*****Official Ashes thread*****

ringo747 said:
If Aussies had managed to win this game I think England would have found it quite difficult to get the momentum back. The bowlers just didn't look too sharp for England this test apart from Swann.
Click to expand...

Would have made for an interesting end to the Ashes if it was tied at 2-2...still think England have that little bit more than the Aussies at the moment.

Looking forward to the series down under, will be interesting to see how England do in the Aussies backyard plus coupled with lovely summer weather there...think it will be closely fought.
 
Gilly said:
Whilst that's true every source even up to kick-off today was saying it wasn't going to be a full compliment.

No point rushing if what you need to do is occupy a crease. Faced with a 'lose or draw' scenario who picks lose?

What they needed to be doing if they had a lot of overs to face was play conservatively until post lunch and take stock of where you are. Everyone getting out early on gets you nothing.
Click to expand...

I agree with you regarding the rain, it was more of a general point that it would have been nice to see a proper conclusion.

Questions must be asked of Clarke though, we're very fortunate to have had as much cricket as we did in the test after the early forecasts and had the Aussies had an hour or two bowling at England last night then who knows? I think even chasing 200/250 in those conditions would have been a challenge.

Locky said:
Why so negative? :D
Click to expand...

How's the Aussies winning the Ashes working out for you?
 
As an England fan i'm chuffed, looking forward to battering them now with 2 pressure off tests, roll on Thursday!
 
Not the most edifying way to do it but I'm glad to see us retain the Ashes. It only came down to this because of our performance in the first two tests.
 
Meh, stupid rain. Would have been a thrilling run chase, maybe an all time classic.

England deserve to retain the Ashes, given how pitiful Australia were in the first 2 Tests. If only they had been as competitive before now.
 
I'll definitely take dominating the first two Tests and then scraping a weather-assisted draw, the score still reads 2-0 with two to play. I thnk the Aussies should take something from this match, namely that on occasion they know which end of the bat is which and that their bowlers are decent too. :p
 
One More Solo said:
I despair at England's approach to days such as today though, massively lacking in ambition. I know conditions are tough but scoring at 1.5/over just invites pressure.
Click to expand...

It says something about the quality of Cook's captaincy that he resorted to every timewasting trick in the book to increase his chances of a draw. Over rates, subs, physios, and finally refusing to play spin. All this without a single penalty, which strikes me as odd.

I concur with Dobell's assessment:

This is not what retaining the Ashes is meant to feel like. A generation of England supporters, raised on hubris and weaned on disappointment, who, until 2005, went 16 years waiting for this moment, might have found this like a sip of warm champagne. Anti-climax hung over Old Trafford as tenaciously as the clouds.

It was not just that it rained. We expected that. It was that, before the rain, England were disconcertingly outplayed.

Their three best batsmen were all dismissed in the brief window of play possible and, of the two that survived, Joe Root was dropped during a torturous innings that underlined the concerns about his readiness to face the new ball at this level and Ian Bell sustained a blow to his thumb that briefly provoked fears that it may end his involvement in the series.

England did not so much cruise past the winning line as collapse on it.
Click to expand...

(Source).

Rich_L said:
I'll definitely take dominating the first two Tests and then scraping a weather-assisted draw, the score still reads 2-0 with two to play.
Click to expand...

You didn't dominate the first Test. You scraped it with a lucky 14-run win, amply assisted by umpire decisions.

The second Test is the only one you won convincingly. In this game you were comprehensively outplayed.
 
Last edited:
I'll admit we've had some luck with the umpires but you lot have been absolutely useless with your reviews so I see it as about 50% luck and 50% (in)competence with the DRS system.

The simplest things the Australians could have done to be would be 1) bat better and 2) bowl better and then things like delays, DRS and captaincy styles become largely irrelevant. :p

Personally I'm a little disappointed in the rain, would have been nothing better than being 100-4 and then our middle and lower order getting a sweet 250 to win the Third test and keep the whitewash alive.

Or perhaps even sweeter would be our last 2 batsmen batting out the final session for an epic draw given the Aussies track record over the last two series of failing miserably to finish us off. Maybe they could take some lessons from Jimmy Anderson circa 1st Test on how to kill a team off. :p
 
Last edited:
Evangelion said:
It says something about the quality of Cook's captaincy that he resorted to every timewasting trick in the book to increase his chances of a draw. Over rates, subs, physios, and finally refusing to play spin. All this without a single penalty, which strikes me as odd.
Click to expand...

Yes, it says, in the history books, that he's retained the ashes. Again.

Evangelion said:
You didn't dominate the first Test.
Click to expand...

:/
 
Evangelion said:
It says something about the quality of Cook's captaincy that he resorted to every timewasting trick in the book to increase his chances of a draw. Over rates, subs, physios, and finally refusing to play spin. All this without a single penalty, which strikes me as odd.

I concur with Dobell's assessment:



(Source).



You didn't dominate the first Test. You scraped it with a lucky 14-run win, amply assisted by umpire decisions.

The second Test is the only one you won convincingly. In this game you were comprehensively outplayed.
Click to expand...

Ahhhh! Nothing gladdens the heart more than the senseless whingeing of an upset Aussie.
 
Warner had the longest Physio treatment of the test on day 4 when he got his thumb whacked. I don't remember any unnecessary treatments form England or Australia though to be honest. The whole light issue annoyed me but to blame Cook for not opting to bowl spin is madness, why would he do that unless was what his intended tactic in the first place, he's England's captain doing whats best for England not whats best for Australia. Perhaps Australia should have forfeited their second innings, that would have suited England just grand.
 
So the moaning Aussies begin! Bad winners and bad losers! Was bliss when we won the ashes whilst I was over there for 18 months:p

When even the Aussie captain admits we were by far the better team in the first 2 tests , I think it is fair to say we were and are the better team so far in this series :o
 
Evangelion said:
You didn't dominate the first Test. You scraped it with a lucky 14-run win, amply assisted by umpire decisions.
Click to expand...

We were easily the better side in the first test; it was only a freakish performance from Agar that stopped it being a clear victory.
 
divaboy said:
So the moaning Aussies begin! Bad winners and bad losers! Was bliss when we won the ashes whilst I was over there for 18 months:p
Click to expand...

I was amazed how bad the Aussies are at losing. I was over there a couple of years back when England won the ashes over there. When they lost, they dont seem to like playing the highlights which was scheduled, instead they played some county equivalent game. Hilarious.

Apparently its the same with every sport though, its always how great so and so is or how great the team is and as soon as they are doing badly or lose, its instant black out. At least in the UK we still get to see how crap we are on TV.
 
In answer to my ramblings about hotspot - its reported this morning that players have been using Silicone tape on their bat's which prevents many edges from showing on Hotspot.
True? no idea, but it would explain why up to now Hotspot seemed to show -everything- and suddenly its showing nothing.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom