***Official*** NatWest Series/Challenge

[FaaipDeOiad]

australia surely has the upper hand now, they were unfortunate to have been on the wrong side of the conditions at headingly and therefore their victory yesterday on fairly even conditions was far more convincing than englands. not to mention the fact that the aussie batters have in the last 2 games dealt with harmison and flintoff far more convincingly than england have dealt with mcgrath and lee at any point during the summer.
for england though, you have to wonder how long they are going to persist with darren gough, who keeps sending down tripe with the new ball.

That's about my assessment as well. Both teams have their problems, and if you look at it from the perspective of pre-series expectations England are definately on top, but I think Australia will carry the momentum (whatever there is to be gained anyway) into the tests provided they do well tomorrow. It's 2 games each with a tie, but Australia have won both their games convincingly and certainly looked like winning one of the lost games and the tie if it wasn't for some rather sensational performances from England's lower order, and they were probably on top in the Edgbaston game as well given the size of the total and the state of the wicket.

England will obviously be worried about their top order, which has looked pretty woeful, and be thrilled with the efforts of Flintoff and Harmison. Australia have Hayden and Gillespie to worry about, still.

 

[biased indian]

i still favour aus 3-1 or 2-1

 

[Scaly piscine]

I called the game in New Zealand a joke, where Australia won, because it so absolutely and clearly was. Players wore costumes, for crying out loud.

There is no comparison with the NZ game.

 

[Legglancer]

Indeed. Merely explaining for those of us not fortunate to have a TV feed

Is Life funny or not ? Here I am watching the series at my home in canada when some in england atre not.

 

[aussie]

I think now Brett Lee has to be a certainty for the first Test, either Gillespie or Kaspa has to miss out and I am leaning towards Kaspowicz as I think it is more likely for him to be left out then Gillespie. If he isn't picked surely he would have every right to go to the Aussie selectors and ask what does he have to do to get a game?

i get the gut feeling that Dizzy still might get the nod for the 1st test, but if he bowls poorly their then he may be dropped.

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

There is no comparison with the NZ game.

Gee, you sure you're not dismissing it because Australia won it?

 

[aussie]

We might not be dominating Australia, but just try telling me that Ricky Ponting is going into this series just as confidently as any other. He knows his team are under threat. He knows they're not playing well. He knows he's actually going to have to make the odd decision every now and again this summer. He knows this England team are just as unfamiliar with defeat in Test cricket as his team have been over the last 18 months. He knows there is a possibility that he could return home in mid-September without the Ashes.

You can almost smell the fear from here.......

you smell it, not sure Ricky and his mates do though....

 

[Scaly piscine]

Gee, you sure you're not dismissing it because Australia won it?

Like you do when Australia wins a toss nearly as important as the 'decisive' one England won the other day?

 

[aussie]

It was 'a joke' because Australia got trounced and so Australia's mouthpieces and media went all out thereafter to demean the game. Both teams played their strongest teams and it was still England v Australia with nobody giving any games away. As for the toss being decisive when England won by 9 wickets - you really shouldn't try to become an even worse loser than a certain disappearing Aussie.

i'm here, and so what if i am a hard loser thats the kind of supporter i am, nothing can change that.......

 

[aussie]

for england though, you have to wonder how long they are going to persist with darren gough, who keeps sending down tripe with the new ball.

Give Harmison the new ball and let him come on first chang,he's better of doing that now since he has lost his ability to take wickets with the new ball. But along with Freddie is England's best death bowler.

 

[Scaly piscine]

i'm here, and so what if i am a hard loser thats the kind of supporter i am, nothing can change that.......

Wasn't referring to you, guess I'll have to revert back to using the term convicts to avoid confusion.

 

[sledger]

Give Harmison the new ball and let him come on first chang,he's better of doing that now since he has lost his ability to take wickets with the new ball. But along with Freddie is England's best death bowler.

freddie is probably england best bowler overall.

 

[aussie]

Wasn't referring to you, guess I'll have to revert back to using the term convicts to avoid confusion.

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

Like you do when Australia wins a toss nearly as important as the 'decisive' one England won the other day?

Mate, do you watch the games at all? At Headingley, the pitch was a minefield when Australia batted, and fairly sedate when England batted. There was a fair amount of swing and a bit of seam movement early on during England's innings, and later in their innings it was really pretty ideal conditions for batting. You are the ONLY person I've seen who watched that game and didn't think so. It doesn't excuse Australia's bowling performance, but the fact is that 220 was a good total on that wicket when Australia batted, and the sun came out during the last 5-10 overs of Australia's innings and stayed out until the end and the pitch improved.

In the most recent match at Lords, there was a bit of swing around early on in England's innings, but Australia didn't even take any wickets then and it had a minimal impact on the match. The toss at Headingley was extremely significant in the context of the match because the team batting first had it much easier than the team batting second. The toss at Lords had an affect on the match, but it was miniscule in comparison.

Absolutely anybody who watched the games would have noted the same thing, and it has nothing to do with bias to point it out.

 

[aussie]

na he doesn't watch Faaip he follows it on cricinfo

 

[sledger]

oh dear...

 

[Neil Pickup]

Mate, do you watch the games at all? At Headingley, the pitch was a minefield when Australia batted, and fairly sedate when England batted. There was a fair amount of swing and a bit of seam movement early on during England's innings, and later in their innings it was really pretty ideal conditions for batting. You are the ONLY person I've seen who watched that game and didn't think so. It doesn't excuse Australia's bowling performance, but the fact is that 220 was a good total on that wicket when Australia batted, and the sun came out during the last 5-10 overs of Australia's innings and stayed out until the end and the pitch improved.

In the most recent match at Lords, there was a bit of swing around early on in England's innings, but Australia didn't even take any wickets then and it had a minimal impact on the match. The toss at Headingley was extremely significant in the context of the match because the team batting first had it much easier than the team batting second. The toss at Lords had an affect on the match, but it was miniscule in comparison.

Absolutely anybody who watched the games would have noted the same thing, and it has nothing to do with bias to point it out.

100% accurate.

 

[sledger]

agreed.

 

[aussie]

100% accurate.

yep, faaip was absolutely on the money their....

 

[luckyeddie]

I concur

/someone to accuse me of attempting to pull the wool over the eyes of a dog in 5....4.....3....