*Official* Fifth Test at The Oval

[Son Of Coco]

He's at his worst in the 3rd match innings where he averages 42.25.

That's good, because we might need him to bat well in our third innings to save this game

 

[kingkallis]

Michael Clarke is the leading run scorer, Ben Hilfenhaus is the leading wicket taker, and Australia has scored 7 centuries to England's 1, and yet England are the favourites to win the Test and the Ashes. WTF?

Certainly!

3 of the Aussies has 20+ wickets and 7 Aussies have scored 100s yet they are behind Poms!

None of the Poms have taken 20 wickets and only 1 of them has scored a 100 yet they are in winning position?

WOW!

 

[Lillian Thomson]

I was OK tbh - but my missus has always been 200% more reliable than England's cricket team. I also suspect she may have played Johnson rather better than Collingwood did yesterday.

She's probably a better bowler than Broad too, but on this pitch it doesn't matter.

 

[BoyBrumby]

Naïve to assume that unless a ball either pops or rolls the wicket doesn't contribute to dismissals for both teams.

Indeed so. Broad himself just said as much in his interview, words to the effect of "I aimed for the top of off and let the variations off the pitch do the rest".

Anyway, I'm certainly not counting any unhatched farmyard fowl yet. Yeah, we're in the box seat, but it's still a live game. Maybe 70/30 in our favour, but a coupla quick wickets and Oz could be chasing less than 300 which is v much game on.

 

[Uppercut]

Not convinced, myself. One of the reasons I would rate a player like Rick Ponting higher than someone like Smith, both with 50+ Test averages and plenty of big scores in Tests, is precisely because of that. That Aus won so many games in the early part of this decade and Rick Ponting scored so many first Test and first dig tons isn't a coincidence, I reckon. Personal thing; I like guys who perform right off the bat (so to speak).

Well yeah, but put it this way: If Ponting scores a big ton to win the match for Australia in the second innings here, it'll be of no less worth than had he done so in the first innings. At the end of a game like this where a result is inevitable, the team with the most runs wins, whether they get them in the first innings or not. Smith's won plenty of games (and series) for South Africa with quality second-innings knocks. It's fantastic to have a batsman who stands up early on and performs from the word go, but it's no less fantastic than a man who hits 120 when faced with the daunting task of chasing 400 at Perth. Big hundreds win matches, whether in the first or the second innings.

 

[Uppercut]

Naïve to assume that unless a ball either pops or rolls the wicket doesn't contribute to dismissals for both teams.

A wicket being two paced can do so as well, and I suspect it has in this game too. But generally I agree with you, the way Watto looked out there you'd have thought he was batting on the moon with his facial expressuons. Kat should have cuffed him over the ear and fed him a cup of concrete.

Yeah, I think we're on the same wavelength here. I'm not saying it's easy to bat, but as everyone keeps saying, on this deck it's moreso the mental effect on batsmen than the pitch itself getting people out. In essence, all this talk of how bad the pitch is has done more damage than the pitch itself.

 

[Burgey]

Certainly!

3 of the Aussies has 20+ wickets and 7 Aussies have scored 100s yet they are behind Poms!

None of the Poms have taken 20 wickets and only 1 of them has scored a 100 yet they are in winning position?

WOW!

You basically just repeated what he said, but with a few more exclamation marks.

 

[inbox24]

Hey does anyone know the name of the song playing on the SBS intro just then?

 

[Burgey]

Yeah, I think we're on the same wavelength here. I'm not saying it's easy to bat, but as everyone keeps saying, on this deck it's moreso the mental effect on batsmen than the pitch itself getting people out. In essence, all this talk of how bad the pitch is has done more damage than the pitch itself.

Indeed.

 

[inbox24]

Difference being you predict whoever's playing Australia will win every series. And as soon as their openers score a single you grace us with a comment along the lines of "There goes the game, Team X to score a thousand and Australia to be bowled out for 5".

You're bound to get in right once or twice.

Actually why don't you check the predictions thread.

 

[NUFAN]

Trott has been excellent this game. His 41 was good in the first innings and that catch to dismiss Clarke was huge as we all know what sort of form he's been in. I also thought he's looked very composed for a guy on debut in the second innings, this was one of my favourite shots of the day:

Johnson to Trott, FOUR, no shortage of confidence from the debutant Trott! He's away with a well timed and placed drive through cover point, lovely stroke

Can anyone work out who has a similar style to Trott, I'll try and work it out tonight (hopefully I only have to see 2 or 3 balls of Trott).

 

[marc71178]

Certainly!

3 of the Aussies has 20+ wickets and 7 Aussies have scored 100s yet they are behind Poms!

None of the Poms have taken 20 wickets and only 1 of them has scored a 100 yet they are in winning position?

WOW!

It's a team game!

 

[pasag]

Trott has been excellent this game. His 41 was good in the first innings and that catch to dismiss Clarke was huge as we all know what sort of form he's been in. I also thought he's looked very composed for a guy on debut in the second innings, this was one of my favourite shots of the day:



Can anyone work out who has a similar style to Trott, I'll try and work it out tonight (hopefully I only have to see 2 or 3 balls of Trott).

Yeah, good match for the Pom selectors, Harmison over Onions the only mistake in hindsight.

 

[wpdavid]

Yeah, good match for the Pom selectors, Harmison over Onions the only mistake in hindsight.

Yes, I think so. Still time for Harmy to prove us wrong, but he just looks shot to me.

 

[zaremba]

Haha, worst bloke. I standby my comments. England should have made 400+ batting first, without a doubt.

May have to admit failure in Hussey though. Won't do yet, but there's little hope.

slight over-reaction I think, but hey.

 

[pasag]

Yes, I think so. Still time for Harmy to prove us wrong, but he just looks shot to me.

Hopefully he'll do us all a favour and retire after the Ashes so we can start seeing the best English bowlers bowling for England regularly.

 

[Craig]

Don't interupt me...I'm concentrating on whipping pictures of big waves in the English Channel up in my mind as we speak.

You are Storm and I claim my five pounds.

 

[GIMH]

Yeah, gutted for Onions. He's outbowled Harmison for Durham and he bowled better than him at Headingley. Still, should be safe for an MBE

 

[superkingdave]

Yes, I think so. Still time for Harmy to prove us wrong, but he just looks shot to me.

The luckiest thing for Harmison is he may not be required to actually do anything, 4 overs in the first innings and he'll get to bowl in the 4th innings when he'll probably only get a few overs unless he does well. Not much chance to play himself out of the selectors thoughts. (Plenty of chances for the Aussies to play him into selectors thoughts mind)

 

[BoyBrumby]

Can anyone work out who has a similar style to Trott, I'll try and work it out tonight (hopefully I only have to see 2 or 3 balls of Trott).

Dunno if you've seen very much of him, but reminds me a lot of Ed Smith. Strong on the drive but looks a prime LBW candidate with the way he plants his front foot and plays around it. Don't want to jinx Jonny-boy, but it was a techincal glitch that did for Edward at the highest level.

Trott, ex of SA under-15 & under-19 teams of yore, perhaps lacks Smith's inate English diffidence tho.