78-5

Ma sides are sair!!

Can some kind Aussie no end this agony!

Will they all be out before close?? - There should be no GBH on the Sabbath day!!

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

Looks like Mitchell Johnson's back

The way things are going Brett Lee could miss out on the Oval- if Ponting wants a full-time spinner then two of the pace attack from this Test would have to drop down and that would be harsh.

Good to see Johnson bowling well though - potential to be a genuine all-rounder there.

Are they doing this deliberately?

"Well, guys, it was a bit boring last time, winning so easily, so let's give them a start and THEN hammer them...."

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Stumps.

England 261 behind.

5 wickets down, second innings.

"England can win without Float-off," said Onions....

[Mibbes Aye]

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Are they doing this deliberately?

"Well, guys, it was a bit boring last time, winning so easily, so let's give them a start and THEN hammer them...."

It's the beauty of a five-match series I suppose - it allows for every facet to potentially show itself.

England aren't awful as such - they have a few decent players and a few promising ones - but are woefully inconsistent and seem to lack a mental toughness.

Australia have been rebuilding from losing key players - not just any old players but literally some of the greatest the game has known - but also have a depth of talent that maybe isn't as great as their predecessors but who all know fine well that they have to fight like mad for their place otherwise they risk losing it.

Of the Aussie XI at Headingley probably only Ponting, Clarke and Haddin could consider themselves bulletproof for selection for the first Test back home against the Windies. Johnson's probably done enough as has North and I think Katich would be justifiably disappointed to lose out, but the other batsmen couldn't be entirely confident and there are far more bowlers in contention than places.

[Aubenas]

Reasons are obvious: contract your test players out of county cricket but let them play in 20/20 circuses where they either get injured or become sloggers. Then ask them to become mentally tough enough to concentrate in a 5 day Test Match.

P*** up, brewery and organise comes to mind.

[--------]

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Reasons are obvious: contract your test players out of county cricket but let them play in 20/20 circuses where they either get injured or become sloggers. Then ask them to become mentally tough enough to concentrate in a 5 day Test Match.

P*** up, brewery and organise comes to mind.

Just watched the highlights, and I'd say you're absolutely on the button.

Benaud: "Bowling is a matter of line and length." So Anderson and Co spray it all over the place and the Aussies take advantage.

Then Strauss and Cook reach 58 without loss, and Strauss (the captain, no less) basically gives away the store. They were moaning about Bopara's wicket, but there was little or no deflection, and the inside edge was about as fine as could be; the other dismissals were comedy cuts.

For years now questions have been raised about the effects of limited overs matches on Test cricketers. The funny thing is, other countries' players play ODI's and 20-20's and still manage to remember that it's different in a Test.

Benaud: "Bowling is a matter of line and length."

So very true, Richie. So very true. Unless you're an Englishman.

[Mibbes Aye]

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Just watched the highlights, and I'd say you're absolutely on the button.

Benaud: "Bowling is a matter of line and length." So Anderson and Co spray it all over the place and the Aussies take advantage.

Then Strauss and Cook reach 58 without loss, and Strauss (the captain, no less) basically gives away the store. They were moaning about Bopara's wicket, but there was little or no deflection, and the inside edge was about as fine as could be; the other dismissals were comedy cuts.

For years now questions have been raised about the effects of limited overs matches on Test cricketers. The funny thing is, other countries' players play ODI's and 20-20's and still manage to remember that it's different in a Test.

Benaud: "Bowling is a matter of line and length."

So very true, Richie. So very true. Unless you're an Englishman.

Didn't realise Richie Benaud was on the C5 highlights. Will give it a watch on their online thingie

Man's a genuine legend.

[Mibbes Aye]

Just watched the highlights from the 1st innings - Stuart Clark was bowling sublimely. Replacing Glenn McGrath is impossible but he comes as close as anyone normal could be expected to.

Line, length and then just enough deviation . Lovely stuff.

EDIT - I had listened to a large part of Ponting's innings but having just watched the highlights it does nothing but reinforce the sense that his batting can be beautiful. The attack he's facing is competent if not overly dangerous but his timing and range are outstanding and his pull shot is a masterclass.

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Just watched the highlights from the 1st innings - Stuart Clark was bowling sublimely. Replacing Glenn McGrath is impossible but he comes as close as anyone normal could be expected to.

