Reply With Quote......well it appears I may have spoken to soon!!
This isn't looking good, we need some wickets here.
......well it appears I may have spoken to soon!!
Any Australians out there with a ticket for the Oval that they won't be using?
Although no trees were harmed during the creation of this post, a large number of electrons were greatly inconvenienced.
ENGLAND HAVE WON THE ASHES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Still a shocking performance batting wise, but hey we won!!!!!
A win is a win! But they need to sort the batting out pronto before we arrive down under.
Bollocks. I missed most of it. I always miss most of the good stuff. I'm only around when they're losing, like yesterday. :( But great for them.
I think our top order need a bit of a slap - and I hope Root sorts himself out and isn't a one test wonder. He's young though, and maybe needs more Test experience.
What a day. I find low scoring tests terrifying - and this was no exception. Over the last couple of days, I've been convinced we'd win, lose, win, lose again. I left the office at 160ish for 3 and arrived at the pub (after a small detour) just as the last wicket fell. Utterly mad.
I really thought the Aussies would win after seeing "basher" Warner smashing the ball about and the runs going up but Bresnan saw to him. Good knock from Bresnan on the previous day too. Certainly earned his place.
Then a fantastic display of bowling from Broad skittled out most of the others for a nice English win.
To the Oval!
Cheers,
Neil.
Quote from the Beeb:
Anyone who writes off Oz will be severely bitten at some point. They have always been real fighters and always make for great games. Especially when they lose to us, of course.Australia have now lost seven of their last eight Tests, having been whitewashed 4-0 by India in March and losing the first two Ashes Tests before drawing the third at Old Trafford.
However, Clarke remains confident that they can improve,
Yeah I agree, the Aussies are not as bad as that run shows and they were not that far off winning at Durham.
I just hope their luck doesn't turn until after the tests in Australia!
OK, so the period of mourning is over, well played England. There was a post previously about England's ability snatch defeat from the jaws of victory... looks like Australia have taken up the mantle.
Using it? I'm looking forward to it. Win or loose, a day out at the cricket is great fun.Originally Posted by Backward point
Here we are, then. The final Test of the summer, and the chance for England to set themselves up nicely for the winter by winning 4-0.
Two changes for England, one enforced due to Tim Bresnan's injury. Not the expected change of bringing Chris Tremlett in, but Test debuts for Chris Woakes, who is probably a like-for-like Bresnan replacement in that he also offers some batting, and a second spinner in Simon Kerrigan, with Johnny Bairstow dropped. Luckily, Australia won the toss and elected to bat - facing Swann and a second spinner on a fourth or fifth day pitch wouldn't have appealed.
The other news has been made by Aussie coach Darren Lehmann. Perhaps surprisingly, as until now he's seemed quite a decent bloke, but he's ill-advisedly opened his trap on some third-rate Australian radio programme and openly criticised Stuart Broad for not walking during the Test before last.
This, from the coach of the team which includes David Warner. And Brad Haddin, who also didn't walk when he knew that he'd edged one but was given out on review.
Lehmann needs to understand that he's in the international spotlight and an ambassador for his country, and should not be seen to encourage the
lower forms of Australian life to throw tomatoes at an England cricketer at the Brisbane Test in November.
Back to the Oval, and Australia barely reached double figures before the unstable Warner edged one from Anderson through to Prior. Should be a good match.
Regards
Ian
Although no trees were harmed during the creation of this post, a large number of electrons were greatly inconvenienced.
I read Broad's interview on the BBC website. He has no regrets about not walking, unsurprisingly. He came across very well.
I remember when England beat Oz at rugby and the Austrailian judges had to pin second place medals on their own players. The judges were so livid they could barely manage it without thumping each guy. They're poor losers - something hopefully they'll learn to cope with for a few years to come!
Just because they (we) hate losing doesn't mean that they (we) are poor losers, I think they've (we've) been fairly reserved about the losses, but I'd agree that we are rarely gracious in defeat.
But as they say 'Show me a gracious loser & I'll show you a loser'
Quite right, definitely a need for some Australian sport diplomacy.
Send for Sir Les Patterson!
Cheers,
Neil.
The only man for the job!
Credit where it's due, Shane Watson has played beautifully so far, and taken the game to England. A bit of a worry when Broad hit him just below the helmet with a nasty lifter, but it doesn't appear to have stopped him, and as I write he's just got his century. Well played.
Although no trees were harmed during the creation of this post, a large number of electrons were greatly inconvenienced.
Is there a form of Australian life that's not low?
I knew this was all a little too civil.
Aussies had a good hard go and Shane Watson was excellent.
No need for that barge into Anderson though, showed a complete lack of class after his good work with the bat.
Hope the rain clears away today as it is showery around here at the moment.
Cheers,
Neil.
Seeing this yesterday I couldn't quite figure out what possessed Lehmann to fire this one out. Having thought about it last night it has taken a significant amount of media pressure off the Australian team & put Broad in the spotlight for the tour to OZ. Australia know that Broad is dangerous & to have him under pressure from both the Australian media & fans might cause him to falter. Could always backfire and cement the English team around him.
Last edited by damocook; 22nd August 2013 at 12:12.
Once an ocker, always an ocker. They don't like losing, and they don't like other sides using tricks they like to call their own. Some say they learned it from the best, but "Australian sporting arrogance" has always been a tautology for me. Just a shame they didn't get creamed 5-0 - oh well, next time ;).
