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

[twctopcat]

I hope thorpe can be tempted out of retirement at least. I think that we should plan towards the next ashes with the selectors not likely to make drastic changes as they don't like that method of approach. Bell is good enough but it is a baptism of fire. KP can bat at 4. We've got to consider Prior instead of Jones if he keeps this up, and i don't know if hoggy is the long term solution, tremlett will be there or thereabouts come next winter. And of course we need a wrist spinner, easy .

 

[PY]

I thought that was quite logical.

 

[nick-o]

I thought that was quite logical.

yup

I'm having problems over Jon-oS and Jon-oG, but otherwise it seems a good system.

 

[Swervy]

Seam like it always does, i assume. And thats probably a good thing. the only way i see england winning the next match is if the curators dish up a green top and negate the warne effect. Theyre not really losing out as giles is a rubbish spinner and they could drop giles for a batsman and go in with a four prong pace attack. Thats their best chance of winning next match

Giles isnt a rubbish spinner..he is an orthodox lefty who wont really cause to many problems for Australia, thats the nature of finger spinning in England these days. That doesnt make him crap though.

The l;astfew years at Edgbaston the spinners have done the major damage. I really cannot see the England selectors dropping Giles at Edgbaston, which indeed is his home ground. I think he took 9 wickets there last year. England would be silly to drop him

 

[Shane Warne]

Giles isnt a rubbish spinner..he is an orthodox lefty who wont really cause to many problems for Australia, thats the nature of finger spinning in England these days. That doesnt make him crap though.

The l;astfew years at Edgbaston the spinners have done the major damage. I really cannot see the England selectors dropping Giles at Edgbaston, which indeed is his home ground. I think he took 9 wickets there last year. England would be silly to drop him

Macgill could well come in for Gillespie then.

 

[Swervy]

Macgill could well come in for Gillespie then.

I dont see two leggies playing in that side to be honest...with Warne bowling like he did this test,there would be no need. I can see kasper coming in though for Dizzy

 

[kendall]

This result has shown England and some England fans myself included that we probably expexted too much coming into the ashes however we did get Austraila out twice and posotives should be taken from that. Pieterson obviously great with the bat but the lack of Thorpe reallys shows ,however if Vaughan and Flintoff can find form England can compete for the rest of series

 

[Jono]

Odds of a draw coming in dramatically from yesterday, I'd so love it if this game was rained off, all those gormless new threads, all those Aussies crying into their 'beer'... marvellous.

Instead you're the one left crying. That's what one gets for being a smartass!

 

[marc71178]

he started off very well, and then kept sending the ball down leg side, which is probably a by product of being frustrated by not getting wickets off good balls. and its happened so many times recently that you have to wonder whether he truly is one of those unlucky bowlers.

A bit like Flintoff around 2003?

 

[Shane Warne]

Instead you're the one left crying. That's what one gets for being a smartass!

It must be pretty sad being a desperate Pom with rain being your only hope on the fourth day.

 

[marc71178]

his keeping is truely terrible, for the mere10 extra he may average with the bat he is nowhere near worth it

Something some of us have been saying since he came into the side

I did think for a while he'd actually turned the corner, then this game happened.

 

[Scaly piscine]

Instead you're the one left crying. That's what one gets for being a smartass!

As opposed to being a idiot who can't read properly and therefore fails to make any point whatsoever.

 

[marc71178]

The one about the mighty Flintoff isn't even by an Australian?

No rather by someone who's been extremely jealous of England for having Flintoff in their side for a long while.

 

[kendall]

I think he managed too make his point perfectly clearly

 

[Anil]

it seems mcgrath and warne will have to retire before england can start dreaming of winning the ashes, ....glenn "lucky" mcgrath is just an incredible bowler....

 

[marc71178]

Hopefully, peh, typical England weather - can't rely on it for anything, horrible weather set in and still it stops raining.

Except of course to save Derbyshire from a fearful hammering again.

Sorry, the same Derbyshire that were in so much trouble that they declared their second innings at 7 down?

 

[tooextracool]

thats the thing England have absolutely no experience to fall back on in thier batting, if i were tom graveney i would calling thorpe and seriously try to convince him to come out of retirement just for this series.

nope the selectors obviously believe that the players to have the most impact on this series are the ones who dont have 'scars' from past ashes defeats, like dozens of players who were tried in the 90s and early 2000s and failed miserably against australia.
im afraid even a bunch of 2 year olds can do graveney and the rest of the selectors jobs better than what they do, which means that even the australian selectors are currently having a laugh at their expense(probably with a beer in their hand)

 

[tooextracool]

Various "experts" are babbling on Aus tv at the moment due to the rain delays.

Dean Jones has voiced the opinion that Trescothick should be dropped as his technique makes him a sitting duck against the new ball and Warne if he happens to make it that far.

Greg Matthews agreed with the assessment of his batting but ventured the opinion that his slip fielding should be taken into account at the moment.

Both rated him as little more than a "FTB."

No doubt TEC will immediately add them both to his Christmas card list.

and neither of them are wrong. nor is ian chappell whos said time and time again that trescos technique is suspect. AFAIC if the selectors were so eager to drop someone who has scars from past ashes series, they should have dropped tresco, given how badly the aussies have dominated him over the last 2 ashes series.

 

[kendall]

England really really must not panic they havnt turned into a bad side they have just been beaten by 2 of the best bowlers in history. I think Thorpe should have been in all along but wholesale changes really are not the way too go

 

[tooextracool]

Yet he looked England's best bowler in the second innings after his first spell and had three catches dropped off his bowling?

let it go, AMZ has shown a clear dislike for jones for god knows how long, only because he doesnt have a good enough domestic record. hes obviously never watched jones bowl at the international level and even if jones takes 30 wickets in the next 4 tests, hed be calling for his head as soon as he has one poor game.