Pressure on the Aussies. We should do fine. This is a pale shadow of recent great Aussie teams and we are decent now.

Its not like its the England players of old who could only play off the front foot. Todays England team are able to play well off the back foot as well. They should be able to deal with everything that is chucked at them. Better batsmen, much better bowlers and there is no contest in the field. Cannot see anything but a competitive draw or an England win!

Agreed, TB. They are not good enough and their selectors and newspapers know it.

The givaway is they don’t seem to know who their best players are. A famous old racehorse trainer said, “if you think you have 5 Derby winners in the yard then you haven’t got one” was right. Australia would seem to think they have 20 test class players to pick from ~clap

I hope it’s a draw and then get to watch us clinch it over Christmas.

started of well 167 for 5,~clap ~clap
just hope they can finished then of today.

179 for 6 looking good for the lads

208 – 8 about 20 mins ago – Well pleased for Tremlett.

Whilst we’ve all been staying up late to watch the cricket, Shane Warne has been getting up Hurley ~sick ~clap

~clap ~clap ~clap ~clap ~clap ~clap ~clap ~clap
Quality

Seen off the first dozen overs or so with the new ball and no losses although Strauss was lucky imo with a couple of balls. If Ponting had been standing where he should have been it would have dropped straight into his hands. There was one TV shot where you could see Ponting was at least a foot behind the line of the other slips and wicker keeper.

Personally, I would love to see us clinch it on this test, and then watch as we rub it in over Christmas!
In some respects I’m glad that there is not so much fishing at the moment, as I cannot resist staying up all night watching.

Word is Liz has a liking for Shane,s googlies ….

His wrong un off the wrist aint bad either apparently !

@Dodge wrote:

Word is Liz has a liking for Shane,s googlies ….

His wrong un off the wrist aint bad either apparently !

~clap ~clap ~clap ~clap ~clap ~clap
!!! HOW’S THAT’S!!!!

to win win a test match you need to ball a team out,the aussies can not ball england out there not good enough,ashes retained thankyou

Loads of googlies on here methinks.

Jimmy needs to ‘stick it up em’ a bit more now!

How many times in the last 2 years have we collapsed to totally change the momentum of a test series!

Depressed now!

I agree. All the momentum with us yesterday then overnight they have totally lost. Think that there might be a 1 -1 going into the Boxing Day match. 80,000 drunken Aussies baying for blood at Melbourne!

Still think if we can keep em to less than 300 lead that Johnson cant bowl that well again.

I hope that you are right Steve.

I have fond memories of the WACA. I used to go netting prawns in the Swan River right behind the ground there. It was a real family affair and loads of families did it. You had a long net attached to 2 poles and with wet suits on my brother and I walked up and down the river up to our necks. Every now and then we would get out and let the ladies and the kids sort out the catch. Great bait for the ‘brim’ that live in the river. They are like our black bream except more silver. Another time, I was watching one of the first day/night one dayers there about 20 years. I think it was India against the Aussies but cannot remember excatly. Anyway, I had the binoculars up to my eyes when I nearly got my head wrenched off. My 13 year old nephew had spotted a rather nice looking streaker come out of the crowd. Typical Aussie girl, blond, fit and very good body. Fortunately she ran almost straight over the ground so that was nice. Had a butterfly tattooed on her left butt!

That was an inspired spell by Johnson, I wish I hadn’t seen it! I feel the same as Steve, I don’t think it will happen again. Hopefully the boys will come out fresh in the morning and be just as inspired. We will then be batting on a 3rd and 4th day wicket probably chasing over 350 but I feel they can do it.

Is that where you learnt to teach fishing Waveney One! lol

Would love to see that Stewart, however I fear the game has gone.

We really need to tear through the remaining 7 Aussie wickets otherwise this is going to become very difficult on a wicket that will produce a result.

I hope Strauss gives our spinner more time v their tail enders. IMO their tail are hopeless v spin but can swing and have a go v pace.

It is developing into a true Clash of the Titans, but there can only be one winner – so is it Doctrove or Erasmus for the worst umpire in test cricket ?

