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

[Loony BoB]

Would not be surprised to see more attacking cricket in the next two days - it seems that the only way any player has got a solid amount of runs is by going for a lot of boundaries.

 

[Somerset]

Exactly right

Thank you. At least someone is showing some sense over the state of the pitch.

 

[Scaly piscine]

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.

Rubbish, there were NO grubbers in the Australia innings, the change in the pitch occurred after the roller was brought on. Australia's current advantage is purely down to winning the toss as everything else has been pretty even.

 

[superkingdave]

anyway no return for Thorpe, he has announced his retirement with immediate affect

 

[Somerset]

Would not be surprised to see more attacking cricket in the next two days - it seems that the only way any player has got a solid amount of runs is by going for a lot of boundaries.

Well Australia only know one way to play so I can't see a change in their attitude - I tend to agree that aggression is the way to go, with the likes of Langer, Pietersen and the last English pair the only real players to score runs, all getting there with some positive shots.

 

[_Ed_]

anyway no return for Thorpe, he has announced his retirement with immediate affect

That's a shame, although not being selected for this test did pretty much signal the end of his test career. Great player though, I really enjoyed watching him bat.

Back to this test, the 50ish minutes before lunch will be very interesting. If Australia manage to get through to lunch without loss then they'll have a lead close to 100 and be well on top, a couple of wickets needed by England.

 

[Slow Love™]

anyway no return for Thorpe, he has announced his retirement with immediate affect

Yikes, did this just happen right now? Haven't seen anything about it...

Sad, if that's the case. He might have still gotten a swansong in this series.

 

[wpdavid]

anyway no return for Thorpe, he has announced his retirement with immediate affect

So I see. Can't help thinking that's a poor decision - it's by no means certain that he wouldn't be useful at some point this summer.

 

[chalky]

anyway no return for Thorpe, he has announced his retirement with immediate affect

I would put collingwood next in line if one of the batsmen get injured or they want to play 7 batsmen. Never been to convinced by Key.

 

[wpdavid]

That's a shame, although not being selected for this test did pretty much signal the end of his test career. Great player though, I really enjoyed watching him bat.

Back to this test, the 50ish minutes before lunch will be very interesting. If Australia manage to get through to lunch without loss then they'll have a lead close to 100 and be well on top, a couple of wickets needed by England.

Yep.. We really need Hoggard to bowl a whole lot better than yesterday. It's a bit overcast, so the ball *should* swing for him. Hopefully he'll remember which side of the stumps to bowl at today.

 

[Somerset]

anyway no return for Thorpe, he has announced his retirement with immediate affect

Sad to hear - he was a fantastic player and a crucial part of England's middle order for many years. TBH with Pietersen coming into the side I think it would be extremely difficult for him to regain his spot considering his ago.

 

[Slow Love™]

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.

No, not sarcasm at all - I really liked the 7 coverage with Squires, MacGill and Kerry as well. I was saying that these guys suck in comparison.

 

[Loony BoB]

I would put collingwood next in line if one of the batsmen get injured or they want to play 7 batsmen. Never been to convinced by Key.

I too would love to see Collingwood in the test side (the fielding boost would also be very helpful), although having said that, when so many batsmen fail at the same time, it's a harsh call to drop any of them. We'll have to see how things go.

 

[King_Ponting]

No, not sarcasm at all - I really liked the 7 coverage with Squires, MacGill and Kerry as well. I was saying that these guys suck in comparison.

I actually agree

 

[Somerset]

I would put collingwood next in line if one of the batsmen get injured or they want to play 7 batsmen. Never been to convinced by Key.

Yep, definitely agree - I see the Australians dominating over Robert Key while at least Paul Collingwood has the experience of playing against them in the one dayers early in the English summer.

 

[chalky]

First ball for Hayden & he is already trying to hook. Just can't help himself.

 

[Somerset]

Rubbish, there were NO grubbers in the Australia innings, the change in the pitch occurred after the roller was brought on. Australia's current advantage is purely down to winning the toss as everything else has been pretty even.

So you're trying to say that if England lose the match it will be because Australia used a roller to their advantage after winning the toss? That's a joke IMO.

 

[Linda]

No, not sarcasm at all - I really liked the 7 coverage with Squires, MacGill and Kerry as well. I was saying that these guys suck in comparison.

Agreed. Also the Channel 4 commentary is shedloads better than Sky on Fox. You cant go past Richie, its been confirmed.

 

[Loony BoB]

First ball for Hayden & he is already trying to hook. Just can't help himself.

I repeat what I said earlier - the only people to pick up runs have done it aggressively. If you want to see what a slow, careful start does - look at England's top order. They almost had numbers 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 out for 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 runs (although not in order) at one point, but Bell managed to avoid that one.

Aggression may be the key.

Anyone else who's looking at cricinfo notice that our commentator is absolutely desperate for feedback? I think he mentions the feedback link every over or two, sometimes twice in one or two balls.

 

[Scaly piscine]

So you're trying to say that if England lose the match it will be because Australia used a roller to their advantage after winning the toss? That's a joke IMO.

If Australia win by a close margin then the toss has been the decisive factor.