...but what do I know; I don't even like watches!
It was a ridiculous thing to say TBH and unworthy of a national coach.
Just the sort of spur that some neanderthal might need to cause a bit of trouble when Broad and co are seen out and about in Oz.
Cheers,
Neil.
Not disagreeing, just trying to get my head around why he thought it was a good idea.
TBH I don't think he even thought about it before speaking.
It was one of those throw away type remarks that has been leapt upon by the media.
Probably the reason why most national coaches seem so measured and bland when being interviewed.
Cheers,
Neil.
Cos the Aussies are so well known for walking I guess
to the pub
Quote from Phil Tufnell,
"4-0 is 4-0 - you can't spin that, but if Australia only lose 3-1, they can go back and think 'well, we only lost narrowly at Trent Bridge and the rain stopped us at Old Trafford."
Very true... This game is nearly as important as the last 4.
With England's top order sorely lacking in runs I really doubt we'll save this match. The Oval often hosts high-scoring matches but even so.
England's selectors seem to have suffered from collective brain-fade, and the two new caps have been plundered for far too many runs and haven't threatened the Australian batsmen at all.
Kerrigan has been completely out of his depth. If England need a second spinner, they've got Joe Root or Kevin Pietersen. And why didn't they take the option of working over the opposition batsmen with a dose of Chris Tremlett? We didn't need to make it easy for them. Woakes hasn't caused any problems at all.
4-0 would have been an historic result to the series, and handed England a great morale boost for the return bout in only a few short months. Would Australia have let England off the hook if the series had gone the other way?
Unless Cook, Root and Trott can fire in the first innings, it looks as though the game is lost. The weather may dictate a draw and save us, but hopefully, lessons will be learned.
Although no trees were harmed during the creation of this post, a large number of electrons were greatly inconvenienced.
Why is it for the whole 40 years I've been watching TV cricket I expect England to lose a wicket with every ball they face?
Probably because for the last 40 years (with very few exceptions) England's batsmen have looked capable of throwing their wickets away.
Still, Cook and Root completed the trickiest part of the task and if we can bat through tomorrow it seems as though the weather gods may rain upon us on Saturday, so a draw should be on the cards. Australia's best hope is to bowl us out twice, and unless the wicket starts to crumble, that seems unlikely.
I'll be at the T20 at the Ageas Bowl next Thursday - anybody else going?
Although no trees were harmed during the creation of this post, a large number of electrons were greatly inconvenienced.
Why they kept insisting on Kerrigan and Woakes having a bowl is beyond me.
I realise Cook was trying to salvage Kerrigan's confidence but simultaneously throwing away the match.
Its going to be an uphill struggle.
Cheers,
Neil.
They've got to try out bowlers at the top level, to give them confidence. However these two don't look like the future of English bowling.
Unless the Aussies can bowl us out today, with the weather looking as it is I reckon a draw.
In the Durham Test the commentators were musing over Bresnan and rightly pointed out that while Onions could have bowled as well he would never have got the valuable runs Bresnan did. For me the days of 9,10 and 11 hardly knowing how to hold a bat should be over. We've seen from both teams so far how valuable tail-end runs can be.
Goodness, surprised no comments on today.
Looks really interesting.
I was thinking about a post....
I found it hard to believe that England wouldn't go for a famous victory by being the first team to win all the matches at home... and a draw of course.
They needed to do something to entertain all those who had spent money on tickets and not just bat out for a boring draw.
Brilliant cricket this, actually down to a one day scenario.
KP looks imperious .(please , not the kiss of death)
Well that was an absolute farce in the end
All been about the umpires this series so fitting they should end it... not.
What a load of tosh, how can you stop a game with 4 overs and 21 runs in it????
Grrr.. silly bloody law
Agreed. If this had been football they'd have lynched the umpires and trashed the ground.
Seeing the umpires getting booed as the collected their medals only for one of them to give the crowd a big wave with a cheesy grim was quite funny though.......
Because the Whinging Ausies told them to stop and save them. So funny to see them pleading to get it stopped, the new Ausie way I guess, big girls!
Bit rich of England to be complaining about the incident with the light when they've been on several go-slows during the series and also asked for and taken the light when offered, is it not?
The ICC are daft and useless but I have no sympathy with teams who take advantage of ICC weakness at other times, only to complain when it doesn't go their way.
They all do it. Whatever suits. Clarke opted for the quickie game and then complained when he looked as if Oz was going to lose.
It's frustrating but I don't think you can blame the umpires for not wishing to continue to play in the dark. It was a Test match, not a 2020 day/night match.
It was exquisite to see the Aussies desperate to scurry off and hide due to their inability to cope with a situation of their own making. Roll on Brisbane.
Umpires don't "offer" the light anymore. That rule has changed. These days they independently set a value when the light is low and when the meter reaches that reading again, they take the players off with no consultation.
They should have played on yesterday though, otherwise what are the lights at the Oval for?
I was at the Oval & it was a great day of cricket... felt sorry for the folks who went on Friday to watch the English bat like little girls.
Even with the stupid law on the light I am sure there was enough to have finished the game, common sense should have prevailed. I bet the Oz whingers would have wanted to stay on if there was 1 wicket or 20 runs to get.
Exciting day of play only for the Aussies to cak themselves at the end and beg for a light stoppage.
I'd have loved to have seen it go to the end and a 4 times win for England but there you are.
The old urn stays at home.
Cheers,
Neil.
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