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

[simmy]

Me neither. And well said.

 

[simmy]

I think that's pretty hard to deny, yeah. Flintoff is clearly improving all the time, to the point where, as well as being a pretty handy batsman, he's in the top 5 or so best pacers in the world without question. However, England have performed just about flawlessly in their last two tests, batting, bowling and fielding brilliantly, and certainly peaking in general play. Australia have been sloppy, had injury concerns, and have lacked application and grit in their batting. You can't blame anyone except Australia for that, but in terms of the potential series result, it does mean that Australia have a lot of room to improve and England really don't have anywhere to go. I mean, all of England's top 4 made scores in this test, they held every catch bar one, Jones and Flintoff bowled as well as they have ever bowled etc. For Australia, Warne and Lee were pretty good without being brilliant, McGrath returned his worst figures in his test career while having three catches dropped off his bowling and getting a wicket off a no ball, Martyn got sawn off at a crucial time in the fourth innings etc. Australia should (and need to!) improve in the next test, because really very little has gone their way so far, and have been completely below their usual standard even taking into account the high quality of the opposition performance.

It will be a test of England's ability, as well as just how good Australia really are in the post-Steve Waugh era over the next two tests with the series on the line. I can't wait.

England could have Harmison firing as well. He hasnt done much yet and wont much like being overshadowed by Freddie. He gets going as well.... its interesting!

 

[tooextracool]

But over here, it is pretty obvious that they have absolutely no plans and are simply relying on the skills of their players to win the games. And those skills aren't as good as they used to be, esp. with the batsmen.

actually no that isnt quite true, theres been plenty of planning before this series. mcgrath obviously had his own plans for strauss, tresco and vaughan, the plan to strauss, was straight and full(swinging in if possible) early on in his inning(they'd obviously taken note of how many runs he scored square of the wicket either side in the last year) and strauss bar that 100 in the last inning, could barely score a run this summer. the plan to tresco is the age old outside off stump moving away(possibly after bowling a few coming back into him). it hasnt worked so well,largely because gillespie the master of exploring that particular weakness has been completely out of it, and mcgrath exposed it in the first test, but hasnt really been fit for the next 2. there were definite plans to vaughan, which worked for all bar 1 inning. no one had probably seen bell so it was left down to the bowlers to try and figure that out during the series. it was obviously hard to plan against pietersen because most of the aussies had barely seen him, but the plan at the start of the test series was to bowl away from his body outside the off stump, which hasnt quite worked yet. the plan to flintoff at the start of the summer was to get him out to the short pitch stuff, and that too hasnt quite worked.
so as you can see the aussies did have plans, the problem for australia is that most of them havent really worked as well as vaughans has, and you might say that the lack of experience in the english middle order, has worked in their favour. but the major issue really was over confidence, particularly in relation to the english bowling attack. i said before even the summer started that australia should watch out for simon jones, fact is that not one aussie-past or present, actually mentioned him despite the fact that every other player got singled out. similarly after Lords, Giles was underestimated, and that cost them, particularly at edgbaston. you might say that they've got out of jail in this test, because at 2-1 down, it would probably have been the end for them. but at 1-1 and 1.5 weeks, its back where it all started, and australia now have the chance to make amends for the mistakes they've made until now.

 

[BoyBrumby]

I think that's pretty hard to deny, yeah. Flintoff is clearly improving all the time, to the point where, as well as being a pretty handy batsman, he's in the top 5 or so best pacers in the world without question. However, England have performed just about flawlessly in their last two tests, batting, bowling and fielding brilliantly, and certainly peaking in general play. Australia have been sloppy, had injury concerns, and have lacked application and grit in their batting. You can't blame anyone except Australia for that, but in terms of the potential series result, it does mean that Australia have a lot of room to improve and England really don't have anywhere to go. I mean, all of England's top 4 made scores in this test, they held every catch bar one, Jones and Flintoff bowled as well as they have ever bowled etc. For Australia, Warne and Lee were pretty good without being brilliant, McGrath returned his worst figures in his test career while having three catches dropped off his bowling and getting a wicket off a no ball, Martyn got sawn off at a crucial time in the fourth innings etc. Australia should (and need to!) improve in the next test, because really very little has gone their way so far, and have been completely below their usual standard even taking into account the high quality of the opposition performance.

It will be a test of England's ability, as well as just how good Australia really are in the post-Steve Waugh era over the next two tests with the series on the line. I can't wait.

I def agree that Oz have more room for improvement, but think you're slightly overestimating how well we've played in the third test. Pietersen didn't contribute at all, Hoggy is still not quite bowling as he can & I counted at least 3 shelled chances (2 off Gilly & Jones's clanger off Warne) in the first innings.

I do worry that (Punter now excepted) the Oz top 7 haven't yet come to the party yet & am really concerned Fred is being hugely overbowled, which is symptomatic of Vaughan not trusting his other options as much. What I did think tho is that we would have to be at the very top of our game to even compete with Oz; we haven't been & we're @ 1-1 with two to play.

Both team can improve, which frankly leaves me salivating at the thought of the remaining two tests. I still take Oz, but as an Englishman who's used to it all being over by now in previous efforts I can't be too disheartened we couldn't quite squeeze out another wicket.

