[GeeGee]

To me, the huge difference between this year and last is Michael Vaughan. It's inspiration.

Geoff

I can't see us retaining the Ashes

[GeeGee]

nickf, on Nov 25 2006, 01:15 AM, said:

I'm furious at the english team, they may well spoil my summer. Honestly, there's no sport in dispatching minnows like this. I may take up shooting fish in a barrel. The english remind me of how Guus Hiddink described the Socceroos earlier this year, as comparable to "an enthusiastic 3rd Division Dutch team".

nickf
sydney

As a Middlesbrough supporter, I reckon this is a real insult to the Socceroos. At the last world cup, they were far better than a Dutch third division team. And far better than the performance of England in the last test.

Geoff, depressed

[jikl]

This might cheer all of you up a little:

McGrath is having a fitness this morning before the 2nd test. He is still suffering from blistering on his left heel (where there would normally be calluses if had been bowling his normal amount of overs) which is causing him a great deal of pain.

If McGrath misses, I am sure some parallels between the last series will be used to psyche the English team up. Remember last time England were easily beaten in the first test, then McGrath missed the next one.

Sean

[Walddk]

jikl, on Nov 30 2006, 08:53 PM, said:

Remember last time England were easily beaten in the first test, then McGrath missed the next one.

When he stepped on a ball during practise and twisted his ankle. Yes, we remember. But I wouldn't be too hopeful if I were an English team member. This is what McGrath said a short while ago:

"What I feel now, I've felt in other Tests and got through easily so, if it's up to me, I'm in. This is as good as I could have hoped and I'm really happy there. What we've done has worked. There's no problem."

Rocky Ponting is also hopeful of the veteran making a sufficient recovery, saying: "I said yesterday that you would probably have to amputate his foot for him not to play."

Roland

[the saint]

45 minutes befire start of play and I hear Monty isn't playing on a pitch that takes spin from day 2-3 onwards. Fletcher should be shot.

[Walddk]

the saint, on Dec 1 2006, 01:17 AM, said:

Fletcher should be shot.

Not until someone has told him that he is burned out and useless. I guess Jonathan Agnew already did when he wrote:

"England will be stronger with a twin-spin attack."

And Geoff Boycott did a month or so ago when he suggested that Fletcher steps down.

With this said, don't forget to blame Flintoff too. If he had insisted on having Monty on the team, even Fletcher would not have had his way.

Roland

[Walddk]

After Andrew Strauss threw his wicket away for the 3rd consecutive time:

"If I were Strauss now, I'd be stood in front of the mirror in the dressing room saying 'you stupid idiot'."
Geoff Boycott

[Walddk]

Breaking news from Australia. Duncan Fletcher has already named the team for the 3rd Test in Perth on December 14-18. No surprises really:

1. Ashley Giles (Captain)
2. Geraint Jones (1st officer)
3. Ashley Giles
4. Geraint Jones
5. Herman Fletcher (Duncan's cousin from Twit)
6. Ashley Giles
7. Geraint Jones
8. Heather Fletcher (Duncan's niece from Berwick-above-Twerp)
9. Ashley Giles
10. Oliver Fletcher (Duncan's uncle from Nuts)
11. Freddie Flintoff (wicket keeper)

BOSS: DUNCAN FLETCHER
3rd assistant water carrier: Monty Panesar.

I have given it some serious thought (6.3 seconds) and agree with the dictator: England could not possibly field a better team than this!

Roland

P.S. You could perhaps argue that Duncan's aunt Rosemary from Pathetic Town should have been included at the expense of Flintoff, but other than that I think Duncan is spot on.

[GeeGee]

I think you've missed out that Captain Mainwaring and Private Jones are contenders.

Geoff

Edit... Oops, that should of course be CORPORAL Jones. Credit where it is due.

This post has been edited by GeeGee: 2006-December-01, 11:27

[the saint]

266-3 COME ON!!! Now for a KP special this morning (of the good kind!)

[Walddk]

If I were Fletcher, I would declare. Why waste half an hour when you are all out for less than 300 anyway? That will also give Giles and Anderson the opportunity to bowl the Aussies out before lunch and enforce the follow-on most likely

Roland

[the saint]

551-6. Now it gets a little more interesting. Lets see how the Aussie batsmen do in the face of such a big total. Their decision to go in with only 4 bowlers is now looking a bit suspect in the light of the physical state of Warne and McGrath...

[Walddk]

Excellent batting by Collingwood and Pietersen and tired looking McGrath and Warne. England are in a healthy position, but I very much doubt that they have the bowlers to dismiss Australia twice on such a slow wicket.

Ponting is the key man, so if they can get him early on day 3, there is a glimmer of hope. However, to save my life I would put all my money on a draw.