The Aussies were always going to fight back and have a good couple of days sooner or later ….. will be an even better test series now !

sods law wins every time. as soon as our fantastic media start chirping about how invincable we are, up pop the ausies to piss in our snow lol

i nearly forgot~sick .

HAPPY CHRISTMAS TORYBOY.

Looks like the Aussies will square the series game on. If we did win it (I do not think we will with 2 of our best already down) it will rank as perhaps the greatest victory overseas ever?

There is rain due in 3 months,think it’s a bit too late to save us~think

Defining moment in this test was Kevin Pieterson asking for a new bat when he and Trott were steadying the innings against the new ball ….. 12th man brings on no less than three new bats , Pieterson picks a new one and is promptly out the very next ball …… Bizare !!!
Think we can safely say the Aussies are going to make it 1-1 ….. England have batted very poorly at Perth against a very average seam attack (Mitchell Johnson apart in this test)~think

Last two men out to shots they did not have to play.

Should make for an interesting series now.

Looking on the bright side, at least I don’t have to stay up all night watching it! Hopefully be fit for fishing……

Reasons to be Positive……

We have taken 20 wickets twice now with a 4 man attack. Although the 2nd innings was for 100 runs more than gave us a realistic chance of winning

We have a history of collapsing on Bouncy wickets of which this was the bounciest we will see this winter.

They’ve got more batsmen out of touch than us, including captain and Vice captain.

This England team is made of sterner stuff these days and although losing momentum half way through a series can’t be good we usually come back strong.

Still think we’ll retain but think it could be 2 all.

I would certainly push Bell up the order or at the very least do it on a match by match basis so say the openers fall early, I would bring Bell in. He is a fighter and an in form fighter at that.

That little urn is now ours~clap ~clap ~clap ~clap ……Aussies 98 all out,we are currently 110/0~clap ~clap ~clap

92,000 in ground,3/4 empty for England innings,mardy Aussies~naughty

157/0 at close of play, awesome start we just have to go for the throat now and they are done

Makes you wonder if the previous test was ‘on the level’ Chance of an Innings victory here.

We will never have a better chance of sealing the ashes series in Australia than this. Winning the toss was vital and our bowlers made the most of it ~clap ~clap

Australia are an average side , Hussey has held them together up to now ….. plus England batted woefully at the WACA. Still loads to do for England but its looking good ~clap ~clap ~clap

@Dodge wrote:

We will never have a better chance of sealing the ashes series in Australia than this. Winning the toss was vital and our bowlers made the most of it ~clap ~clap

I must admit to groaning out loud when I heard England were going to bowl after winning the toss. Especially as they said that the wicket would take spin in days 4 and 5. Whatever happened to, and I forget the exact quote or who said it but it went something like ” If you win the toss and think about bowling first, take a step back and a minute to review your decision then bat!”

We had the best of the bowling conditions today but the guys did really well.

Anyone hear Boycott on Radio 5 live Extra this morning before the match, I quote –

” England can’t win this match, I guarantee it, England can’t win”

Didn’t hear him apologise at stumps!

Can’t remember where I read it but I’m sure I saw somewhere that when the homeside win the toss at that ground they ALWAYS bowl first? Maybe the festive spirit made me read it wrong!

The Aussies would have bowled first too had they won the toss.

You could see the joy on Strauss’s face when he won the toss and Ponting couldnt hide his disappointment.

The forecast for tomorrow is cool (a high of 19C)with strong winds and showers. After that it is going to warm up high of 25C and be strong sunshine. Lets see how we face up to Mitchell Johnson tomorrow morning.

The only thing that will beat England is over confidence! This game is far from over!They need to put 350 ish on the board and put them in again asap! The morning session will again be key- if Strauss and cook can hold firm until lunch I really do think we will we can win convincingly!

C’mon England!!!

Yepp i agree with budnudd. 300 plus lead a priority then watch the aussies crumble under the pressure …… i hope lol

I started to feel a little more confident during the aftermath of the Perth test when Ian Chappel described the Aussie bowlers as ‘A fast Bowling Cartel!’

In all fairness to GB he’s been bang on up until last night. He said 268 was too many in The first innings at Perth and was right.

