*Official* First Test at Swalec Stadium, Cardiff

[Uppercut]

Collingwood been England's best spinner IMO. Seriously.

 

[Burgey]

I think we definitely need more than a day to bowl England out on such a flat pitch which is not deteriorating that much.

If you won Powerball, would you bitch about having to go an collect the cheque?

 

[Nate]

Haha Nafe, I saw that post before the edit. For shame!

Haha, have started the lashes. Couldn't believe it.

 

[GIMH]

ouch

 

[Uppercut]

Looking ahead to when Australia are bowling, Mitchell Johnson's cutters could be really, really nasty to the left-handers here.

 

[ripper868]

trumpeter the only thing keeping the crowd in this tbh

 

[Burgey]

Collingwood been England's best spinner IMO. Seriously.

Ironic if Aus stick with Hauritz as a spinner for the series but England dump Swann and use Colly.

Edit: Ashes-making moment for me seeing the X-rated Knight so depressed in the commentary box.

 

[ripper868]

Quite funny how Hogg said zero hundreds would be scored, and here we are with 4 in Australias innings

Well played Haddin.

 

[Scaly piscine]

Collingwood been England's best spinner IMO. Seriously.

Yep it's a slow pitch. Mediums are the natural pace for those conditions.

England unfortunately are completely and utterly brain dead when it comes to playing on slow pitches. As it's just not a case of running through the cricket for dummies manual as Strauss has done.

New Zealand know exactly how to play in conditions like this. They would get their medium dobbers (Styris, Harris etc.) bowling wicket to wicket, use cutters and other little variations which will bite and spin on the grippy pitch. Bring the field up - ask the batsmen to hit over the top if you want to score quickly. The likes of Shane Bond were good on this too, he would bowl within himself and bowl a mixture of cutters and seam up keeping it naggingly accurate.

 

[ripper868]

T20mode.exe

 

[AlanJLegend]

Very entertaining stuff here.


Looks like Haddin is really gonna go the tonk now.

 

[ripper868]

Prior-Strawman

 

[Nate]

Well played Haddin! Superb batsman.

 

[Burgey]

Swann just telling the umpires it's all the fault of the ball England chose.

 

[pasag]

Don't think England will have too much trouble playing out for the draw. Don't get me wrong, have alot of confidence in Johnson and Siddle, but on this pitch there's not a lot of hope.

 

[ripper868]

Give em a bag of mints Burgey, could make it interesting.

 

[SirBloody Idiot]

Give em a bag of mints Burgey, could make it interesting.

You could give them a KFC ****ing Swing King and they'd still be this insipid.

 

[Burgey]

Give em a bag of mints Burgey, could make it interesting.

**** em. Give em nothing.

 

[pasag]

Comms have been very good despite the fact they must be pretty disappointed.

 

[Uppercut]

What's this? A wicket?

Declaration!