Line, length and then just enough deviation . Lovely stuff.

EDIT - I had listened to a large part of Ponting's innings but having just watched the highlights it does nothing but reinforce the sense that his batting can be beautiful. The attack he's facing is competent if not overly dangerous but his timing and range are outstanding and his pull shot is a masterclass.

Clark is a very impressive bowler, but tonight Benaud was saying that Johnson is now just coming back to his best form. 'Not there yet' was the old boy's comment, which suggests that Australia will finally have a proper attack just in time for the (probably) deciding Oval Test.

Bowling's basically so simple, as you say: keep line and length, and get the ball moving in the air, off the pitch, use the seam. Do that consistently, and you get wickets. You don't have to be devious or clever. Harmison's a mess, sadly, and Anderson needs to sort out whatever's gone wrong with his action. Oh for the days of Chris Old, Bob Willis and Geoff Arnold, with Phil Edmondes and Derek Underwood as the spinners.

And I agree, Ricky Ponting's one of those batsmen who raise batting to the level of an art-form. But I think he can pack his pads away for the rest of this match. he won't need them again until the Oval.

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8-244.

Well, at least the deficit's down to double figures now.

Just as well some of the bowlers are better batsmen than the batsmen....

Broad and Swann put on 108 for the 8th wicket? Shurely shome mishtake....

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All out 259.

If it hadn't been for Broad and Swann, it would have been much, much worse.

Batsmen 3,4, and 5 for England all scored in single figures in each innings - first time ever in a test match and a pretty pathetic statistic.

Flintoff and Panesar back for the Oval - have to be.

[heretoday]

I'm sure Monty will be back as the Oval takes spin. The Aussies will have their man back too but who do they leave out? Probably Clark as he only came in for this test and looked a bit laboured at times.

I have a funny feeling England are going to win the Ashes. They will have to summon up the blood but they have the talent.

[Mibbes Aye]

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I'm sure Monty will be back as the Oval takes spin. The Aussies will have their man back too but who do they leave out? Probably Clark as he only came in for this test and looked a bit laboured at times.

I have a funny feeling England are going to win the Ashes. They will have to summon up the blood but they have the talent.

Think you will be right about Clark. I've got a lot of time for him but Hilfenhaus and Siddle have done little enough wrong, in fact I believe they are the only two bowlers from either side averaging below thirty at the moment. Johnson seems to have found his way again and it's hard to see Hauritz not getting the nod.

It's obviously not beyond England - the Oval can sometimes reward certain bowlers very heavily and who knows, Onions might suddenly discover he's writing his name into the history books.....

Throw in that Flintoff may return and the possibility of a pretty decent bat coming in for Bopara (Rob Key seems to be getting touted) and it's not outwith the realms of possibility. At the same time, Anderson looks like he's carrying an injury and as a bowling unit overall England just aren't performing well. Whereas of the Australian top seven, only Hussey is averaging under forty.

Given that England need the win rather than the draw my money would be nearer Australia at the moment. It's one match though and the pitch and the team selection will be crucial. Interesting piece on one site (might have been Cricinfo), highlighting that trying to prepare a dry and bare wicket would offer the best chance of a result, but given that Hauritz outbowled Swann and Monty combined in Cardiff, it might be the wrong result for England.

[--------]

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Think you will be right about Clark. I've got a lot of time for him but Hilfenhaus and Siddle have done little enough wrong, in fact I believe they are the only two bowlers from either side averaging below thirty at the moment. Johnson seems to have found his way again and it's hard to see Hauritz not getting the nod.

It's obviously not beyond England - the Oval can sometimes reward certain bowlers very heavily and who knows, Onions might suddenly discover he's writing his name into the history books.....

Throw in that Flintoff may return and the possibility of a pretty decent bat coming in for Bopara (Rob Key seems to be getting touted) and it's not outwith the realms of possibility. At the same time, Anderson looks like he's carrying an injury and as a bowling unit overall England just aren't performing well. Whereas of the Australian top seven, only Hussey is averaging under forty.

Given that England need the win rather than the draw my money would be nearer Australia at the moment. It's one match though and the pitch and the team selection will be crucial. Interesting piece on one site (might have been Cricinfo), highlighting that trying to prepare a dry and bare wicket would offer the best chance of a result, but given that Hauritz outbowled Swann and Monty combined in Cardiff, it might be the wrong result for England.

