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

[Shane Warne]

Can't believe Warne didn't take a wicket.

I'm utterly devastated.

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

Well, if all the overs are bowled, assuming 2 are lost for the innings switch, there's 115 overs to go. Australia would need to score at 3.68 an over to win over that sort of time frame, which is obviously extremely unlikely. Given the Australian batting mindset though, if all the overs are bowled and there is no rain or bad light tomorrow I would actually expect a result. I can't really see Australia batting for that long without making the runs, although the most similar matches to this in memory for Australia at the WACA against New Zealand and the SCG against India both ended as draws.

Obviously though, England will almost certainly win.

 

[luckyeddie]

Can't believe Warne didn't take a wicket.

I'm utterly devastated.

It's a laugh, this cricket lark - unpredictable as ever.

Hoggard to blow away the Australian top order?

 

[King_Ponting]

It's a laugh, this cricket lark - unpredictable as ever.

Hoggard to blow away the Australian top order?

no

 

[Adamc]

Bet365 has England at 2.20 and 1.80 for a draw. A draw is possibly the least likely result if all overs are bowled, can't imagine Australia hanging on for that long, and if they do, they'll probably get the runs anyway. They don't know how to bat for a draw, really. Promotion for Gillespie, perhaps?

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

Promotion for Gillespie, perhaps?

Actually, maybe. If Australia lose one in the next hour, Gillespie should bat at 3.

 

[Slow Love™]

Well, hard to see much hope from here (unless weather somehow intervenes), but should we survive, I do think that there might be some finger-pointing about England's pacing when they already had a 250+ lead. Realistically, it shouldn't matter too much though.

I hope the Aussies don't really have in mind to actively chase this total. Perhaps if we've still got plenty of wickets in hand going into the last session and it's within reach we can think about it, but I'd be happy with some determined concentration, and 2.75 per over. I don't have much confidence that we'll see this though.

 

[Adamc]

37 minutes tonight - nine overs or so - plus maximum 98 tomorrow, so 107 overs or so. 642 deliveries should be more than enough.

 

[Scaly piscine]

I wish England would show a bit more urgency in between balls, if they stopped faffing about they'd get another 2-3 overs in.

 

[superkingdave]

for me i really don't think Hoggard should be bowling

 

[Scaly piscine]

for me i really don't think Hoggard should be bowling

Me neither, the taff was good with the new ball earlier and obviously Flintoff is always pretty good.

 

[Slow Love™]

37 minutes tonight - nine overs or so - plus maximum 98 tomorrow, so 107 overs or so. 642 deliveries should be more than enough.

At 4 an over or so, yes. But if there was ever a good old-fashioned play-for-a-draw scenario, I think this is it. Our preferred overly aggressive style hasn't got us much of anywhere so far (and I suspect it will be playing into England's hands), and if we get lucky and there's some rain tomorrow, just surviving sessions with few losses (at the very least, not throwing away our wickets) could end up being very important.

My main point is intent - I don't think we should be unduly pressuring ourselves to keep up with the target. If there's a bad ball it should be punished, but otherwise, I think we need to be a lot more cautious than we have been. I don't give us much of a chance, but I think there are smarter ways to go about this than our usual bravado style.

 

[luckyeddie]

I wish England would show a bit more urgency in between balls, if they stopped faffing about they'd get another 2-3 overs in.

Don't think it's England faffing about at all - Aussies complaining about windows open, windows closed, Matt Windows and Windows XP.

 

[Scaly piscine]

Don't think it's England faffing about at all - Aussies complaining about windows open, windows closed, Matt Windows and Windows XP.

Yea I know the Aussies are time wasting, but England should be pretty much jogging/running to get into position to bowl again.

 

[Adamc]

At 4 an over or so, yes. But if there was ever a good old-fashioned play-for-a-draw scenario, I think this is it. Our preferred overly aggressive style hasn't got us much of anywhere so far (and I suspect it will be playing into England's hands), and if we get lucky and there's some rain tomorrow, just surviving sessions with few losses (at the very least, not throwing away our wickets) could end up being very important.

My main point is intent - I don't think we should be unduly pressuring ourselves to keep up with the target. If there's a bad ball it should be punished, but otherwise, I think we need to be a lot more cautious than we have been. I don't give us much of a chance, but I think there are smarter ways to go about this than our usual bravado style.

I agree with all that, but I actually meant 642 is more than enough for England to bowl us out - being a bit (justifiably, I imagine) pessimistic.

I think Australia should just forget about winning altogether. If we're still in tomorrow afternoon and the opportunity presents itself, great, but as of now, the batsmen shouldn't be thinking about any target other than to not get out.

 

[Slow Love™]

I agree with all that, but I actually meant 642 is more than enough for England to bowl us out - being a bit (justifiably, I imagine) pessimistic.

I think Australia should just forget about winning altogether. If we're still in tomorrow afternoon and the opportunity presents itself, great, but as of now, the batsmen shouldn't be thinking about any target other than to not get out.

LOL, I totally misunderstood where you were going. Yes, I completely agree.

 

[Scaly piscine]

All a bit surreal this, England declare setting Australia a world record target and England are bowling 2 spinners with a new ball...

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

All a bit surreal this, England declare setting Australia a world record target and England are bowling 2 spinners with a new ball...

Yeah, and both of them are fingerspinners, and Matthew Hayden is blocking them.

 

[luckyeddie]

All a bit surreal this, England declare setting Australia a world record target and England are bowling 2 spinners with a new ball...

The alternative is to be sitting in the pavilion, I suppose, although that's a moot point with the re-wording of the law..

 

[Scaly piscine]

I hope SW has duly noted that lbw decision...