 

[tooextracool]

Vaughan's captaincy has been excellent throughout this series, but his negativity has cost Eng twice this morning already off Hayden.

oh vaughans captaincy was below par today for sure, and it has been in terms of bowling changes for most of this series. giles bowled tripe and a half today and still managed to get 26 overs. most importantly for some unknown reason,simon jones came on 3rd change today, which is more stupidity than anything else. he bowled an absolute brilliant spell after lunch, had martyn and ponting struggling to put bat on ball
and to be rewarded for that and his 6/53 last inning, the 'old ball specialist' only got another spell in the 74th over. and to make matters worse, just as the 2nd new ball started to reverse a bit, jones injured himself, and had to be replaced by harmison.
vaughan's stubborness in bowling giles has been annoying all series really, hes bowled well to the top order until today, but it was glaringly obvious that giles really doesnt cause problems to the tail enders, and his continual use of giles despite him getting carted all over the park is just plain ludicrous.

 

[Slow Love™]

Some of the early local coverage in Australia has been interesting. Chloe Saltau's article in The Age was typically parochial and went to great pains to mention Martyn's LBW and Gillespie's "bad luck" in being judged in front, and didn't mention the multitude of other appeals, some of which were terribly close.

Peter Roebuck's latest was clearly written before the match was over, and he was pretty excited about the English spirit, although he couldn't refrain from yet again insisting that Flintoff was chucking.

 

[Shane Warne]

and Gillespie's "bad luck" in being judged in front,.

I think Gillespie was out. I saw it and the replay and had no complaints.

That guy's silly to resort to questioning that one. There have been more than enough dodgy one's to point out about without having to resort to that one as an example.

I'll continue to just point out facts and remain balanced, calling it as i see it and how it is.

 

[tooextracool]

What are the rules surrounding handling the ball? Cause in the Aussie innings one of the batsmen picked up the ball and gave it to a fielder, which, I thought, is technically out.

its only out if the fielder picks the ball up while it is still in any sort of motion. more often than not an appeal is made when the ball actually threatens the stumps, of course as sarandeep singh proved in 2001 against vaughan, you can appeal even if there isnt a chance in hell for the ball to get anywhere close to the stumps.

 

[tooextracool]

Not only did that Gilly knock save that test, it nearly won it. Australia were chasing nigh on 500 in that game and needed 400+ to win on the final day (sound familiar?) and Gilchrist and Steve Waugh were absolutely murdering the bowling in the final session until Waugh was run out by a deflection onto the bowler's stumps, and Warne fell quickly. Gillespie and Gilchrist blocked out the draw then, with Australia about 50 short.

Steve Waugh was of course the captain then... wouldn't mind a bit of that!

and if steve waugh had been given out on 13 when even billy bowden could have seen such a thick edge to parore, australia would have lost. not to mention the decision that went gillespie's way later on.

 

[tooextracool]

Should be dropped, absolute idiot.

Even when you look at him you can see he's soft. He looks sickly and weak and this proved he doesn't have any balls.

you obviously missed his perfomance at Lords didnt you?
like it or not there hasnt been a single left hander in the aussie side whos played flintoff with conviction, so why not just drop all of them then?

 

[simmy]

For all those that have called me stupid and arrogant and a bit of a gloating ******* please read this, cos this is what provokes it:
http://forum.cricketweb.net/showthread.php?t=14262

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Shane Warne]

you obviously missed his perfomance at Lords didnt you?
?

What he did at Lords was nothing special, just a fifity.

Gillespie and Mcgrath were the one's that deserved credit for that final flurry for the last two wickets.

 

[tooextracool]

Fantastic knock. I have to say it and was disappointed that the commentators didnt mention it more. Would have been better if he hadnt got out. What was that paddle shot all about?! If he hit it, it was going for four and he wouldnt have got the strike for the next over anyway.

throughout that inning he had decided that if there was a poor ball he would hit it. it worked for a very long time, and in the end unfortunately it also got him out.

 

[simmy]

Yeah but with a mere 6 or something overs to go? Surely you just leave it... it really was a pointless shot. Cant criticise an innings like that too much, he was superb, but having done all the hard work it should not have left it McGrath of all people.

 

[tooextracool]

What he did at Lords was nothing special, just a fifity.

Gillespie and Mcgrath were the one's that deserved credit for that final flurry for the last two wickets.

because of course, so many players got to 50 in that test match ? his 67 pretty much ended any hope england had, not to mention the importance of his 1st inning 27

 

[steds]

Aus are overrated... England are rampant... there is only going to be one winner. (That is England by the way )

That's why Australia were rampant at Lords, at Edgbaston rampant England managed to rampantly ramp to a rampantly huge winning margin of 2 runs, and we were so rampant today that we forgot to rampantly bowl them out?

 

[simmy]

Exactly. Hmmm... how you forget that it rained. England were OK at Egbaston... they were amazing this test... if no rain then it would have been rampant.

 

[Tom Halsey]

That's why Australia were rampant at Lords, at Edgbaston rampant England managed to rampantly ramp to a rampantly huge winning margin of 2 runs, and we were so rampant today that we forgot to rampantly bowl them out?

Give the word 'rampant' up, now.

 

[shaka]

Wow an unexpected drawn test here. 9 days for Aussies to regroup as a team/ unit. Finally Punter steps up and makes a valuable and much needed 150.

 

[cricket player]

Unexpected,but puddy much expected as mother nature striked.