***Official*** Australia in England (The Ashes)

[Nate]

Warne to get Harmison.

 

[Somerset]

C`mon, under 150, please. Please...

Harmison destroys that hope...

 

[Slow Love™]

Tony Grieg in classic form - "this is going to be close, it's OUT.... uh, no....".

Although to be fair on Tony, it really should have been. Good sportsmanship on Lee's part not to waste everybody's time by appealing (it's surprising how often players DO appeal when they lose the ball on a run-out attempt, given that they'll get found out on the replay anyway).

A really hard test for Pietersen on debut yesterday/today, and you couldn't say that he did anything less than pass with flying colors. Some good swinging at the end here from Harmison and Jones - England aren't out of this test yet. I must say though that the pitch hasn't looked half as dodgy in terms of bounce since McGrath's first spell down the slope ended yesterday.

 

[Jono]

Jones and Harmison getting very valuable runs.

Harmy just charged down the wicket and lofted Warney for 4.

150 up!!

 

[_Ed_]

This is good stuff from a neutral perspective! Great shot by Harmison off Warne just before.

 

[Nate]

They seem to be putting more effort into bowling at the head of the tail, rather than the stumps ATM...

Hear, here.

What`s up with Aussies and tails? Bah. C`mon boys.

 

[Blaze]

IIRC something similar happened when NZ played AUS.. they struggle to nail the tail sometimes

 

[Nate]

Bugger this. Ice-cream it is. Ice-cream, then bowling in the garage.

 

[Slow Love™]

Also, for those watching on SBS (if there's anybody besides me, that is), don't Jones and Matthews' local interludes suck in comparison to Squires, MacGill and O'Keefe? Deano's just such a tosser.

 

[Nate]

Lee needs this to help his figures. He`s bowled very well.

 

[Nate]

Why didn`t I say that before? Nice stuff, deserved. Go Aussie, go.

 

[Blaze]

Bugger this. Ice-cream it is. Ice-cream, then bowling in the garage.

Hang on, sanity prevails. You have to say.. well done England tail.

 

[Slow Love™]

Lee gets Harmy and brings it to a close - 35 lead. It's funny how often perspectives are flip-flopping in this match - England are probably fairly happy with that in the end.

 

[Somerset]

This is good stuff from a neutral perspective! Great shot by Harmison off Warne just before.

All over now though but as you say, extremely entertaining section of the match!

 

[King_Ponting]

and the prediction is correct

 

[Nate]

Also, for those watching on SBS (if there's anybody besides me, that is), don't Jones and Matthews' local interludes suck in comparison to Squires, MacGill and O'Keefe? Deano's just such a tosser.

I am. Is that sarcasm? `Cause I actually liked the Channel Seven coverage. Instead of trying to be serious, they enjoyed it all. Kerry was on the money.

 

[Blaze]

Bull, the ball moved all day yesterday (mostly seam movement anyway and a little bit of new ball swing) - Australia have had the added advantage of 2 grubbers that took care of Vaughan and Flintoff. I suppose the pitch appearing to get better is probably just the ball getting older.

WTF are you on about..man you can talk some crap

 

[Somerset]

IIRC something similar happened when NZ played AUS.. they struggle to nail the tail sometimes

It often caused them more problems than the top order with the likes of Vettori and Franklin down the bottom...but interesting coincidence.

 

[superkingdave]

Well its better than i hoped for overnight. Very impressed with Pietersen, no blame at all for his dismissal, you can't predict someone to take a catch like that. Some good hitting at the end, but i expect the Aussies to get over 300

 

[Blaze]

If the ball moved around the entire day yesterday, Australia's advantage should be down to their skill rather than their luck in winning the toss. The two balls that Vaughan and Flintoff faced could easily have occured in Australia's innings anyway - after all, the deliveries happened only ten overs after Australia were all out.

Exactly right