Alec Stewart was interviewed on TMS after the match today and was asked by Jon Agnew about this very topic.

AS replied that as captain he had only once asked a groundsman to prepare a specific type of wicket for an England Test - the one-off Test against Sri Lanka in 1998 - qt the Oval.

He asked for a dry, bare wicket. He got it.

That's the match in which Murali took 16 wickets for 220 runs (average 13.75!). Sri Lanka won by 10 wickets.

[Hibbyradge]

Given that our dislike of England isn't racist and is confined to our direct sporting rivalry at football and rugby, why do we want them to lose at cricket too?

[heretoday]

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Given that our dislike of England isn't racist and is confined to our direct sporting rivalry at football and rugby, why do we want them to lose at cricket too?

Aye there's the rub! England encompasses the UK of course - Mike Denness blah, blah.....

That's what I like about cricket. There is a certain ambiguity about it.

And the slowness of the game itself allows for philosophical whimsy, reading books, doing crosswords, drinking, eating, wandering about etc.

But nothing in sport can compare with the sight of a bowler like Michael Holding or Thommo in full flow, or Shane Warne setting them up and knocking them down. Or Lara on the front foot driving another boundary.

My old dad used to say it was the best game in the world.

Mind you, he played for Elgin City so perhaps his judgement can be called into question!

[GhostofBolivar]

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All out 259.

If it hadn't been for Broad and Swann, it would have been much, much worse.

Batsmen 3,4, and 5 for England all scored in single figures in each innings - first time ever in a test match and a pretty pathetic statistic.

Flintoff and Panesar back for the Oval - have to be.

Flintoff may not make it and Panesar... Well. Shane Warne keeps saying he's played 30 tests, but it's one test 30 times. I dunno if he's a matchwinner.

[--------]

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Given that our dislike of England isn't racist and is confined to our direct sporting rivalry at football and rugby, why do we want them to lose at cricket too?

When I first watched test cricket, I supported England/MCC regardless of who they were playing.

That, of course was in the days of Brian Johnson, John Arlott, Jim Laker and the like - gentlemen all.

Then the TCCB sold the TV rights to SKY and Channel 4, now Channel 5, and twerps like Mark Nicholas appeared on the scene.

The coverage and commentary changed from being measured, knowledgeable, and balanced, to being partisan and at times totally uniformative - the 'highlights' programmes for this series have been risible in their banality. Thank God for Richie Benaud - the last of the real commentators.

Sadly, even the BBC and TMS are being affected - I listened to the lunchtime discussion on TMS yesterday, and one of the Englishmen in the discussion actually said that Broad and Swann's wee flourish - too little, far too late - demonstrated 'parity' between the sides. The one Aussie on air exploded, "Have you seen the match stats?" and then pointed out quite rightly that B & S would have been extremely unlikely to have batted with such freedom if the match hadn't been already well done-and-dusted long before their arrival at the crease.

The way that the ECB have been using 'Jerusalem' to start each day's play, while showing that trailer of Floatoff allegedly rapping the ball off Australian face-guards, the encouragement of the crowd to abuse Ponting and other Australian batsmen, the hooray-Henries prematurely celebrating another 2005, aqll the bollox that went on in 2005 about the last Ashes win - which led directly to the total debacle in Australia in the following series - I just don't like it and won't support it.

Once upon a time cricket was presented in a calmer, more civilised way than football or rugby. The orcs have taken over, unfortunately, and I can't and won't support them.

Best case scenario, IMO, would be for Floatoff to pass a fitness test - just - on the morning of the first day, then break down in his second over having been hit for 18 off 8 balls, then take no further part in the match.

Great all-rounder - aye, right. Great all-rounder means Sobers, Botham, Imran, Kapil Dev or Hadlee. Floatoff's not fit to polish any one of those guys' Oliver Cromwell.

And when I think of Bedi, or Lance Gibbs, or Derek Underwood, or Shane Warne, or Murali....

Bring back Bob Key and Ashley Giles is what I say.

[heretoday]

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When I first watched test cricket, I supported England/MCC regardless of who they were playing.

That, of course was in the days of Brian Johnson, John Arlott, Jim Laker and the like - gentlemen all.