The most convincing and satisfying first day I’ve ever seen as an England supporter. If we can survive another hour this morning without a wicket falling the aussie bowlers will fall apart…… and I hope siddel goes at 6 an over!

I too despise Siddell- moron!

As a Yorkshireman- it was great to see Bresnan chipping in with 2 wickets!~clap

a lead of 342 and counting, with 3 days left. The Aussies are in deep deep dodo

They will be chasing a lot more, I cannot see Strauss declaring yet. With three days left he will bat on putting it well beyond them, still leaving loads of time to bowl them out. Personally I think it is beyond the Aussies already! It doesn’t worry me one iota people saying this is a sub standard Aussie team. They are Australia and our boys are performing brilliantly, it’s great to see them doing it in their own back yard.
It’s coming home, its coming home………………………………

Mr Ponting will be in trouble I daresay for his petulance

That outburst will probably be the nail in the coffin for Capt Ponting. The question is will he go before the end of the series?

Well I hope that he does play in Sydney. He is so out of form that it is just possible that if they left him out or he gets a ban they would bring someone in who could score a few runs!

At the end of the day you can only play against the opposition that is put up against you. England seem to be doing that quite successfully. Winning is a confidence thing, doesn’t matter whether it is a fishing match or a Test match. England have got the confidence to win this match and Sydney. ~clap ~clap

How many Aussies will there be there tomorrow? maybe MTB could let us know the odds for less than 25,000.

It’s funny how the Aussies always throw the ‘Whinging Pom’ insult at us when they are the epitomy of the term whinging.

We got a break with priors no ball dismissal because they were picking us off at the time. Brilliant umpiring from the best imho but it would have been easy to let it go. They deserved that for pontings rant.

i just hope pontings there to the end just to make the arrogant twat suffer then use him for livebait for great whites after we pick up the little urn

Here Here Rob!

So impressed with our bowlers. Reserves ready to go when called upon and creating selection headaches……very professional unit.

Gotta get down and make it 3-1 now. 2-2 would not be a true reflection.

early night…..hooragh!!

we have better batsmen, bowlers and fielders. Granted the Aussies are not what they used to be but this England team would have given any Aussie team of the past 20 years a good challenge.
Why are you worried about the future of test cricket Rob??

Well Done Men of England (oh and South Africa) and to the Barmy Army, top singing !!

Test cricket is certainly under pressure although as long as the TV want it I feel there are enough people in the game who want to keep it.

test cricket is like a lot of other things in life now, a victim of the faster now now now culture.
crash bang wallop fits in very nicely however trying to teach young people the value of a forward defensive stroke is like trying to make them enjoy playing with marbles or throwing a coin closest to a wall.

i intend to enjoy it while it lasts after so many years of painful aussie torture watching thir demise gives me a semi every time ~clap

KP needs to concentrate on his batting. I know he made the double century but I cannot help watching him and thinking you can do far far better. I hate the way he fidgets re his stance pre delivery.

Let his batting do the talking. Keep his mouth closed off the cricket pitch.

KP is like a lot of others in many sports and I include anglers in this. He is a brilliant cricketer, because he is very talented he thinks everything he says is right. Wrong, he would be better letting his bat do the talking.

There is one correct thing in the Telegraph article – England would never have won if he was still captain. Best to read and just ignore the rubbish!

Here we go again ~naughty ~naughty

England have just retained the Ashes down under and some people are having a dig at the very players who made that possible !

HOW SAD ARE YOU ~naughty ~naughty

It all starts again tonight – Anyone got any thoughts?

For me, it is an England win by 250+ runs after we bat first and the wicket turns on days 4 maybe 5 (that would make a nice change, 5 days cricket in a test match!). Swann to do a 5for !

Whdt time does it start. Can’t find it ob sky sports?

I’m a little confused all the fixtures say this match starts on 2nd Jan. But its not listed on Sky Sports until tommorrow (Monday) night~think Never mind, fishing in the morning so I don’t want to be up all night watching us bashing up the Aussies!

Starts tomorrow night lads 10:30pm

I hope we win. Far better to win the series 3-1 and retain the ashes.

My apologies for misleading you guys. It all starts again tonight. Yes, 3 – 1 would be great but I would settle for 2 – 1.

