*Official* Tour Matches

[four_or_six]

Great to wake up and see it's gone well, hopefully that's a good omen for the rest of the tour.

 

[superkingdave]

At least with Monty batting at 3 our lower order looks stronger Prior, Bresnan, Shazhad, Tremlett makes for a decent 8-11

 

[Jayzamann]

I'm not going to say I'm disappointed with today, but playing devils' advocate, I'd be a very chuffed Englishman.

 

[four_or_six]

Goodness me, just wondering why Monty was trending on Twitter and I see it's a video of a stunning catch!

 

[flibbertyjibber]

Let them off the hook really but not bad by the 2nd string considering it was their first games since September which has been totally forgotten by everyone.Watched the first session then went to bed and the Monty catch was the best one you will see all year,even Colly would have been proud of that one.

What was alarming was the amount of praise the likes of Lawrie,Benaud and Slater were giving to the England side.Almost as if they are playing down the chances of Australia for the ashes to bring down expectation.Not normal to hear Aussies being nice about England.

Just need to bat a day and a half and get a 100 run lead to set up the win i guess.Good to see Khawaja and Ferguson fail.Thought Smith and Paine toughed it out well before lunch and obviously Smith went on after with O'Keefe.The lad has some fight about him even if his technique looks strange.

 

[outbreak]

hard to not talk them up when they had the aussies for 5-66 or something

 

[Howe_zat]

The England pace attack really did deserve some praise after the morning session, especially Shahzad. Fell away after that though.

 

[Son Of Coco]

I thought Tug went the other way - shot maker to nudger.

Yeah, he did.

 

[Uppercut]

Monty's catch for those who haven't seen it. His face afterwards .

 

[Uppercut]

Well bowled by Cameron. That one didn't swing back in like the other ones that Strauss drove did, asking him to play the ball through cover rather than mid-off. He's looked really good driving straight, need to ask him to drive that little bit squarer.

Yeah. Strauss normally leaves the full and outside off ball pretty well against the right-handers though, so he won't be happy at all with that dismissal. Was a throwback to his '07 days when he got out cover-driving constantly.

 

[vcs]

Monty's catch for those who haven't seen it. His face afterwards .

Haha, he even managed to make it look awkward and uncoordinated.

 

[Furball]

Can anyone explain to me why Shazad's FC record is relatively average?

Granted, I've only seen him bowl twice, but I really like the look of him. So why is his domestic record nothing to shout about?

 

[Woodster]

Can anyone explain to me why Shazad's FC record is relatively average?

Granted, I've only seen him bowl twice, but I really like the look of him. So why is his domestic record nothing to shout about?

He's gradually improving and getting better every season, like any young player he lacked the consistency earlier in his career, but his figures will no doubt improve as he grows in experience. He is now picking up more wickets, but still has only one 5-wicket haul to his name in first-class cricket, 41 wickets in 2009 and 38 in 2010 represents steady if unspectacular results, but if he bowls like he did today I'm pretty sure 50 wickets is a realistic target in 2011.

Doesn't really answer your question, but it's all I got!

 

[Howe_zat]

Can anyone explain to me why Shazad's FC record is relatively average?

Granted, I've only seen him bowl twice, but I really like the look of him. So why is his domestic record nothing to shout about?

Largely due to a dodgy first few seasons in the first division as a teenager, and hasn't had much of a chance to improve it since England started touring with him.

 

[superkingdave]

I saw him last year at Old Trafford(2009) and he didn't move the ball of straight, I remember he was rated at Yorkshire at the time but I, nor my france supporting mate, could figure out what the fuss was about. He looks to have a bit more about him now but I still wonder about his effectiveness on a flattish pitch.

 

[Howe_zat]

I saw him last year at Old Trafford(2009) and he didn't move the ball of straight, I remember he was rated at Yorkshire at the time but I, nor my france supporting mate, could figure out what the fuss was about. He looks to have a bit more about him now but I still wonder about his effectiveness on a flattish pitch.

A fair call, he does seem to need something from conditions, but when he gets it right he can be something. I've seen him move the old ball around corners at Headingley.

 

[marc71178]

I saw him last year at Old Trafford(2009) and he didn't move the ball of straight, I remember he was rated at Yorkshire at the time but I, nor my france supporting mate, could figure out what the fuss was about. He looks to have a bit more about him now but I still wonder about his effectiveness on a flattish pitch.

Should you own up to these sort of things?

By the way is Monty batting 3 as NWM or is he batting 3 because if he were Australian that's where he'd bat based on current form?

 

[Howe_zat]

Monty's at three because while the top bowlers are away in Brisbane, Monty has staged a silent regime change and has taken over. Mad with power, he convinces himself that he is going to score an amazing double hundred.

 

[social]

The England pace attack really did deserve some praise after the morning session, especially Shahzad. Fell away after that though.

Just watched the highlights of day 1 and, in the morning session, the wicket really was a peach to bowl on

Credit to the English bowlers for putting it in the right spot but .....

 

[Son Of Coco]

Sorry to post a question here that's largely unrelated, but I need an answer to this and can't post a thread in Cricket Chat for some reason...

Does anyone know who the Australian selectors were 1984-89? Have googled, but to no avail. Need the info for a piece I'm writing for an application.

Thanks in advance! (And sorry again for posting this here)