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

[Linda]

In spite of the fact that Clarke's lucky to still be out there after that slash, I think this is the right strategy for Australia - the light's not good at all, and you have to be worried about lost time. So we really need to go after the bowling while we're out there. Hayden's looking pretty good right now, and Clarke is always capable of upping the scoring rate..

In some ways, Im glad Clarke is there instead of Martyn... hes in better form, plus he does just what you say alot better than Martyn who tends to not play as well if he has to hit out a bit.

 

[Jamee999]

If the light's like this all day Ponting HAS to carry on.

If he's bowled out, that'll be it for the day, if he declares, that'll be it for the day.

 

[cameeel]

But the quicker they score the more pressure they put on the fielders, the less likely they are to lose their wicket anyway. No point in being defensive, we have to win

 

[cameeel]

If the light's like this all day Ponting HAS to carry on.

If he's bowled out, that'll be it for the day, if he declares, that'll be it for the day.

You make it sound so rosy for Australia

 

[cameeel]

4 overthrows... Pressure on the fieldsmen?

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

Gotta love Vaughan trying to get them to go off for the light at 11 in the morning.

 

[Mister Wright]

4 overthrows... Pressure on the fieldsmen?

No need to overanalyse. There was a big chance of a run out. Just one of those things that happen in cricket.

 

[Scaly piscine]

But the quicker they score the more pressure they put on the fielders, the less likely they are to lose their wicket anyway. No point in being defensive, we have to win

Err right, because the openers trying to smash everything worked so well in the past 4 Tests compared to their approach in this Test.

 

[cameeel]

Err right, because the openers trying to smash everything worked so well in the past 4 Tests compared to their approach in this Test.

Exactly

Besides, i didn't say they should smash everything, i just said they should play more aggressively

 

[superkingdave]

Atherton seems to think the South Africa tour never happened

 

[cameeel]

No need to overanalyse. There was a big chance of a run out. Just one of those things that happen in cricket.

I'm clutching at any straws that i can

 

[Linda]

Atherton : "Unsurprisingly, the batsman want to stay out there."

My Mother: "Yeah, and all the girls want to go in."

Oh, how I laughed.

 

[Slow Love™]

If Australia have to bat all day because of the offer of bad light then there's not much point having a swing at half of the deliveries in the first hour and then get another batsman in who won't be able to see the ball properly.

It's because there's the strong possibility of weather interruptions. If they were guaranteed a full day's play I'd agree with you, but as it stands, they have little choice but to score very quickly while they're out there.

An advantage for Vaughan is that he can essentially dare the Australians (and the umpires) to stay out there, by keeping the fast bowlers on in the poor light (and have them send down a bunch of short ones for good measure).

 

[howardj]

Martyn had a brilliant time in the subcontinent, a solid Australian summer, a good tour of New Zealand, and was good in the NatWest Series. He's scored a 50 and got some starts this series, and got two shocking decisions. There's no way in the world they would even consider dropping him.

It's not a matter of whether he deserves to be - going off the statistics of last 12 months - dropped or not. Rather, the bitter after-taste of losing the Ashes, and the clear desire to re-generate the side, will be the overwhelming factors when the next side is picked.

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

What's Vaughan doing? He just took off his best bowler in these conditions in an effort to try and scare the batsmen by bowling Harmison and Flintoff together in bad light.

Pretty happy with that myself.

 

[cameeel]

Nice pull shot, it's been a while since he's played that regularly

 

[Kweek]

at this rate I have to stay home tomorrow!

 

[Scaly piscine]

It's because there's the strong possibility of weather interruptions. If they were guaranteed a full day's play I'd agree with you, but as it stands, they have little choice but to score very quickly while they're out there.

An advantage for Vaughan is that he can essentially dare the Australians (and the umpires) to stay out there, by keeping the fast bowlers on in the poor light (and have them send down a bunch of short ones for good measure).

I'd be amazed if they lost much time to rain, even if they do they'd have 50 overs to bat and so they should pace their innings accordingly - get in then any reasonably timed shot goes for 4.

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

Not a bad little session there despite the loss of Martyn. If Australia can catch up without losing another wicket by lunch, it really sets the scene for some good batting in the afternoon in slightly easier conditions, with Gilchrist available.

 

[Scaly piscine]

Anyway getting back to the SA tour, if this light had been around there the umpires would have just took them off - have the rules been changed since then?

Bye bye Hayden.