It will be interesting to watch this new Aussie kid Michael Beer, who has never even been in the ground let alone play for Oz, or a test match.
Personally i hope we put him in every stand possible, again and again and again!
Barmy Army!
Come on England, bring the pot home with a 3-1 win ~clap

I think I just got my days mixed up! I’m bad enough normally but with all these bank holidays!

I’m going for an England win so 3 – 1 wish I was there!

it’ll be a drawer and an end up as an England win 2-1~clap

England will batter the aussies.Micheal beer is a poor bowler that would struggle to get in most county teams he has only played something like 7 first class games hauritz is a much better bowler but his face obviously doesn’t fit with the selectors.And the bloke they have got to replace Ponting god only knows what he will be like personally i would’ve played Cameron White as he has got international experience.I hope Swanny rips them to bits be nice for a Northampton lad to win the test for us COME ON ENGLAND!!!!!!

Gut feeling it’ll be a rain affected draw, hope Im wrong, obviously!

The strip is very green, it’s overcast so yeah you’d expect Jimmy to get plenty of movement! If we can knock a couple of wickets over early doors..

Just hope the weather behaves!

Unless it starts turning big the wicket is too slow / even to offer much to bowlers. Lamest wicket so far.

The woman that sang ‘Advance Australia Fair’ was very nice!!

I hope this doest end up like Perth. We really need to get 350 min on the board, just hope we don’t see a Johnson inspired collapse.

Once again it’s about seeing the first 2hrs out and then kicking on, cook for a 150? Fingers crossed!

Could be worth staying up for an hour. In my opinion if Cooky gets another 150+ then we will win. If he is out in the first hour or so and Collingwood misses out again then it could be very dodgy.

I just do not think the pitch offers much Rob and that perhaps includes for the batsman. I think the Aus tail wagged shows it is a fairly harmless wicket that the batsman tend to give their wickets up as opposed to a brilliant or unplayable ball.

I just hope we get ourselves a decent first innings lead.

200+ in front now. This can only go two ways now either Australia manage to get a draw or we win. Either way we will have won the Ashes.

according to local weather reports, tomorrow is going to be overcast and cloudy, so with a bit of luck Anderson 1 end wobbling the ball all over the place and Swanny the other on a day 4 pitch, we should be good for the win..!!

Let’s hope that it stays dry and we don’t lose any time. I cannot see Australia recovering from where they find themselves now. Sat up with the TV until Cook got his hundred.

I must admit the ‘catch’ that they appealed for when he was on 99 was nothing short of disgusting! They don’t deserve a thing and they didn’t even clap him back to the shed when they finally got him.

“The fielders were reduced to fetchers. The bowlers might as well have been lobbing mangoes, up they tossed, splat went the bat”.

Quality comment on Cricinfo from one of the Aussie journos !

I think England need 300 to 320 lead.

Ton up!! Howzat!

I see bell managed to find a way around the review system to spice things up further.

The Aussies did not like that one bit CM. It had the Aussie crowd booing like crazy!
Aleem Dhar (sp)? the umpire overturned his own decision. On Radio 4 commentry, they were saying that he went down the wicket to confer, prior to asking for the appeal and that England are now using the appeal system alot better out in the field.

Not sure if it was on Sky or TMS where someone (Boycott on TMS perhaps) suggested that batsman backing up should check for a ‘no-ball’ scenario on each delivery and if they spotted one to point it out to the standing umpire. Not sure that I agree with that at all.

i’m sure with the way technology is they should be able to put some kind of pressure pad under the pitch to indicate where the bowlers foot has landed like they do with line faults at tennis~think
cricket is very good at embracing technology,i like that a lot as it takes the pressure off umpires somewhat.
i have no idea how they get so much right with one live speed stab at it.

I think tennis use the Hawk Eye system that is used in cricket. The problem with using some form of pressure plate is that it would have an effect on the pitch. It would also be very difficult to place a pressure pad as bowlers have various lines and some bowl well short of the line while others use as much as possible.

I think the problem is the way Bell used the referral system, it was designed to get rid of the awful decisions. Not to take a gamble with and hope the nick wont show on hot spot.