Roland

P.S. Curious that KP got out on 158 for the third time in Test cricket! On the other hand, if this is the weakest part of your game, you should consider yourself lucky.

[the saint]

KP is going to do a few very special things before his time in cricket is over. As a Englishman, I can't wait.

There is another parallel with the last ashes. Although we got totally spanked in the 1st test both times, in each case it has been Pietersen's counterattack against the much vaunted Aussie bowling that has injected belief into England.

[the saint]

Looks like a draw - only Australia could realsistically win the match from here. And once again, Glenn McGrath's 5-0 statements look like a load of complete twaddle. Just one what if - what if the King of Spain had held on to Punter (as he should have done)...

[MickyB]

I know next to nothing about cricket, but I'm going to give my opinion anyway. Isn't that what internet forums are for?

Why weren't we more aggressive on day two? Looking at the run rate in 20/20 games, I'd have thought that we should have been able to slog a few more runs in that time, even if it meant being all out in the process.

Panesar not playing has probably cost us the match, having two bowlers who can take wickets would have been pretty useful. Then again, if we'd lost the toss or KP/Collingwood hadn't done so well we may well have been in a weaker position for having him in the team. I'd sure it would have been Monty in for Giles if they'd known that Giles was going to field like Monty.

What did people make of the run-out decision on day three? Ponting and Hussey were at the crease, I forget which one almost got the finger.

[jikl]

Both teams were wimps in the selection room for this test and this is why this will be a draw. There is a very slim chance that Australia can win the test but England cannot realistically win it.

The selection mistakes:

Australia

MacGill should have played for Australia, he may go for a few runs, but he gets wickets. Usually more than Warne when they are in the same team. However, to bring MacGill in means Michael Clarke would have been dropped, and perhaps Stuart Clark, so perhaps a good thing in the long run.

England

There is no doubt in anyone's mind that Giles can't bowl, especially against Australia; he is simply not a test bowler. Pietersen spun the ball more than Giles did and actually attacked the batsmen, all Giles did was try to contain.

Mat Runs HS BatAv 100 50 W BB BowlAv 5w Ct St

unfiltered 53 1394 59 20.80 0 4 141 5/57 40.12 5 32 0
filtered 8 226 59 16.14 0 1 18 4/101 55.00 0 7 0

Who has someone with a bowling average of 40 on their team? (filtered is against Australia) To claim he is an allrounder is just a waste of time. What I find absolutely unbelievable is that a test spinner with 141 wickets has never had a stumping!!! This should tell a story also.

Then there is Geraint Jones, he is not a test keeper; and his batting is not good enough to mitigate this. When Alec Stewart was keeping, his batting was good enough to make up for his deficiencies as a keeper.

This put England in something of a fix. Do they weaken their batting by dropping Giles and Jones to give them a chance to take 20 wickets? Unfortunately England took safety first as the option.

---

Now, don't get me wrong, England have played damn well during this test. There are question marks though. Why did Freddie only bowl 4 overs today, his last ball being bowled at 11:29am? Can they keep Anderson? Are they forced to keep Harmison and hope he comes good? Can they justify to anyone keeping Giles? And if they do drop Giles, is Jones up to keeping to someone that can spin the ball?

Australia has other question marks. Lee is clearly underperforming, as he has always done against England. Stuart Clark is a real find, is he now the first picked seamer? Perth takes considerable spin now, it is not a fast bowler's paradise. Perth is a more likely venue for 2 spinners than Adelaide now. Shane Watson is now fit apparently. What does this all add up to? I think Damien Martyn's career is over, Michael Clarke has taken his chance and done everything that could have been asked, his "useful" left-arm orthodox makes him a better prospect also, and then there is the age difference. I am guessing Martyn will be dropped for Watson and then a seamer will miss out. Who do you choose?

Stuart Clark
Glenn McGrath
Brett Lee

A tough choice, but realistically it should be one of Lee or McGrath.

---

It will be interesting to see what happens tomorrow on the last day, and even more interesting to see what happens in the selection rooms.

Sean

[the saint]

MickyB, on Dec 4 2006, 10:27 AM, said:

Ponting and Hussey were at the crease, I forget which one almost got the finger.

My quote of the Ashes so far along with Michael Holding's (pitch report at the start of the fifth day in Brisbane) 'Mike Atherton has got four fingers into a crack this morning and may be able to get his whole fist in later'.

[Al_U_Card]

And here I thought that Cricket was just something to do between sips of my cuppa.....(I have just ducked tyvm)

[Walddk]

What is there to say other than well done Australia and ?&¤¤!+/&** England. I recommend that the English players don't read Wednesday's tabloids.

England set a new (negative) world record. No team in history has lost after declaring on a higher total than England's 551-6 batting first in a Test.

Roland