Then the TCCB sold the TV rights to SKY and Channel 4, now Channel 5, and twerps like Mark Nicholas appeared on the scene.

The coverage and commentary changed from being measured, knowledgeable, and balanced, to being partisan and at times totally uniformative - the 'highlights' programmes for this series have been risible in their banality. Thank God for Richie Benaud - the last of the real commentators.

Sadly, even the BBC and TMS are being affected - I listened to the lunchtime discussion on TMS yesterday, and one of the Englishmen in the discussion actually said that Broad and Swann's wee flourish - too little, far too late - demonstrated 'parity' between the sides. The one Aussie on air exploded, "Have you seen the match stats?" and then pointed out quite rightly that B & S would have been extremely unlikely to have batted with such freedom if the match hadn't been already well done-and-dusted long before their arrival at the crease.

The way that the ECB have been using 'Jerusalem' to start each day's play, while showing that trailer of Floatoff allegedly rapping the ball off Australian face-guards, the encouragement of the crowd to abuse Ponting and other Australian batsmen, the hooray-Henries prematurely celebrating another 2005, aqll the bollox that went on in 2005 about the last Ashes win - which led directly to the total debacle in Australia in the following series - I just don't like it and won't support it.

Once upon a time cricket was presented in a calmer, more civilised way than football or rugby. The orcs have taken over, unfortunately, and I can't and won't support them.

Best case scenario, IMO, would be for Floatoff to pass a fitness test - just - on the morning of the first day, then break down in his second over having been hit for 18 off 8 balls, then take no further part in the match.

Great all-rounder - aye, right. Great all-rounder means Sobers, Botham, Imran, Kapil Dev or Hadlee. Floatoff's not fit to polish any one of those guys' Oliver Cromwell.

And when I think of Bedi, or Lance Gibbs, or Derek Underwood, or Shane Warne, or Murali....

Bring back Bob Key and Ashley Giles is what I say.

There's a lot to take in here. I agree with your central point about the ruination of cricket since it's fallen into the hands of the Philistines but I have to say that times change and good old cricket has had to change too. You cannot get away from that.

You mention Sobers - well one of the bad sights of this recent era was him, Botham, Richards et al drooling over a big pile of 20/20 cash in front of the world's press. I thought:"This is it. If Sobers has surrendered then there is no hope."

Yesterday, Botham made a crass remark about the tailenders averages being better than the top bats. He is silly sometimes with, I think, a lot of chippyness about the powers-that-be or his own demons, whatever.

Mind you, England could do with him next week, or his fellow commentator Gower. What a batsman he was!

[--------]

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There's a lot to take in here. I agree with your central point about the ruination of cricket since it's fallen into the hands of the Philistines but I have to say that times change and good old cricket has had to change too. You cannot get away from that.

You mention Sobers - well one of the bad sights of this recent era was him, Botham, Richards et al drooling over a big pile of 20/20 cash in front of the world's press. I thought:"This is it. If Sobers has surrendered then there is no hope."

Yesterday, Botham made a crass remark about the tailenders averages being better than the top bats. He is silly sometimes with, I think, a lot of chippyness about the powers-that-be or his own demons, whatever.

Mind you, England could do with him next week, or his fellow commentator Gower. What a batsman he was!

Yup. That rather upset me, too. Although when one considers how little Sobers and Richards made from the game, despite their towering talents, it may be understandable.

I don't mind folks playing 20/20 and ODI's and so one, really. I got hooked on the game watching the old 40-over John Player League on Sunday afternoons on BBC2 with my dad. Then the 1972 Ashes Series (and a very patient, knowledgeable friend explaining things to me) converted me to Test cricket, and I've never looked back.

But I DON'T see that the game has to be presented in such a crass and obnoxious way. Bad enough the way this series has been sold - some of the comments from certain sources during past series against the Windies, India, Pakistan, Sri lanka (are you catching my drift?) have been less than palatable - nothing you can actually complain about, but just not quite 'right', if you know what I mean.

Mind you, when you think of some of the jolly japes people like WG Grace got up to in the 1880's and 1890's, I suppose the game's actually returning to its roots....

[PC Stamp]

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Given that our dislike of England isn't racist and is confined to our direct sporting rivalry at football and rugby, why do we want them to lose at cricket too?

Cos many of our ancestors got sent to Australia int' old days for being naughty?