I didn’t see it live so forgive my ignorance but didn’t ‘snicko’ show that a noise occurred when the ball went past the edge? Was he given not out because ‘hot spot’ over rules snicko’?

I think Bell was out but I guess you can’t moan when luck goes your way!

As regards the no-ball issue, pressure pads would not work at all. The reason is that part of the bowlers foot must be behind the line, however it does NOT need to be grounded behind the line.

Nothing wrong with Bell’s referal either, he said he didn’t feel a nick and hotspot backed him up. Snicko appeared to show a different scenario, however snicko has never been a part of UDRS so that is irrelevant.

All pure and simple whinging on the part of the Aussies.

I think we all know Bell was out, he used the system to see if he could get away with it and it worked. Sadly that isnt why the system is there though. You could say Bell used the tools available to him, personally i’m not sure its in the spirit of the game. Then again the spirit of the game seemed to disappear years ago.
As for Hughes catch in Cookes interview he said that Hughes said straight away he wasnt sure if he’d caught it or not. Obviously he hadnt but claiming catches that never were is nothing new either.

Exactly what I thought Steve.

I think the Aussies would be moaning a lot more had it not been for the Hughes bounce catch.

Good stuff though. Liked Clarkes comments afterwards thinking the Aussies could still win the test!

Exactly what I thought Steve.

I think the Aussies would be moaning a lot more had it not been for the Hughes bounce catch.

Good stuff though. Liked Clarkes comments afterwards thinking the Aussies could still win the test!

@carpmagic wrote:

As for Hughes catch in Cookes interview he said that Hughes said straight away he wasnt sure if he’d caught it or not. Obviously he hadnt but claiming catches that never were is nothing new either.

“Wasn’t sure”? He KNEW he hadn’t and so did Haddin and they still tried it on anyway.

As for Bell, it’s a bit like Area Bombing in WW2, I don’t like it in principle but they started it i.e. if you can stay there then stay there. Ponting right from the start said he never wanted to see his players Walk (as did Border incidentally).

Remember the Atherton anecdote? Having been caught off a clear edge he stayed put and the umpire never moved. Healey threw in his tuppence worth as usual, “I thought you Poms walked!”. Atherton leaned casually on his bat and drawled, “When in Rome old boy, when in Rome…….”

I dont disagree but they arent the first to do it either and wont be the last. It has crept more and more into the game over the last few years. As for not walking then noone is likely to anymore with the referral system being in place. As Bell showed it gives you the opportunity to get away with one. I’m not condoning the Australians in anyway, its just that we arent exactly innocent in these matters either. I can still remember when collingwood insisted on the New zealand batsman being given out a few years back after our bowler flattened him. Hardly in the spirit of the game as they say.

I think we now have to accept thats how cricket is and like it or dont watch it. Strauss also claimed a catch that replays showed bounced in the 2009 ashes. As i said I’m no australian fan but we arent whiter than white either.

On the subject of actual cricket, how poor are Australia, as good as we are they are truly woeful. Should be more of a test when the Indians come across, even though they dont have a reputation for travelling well.

As I said I don’t like it. I’ve played snooker to a reasonable level and I have to say cheating was virtually unheard of and on the couple of times I saw it, it was straightened out very quickly.

Regards the Aussies, I don’t think they are that bad, I just think we have turned into them in that there are always one or two who will p**s on the oppositions chips when the going gets tough. It’s easy to forget but I can think of occassions when they were 94-4 or whatever and then a Waugh, Taylor, Boon or whoever would dig in and next thing you knew it was 400 odd-5. Even when they were in the poo they could throw the ball to “you know who” who’d proceed to hypnotise the entire England team (Adelaide 2006 *shudder*). Did anyone else see that bit on Sky where he was doing a bit of informal coaching in the nets at Melbourne (with Panesar I think) and dressed in suit and formal shoes sent a demo ball down to illustrate his point? It turned about 2 foot! Thank feck he’s retired I say…..

An aussie I used to work with has now rejoined the bank I work for and is now based in Sydney and to be fair I haven’t rubbed it in…… much lol. But you have to look at the players they have had and the number of truly GREAT players who have retired in the last few years to realise why they have a problem. I don’t think the current crop deserve the vitriol that’s being poured on them by the aussie press and public. I just wish they’d do what we did with the Waughs, Wessels, Taylors, Pontings, Boons et al and enjoy Cook, Bell, Anderson and Strauss for the cricket they’re playing. They are bad winners but they are a bl**dy site worse losers.

As another aside, how would the great Aussie sides we’ve seen measure up Englands other great nemesis, the West Indies of the mid70’s to mid 80’s?

Woeful yes, pity for them? Oh no!! Just think of the sides we’ve taken over there, over the years.. dreadful so this is our turn. Gotta be very rare when 2 sides are at the top of their game and play each other, 2005 maybe the exception?? Unbelievable series!

We are going to pan them 3-1, sit back and enjoy it lads, you never know what’s round the corner.

@Katarino wrote:

As another aside, how would the great Aussie sides we’ve seen measure up Englands other great nemesis, the West Indies of the mid70’s to mid 80’s?

I have seen a LOT of cricket and imo nobody but nobody compares to those West Indies lads, Haynes,Greenedge,Richards,Lloyd,Holding,Garner,Marshall,Roberts.

I am sure they won about 20-30 test matches in a row, they were totally unbeatable for about 10-15 years

I don’t think our sides were that bad mate, they were just bloody brilliant….. now they’re just ordinary again which incidentally is better at their jobs than most of us can ever imagine.

Another anecdote: When I first started work the firm I worked for used to employ a lot of university undergraduates as van drivers. Even once they’d got their degrees plenty of them still used to work holidays etc. as a lot of them went into teaching. One of them, who I will call ‘Martin’ and who is the source of this really fancied himself as a cricketer and his first job was teaching at a ‘good’ Essex comp. One of the highlights of the year was a Parents vs Teachers cricket match, all very friendly, everyone had to bat 2 overs (unless out) and bowl 2 overs, Social, but apparently the parents always won. Martin is having none of this and insists it’s PLAY TO WIN.

Come the day it’s all going well with him as skipper and the teachers are in control when ‘Keith’ comes in to bat at no. 9. Martin attempts to set field positions but everyone ignores him and goes to the boundary. 2 overs and 48 runs later ‘Keith’ returns to the pavillion and starts necking a few pints. Martin said it was the only time he’d ever fielded and found the ball actually accelerating towards him as it reached the boundary.

As ‘Keith’ departed a shell shocked Martin asked one of the other teachers who he was, “Keith? Oh, that’s Tara Fletchers’ dad, Keith Fletcher. Didn’t you know?….” 😉

@paul1962 wrote:

I have seen a LOT of cricket and imo nobody but nobody compares to those West Indies lads, Haynes,Greenedge,Richards,Lloyd,Holding,Garner,Marshall,Roberts.

I am sure they won about 20-30 test matches in a row, they were totally unbeatable for about 10-15 years

You remember Gower declaring at 350+ ahead at lunch on the final day in a ‘safe’ position?
Then Mr Greenedge arrived…..

and that one in the 70’s when Michael Holding decided he wanted to kill Brian Close and John Edrich in the space of 10 overs? No helmets either, I really admired both of them ever after for that one session.

Both fantastic teams with no difference bar spin.

Collingwood has made a good call IMO. Great way to go out and ‘on your own terms’

I never thought the Aussies ever really appreciated just how good Warne was. Some of the footage on youtube will still be being watched in 100 years time. The ball to Strauss at Edgbaston in 2005 is spinning so hard it actually kicks up dirt!

One in a lifetime Warne

I can see this test ending in a draw unless Aus capitulate. A decent team should be able to bat all day and the day after on this pitch.

And another Ton!

Ever seen the film Scum? The kid in the greenhouse? That’s the Aussie cricket team that is…… ~clap ~clap ~clap ~clap ~clap

One side of me would like to see Swann have a thrash as well and ramp 700 up them but the other says get to 600 and make them ‘ave it!

it’s getting funny now…….

Getting hysterical now.

20 off the over…

I should go to bed but I’m laughing too much….

What a great day in the field for England.

I am not sure Collingwood has made the right call. Personally I have serious doubts about him captaining the one dayers as he is in such crap form. He almost looked scared at the crease the other day!

What we can’t afford is letting them back into it with the one dayers and T/20. Kick them whilst they are down is my opinion and keep them there.

I am not old enough to remember the great West Indies side, but the Aussies have been phenomenal for the last 15 years. Warne, McGrath and Gilchrist would be in any All Time Greatest XI, which is remarkable when you think that they were all in the same team. With those guys backed up with the likes of Ponting (probably also close to most All Time XIs) and Hayden & Langer (second most susccesful opening partnership ever). You only have to look at the quality of the guys who were never able to establish themselves in the side – Michael Bevan (arguably greatest one-day player of all time) never got a look in; Stuart MacGill (second best leg spinner of all time) waiting in the wings behind Warne… I could go on!

But these guys have now gone, and the next generation are not as good (not really surprising!) There are still some exceptional players in the Australian team, but luckily for us, their key batsmen have not produced (particularly Clarke and Ponting) and their bowlers have looked forlorn ever since the first day of the series (outstanding spells by Johnson at the WACA and Siddle at the MCG excepted). As such, I am going to enjoy every minute of this! I sit next to an Aussie at work so am gloating insufferably! He said to me this morning, “you’ve got to feel sorry for Ponting,” in response to which I detailed precisely why one does not have to, and why no-one should! I don’t remember too much sympathy coming our way when Warne was bowling the ball of the century, or McGrath was taking 8 for 38, or when Gilchrist was smashing a 57-ball century…

Waveney, Colly is only the T20 captain, not in the 50 over stuff mate.

And by the way Carpmagic, there is absolutely no comparison between the Hughes debacle and the Strauss catch incident that you have dragged up from 2009. The Hughes one nearly bounced over his hands it was so obvious ! Be in no doubt that he knew 100% the ball had not carried.

In the case of the Bell referal, there is no discernible edge in ultramotion and nothing whatsoever on hotspot. If there was an edge, as suggested later by snicko, it must have been a tiny feather and you don’t always feel those. He would have looked a real mug to have refered unsuccessfully, with the bat being so far away from pad and body. Maybe Bell got lucky but I am prepared to accept, being the player he is, that he referred in all good faith.

Technology is there simply to try and get more decision correct and in that respect, whilst not perfect, it is working. It is a reflection on umpiring as well as sportsmanship, there are some brilliant umpires out there like Dar, Taufel and Gunner Gould (unbelievable decision in real time the other day on the Harbhajan stump-flick incident) and also some who aren’t up to scratch (Hill, Erasmus, Doctrove and Davis come to mind).

Gary, I agree with your sentiments, have some Aussie family myself and they have never been shy to let us know how poor us Poms have been over the years !

One small point re Bevan, great one day batsman but never made it in the longer form of the game as he couldn’t handle the short pitched ball. I think a better example of a batsman who couldn’t force his way in despite enormous talent would be somebody like Stuart Law.

Daddy B – agreed re: Law and point taken re: Bevan, although it didn’t stop him scoring runs at a phenomenal rate for Yorkshire in the County Championship!

For anyone that has not been reading these throughout the series, treat yourself for the last couple of days. Tom Fordyce’s blog on the BBC – the best journalism to come out of this Ashes series by far:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/tomfordyce/2011/01/everyone_likes_a_happy_ending.html

Very good blog Gary, particularly his assesments of the Hughes and Bell incidents.

Steve, I completely agree. Everything he rights seems to be very measured – not getting carried away with cricketing trivialities (like some journos do), but still generous in praise with regard to genuinely impressive achievements. I look forward to reading it every day and will have a 10 minute window to fill at about 11am after tomorrow!

As a glorious campaign comes to a close I will miss the Barmies’ singing. This is my personal favourite, to the tune of “Little by Little”, by Oasis:

“Siddle by Siddle
You bowled us everything we ever dreamed of

Siddle by Siddle
The wheels of your team are slowly falling off

Siddle by Siddle
You always bowl a ball that goes for 4

And all the time
Ponting asks himself why are you really here ?”

---

How could anyone not enjoy playing in front of travelling support like ours ?

Nobody has mentioned how well Chris Tremlett has bowled after coming into the side after Stuart Broads injury. A sensational contribution by him proving England have another world class fast bowler ~clap ~clap

Wonderful Stuff….well done England!

I thought this was a good piece of journalism…..Not!!

Dated Nov 19th

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/cricket/reasons-why-poms-wont-win/story-e6frey50-1225955985591

Here are some of what the Aussie papers are saying – FEEL THE PAIN!!!!!!!!!!! Love it – Well Done England.

Matt Prior made quick work of his century, and Andrew Webster writes in the Herald Sun: “As England keeper Matt Prior pranced about the SCG after scoring another century, and “Gentle” Ben Hilfenhaus bowled so poorly he must have wished he could be transported back to his former life as a bricklayer, this was torture. Actually, it was such slow, painful torture that you wondered whether this is what it must be like to be squeezed to death by a boa constrictor. On the wicket on which England made more than 600 runs, Australia managed fewer than 300. On the wicket on which England’s bowlers swung the ball wildly yesterday, Australia produced scant or no venom. It has been the story of the series. The 3-1 result will flatter Australia.”

The same paper’s Will Swanton reckons that a Ben Hilfenhaus delivery in the bowler’s 38th over will go down as one of the worst ever: “The ball slipped, nearly hit his left boot, Razzaq-style, and slinked away on the off side as if it was as embarrassed as the hard-working but defeated bloke who had delivered it.”

In an article titled “An embarrassment of historic proportions” Jamie Pandaram of the Sydney Morning Herald is dismayed by the dramatic slide in Aussie cricket since the last Ashes series “The worst Australian team ever fielded for an Ashes series will today watch England celebrate a 3-1 victory at the SCG in the knowledge they are the first side wearing baggy greens to have lost three Tests by more than an innings in a single series. Few could have imagined that such a gulf in class between the sides would be exposed at the conclusion of the 2010-11 Ashes, or that Australian cricket would be in its deepest crisis since the Packer revolution.”

Peter Roebuck from the same paper got poetical in his attempts to understand England’s dominance in this series: “The Poms have dished out a fearful drubbing. Apart from one blip in Perth they have overpowered a lacklustre host. It has been the slaughter of the guilty. England’s long-suffering supporters bellowed and sang and roared as each wicket fell on a gaudy afternoon in Sydney. Locals had to grin and bear it. Red faces in the morning were followed by destruction in the afternoon. England appeared to be playing on a different pitch. When they batted the track was as placid as celery. Between innings the curator moved the poles, and the deck had more kick than an affronted colt.”

In The Australian, chief cricket writer Malcolm Conn bemoaned the apparent organisational failures in the country for its continuing humiliating performance: “That Michael Beer can be a club cricketer in Victoria last season, play a few nondescript games for Western Australia and suddenly become Australia’s 10th spinner since Shane Warne retired four years ago highlights much of what is wrong. Where is the process, the planning, the production of the next generation through elite under-aged competitions, state academies and the national academy in Brisbane?”

OOOooops!

Do we feel sorry for them – not bloody likely!!

Errrrrrrrrrrrrrmmmmmmmmm – NO! ~clap

What do you call an Australian with a century to his name?

– A bowler

What do you call an Aussie who catches something?

– An angler

Why don’t Australian Batsmen wear sunscreen?

– Because they are never out out there long enough.

What do you call an Australian with a bottle of champagne?

– A waiter

i thought the best players for australia were the groundsmen.
how they managed to take swann more or less out of the game was genius (mmm pitches did’nt have grass on em when warny was in charge did they) shame our excellent seamers destroyed them instead~clap

I have to say I would give the WI the edge over Aus in terms of great teams. The WI had the best batsman in the two eras, Viv Richards and they had the better all round pace attack. Whatsmore, the WI pace attack at its peak put the fear of God into batsmen who regularly got hurt such was their hostility. Aus obviously have the best spinner in Warney and probably another dozen better spinners than the WI across the 2 eras. IIRC, Roger Harper was the only WI spinner and he was poor.

An interesting world wide poll but run by the SMH in Aus picked its all time world best one day team. Ponting was selected but Bevan was only 12th man. Go figure.