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I don't think I've ever seen KP bat where he hasn't had some kind of niggle, I think it's to do with some of the bizzare shots he plays!
2009 Ashes Series - England vs. Australia **Spoilers**
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I don't think I've ever seen KP bat where he hasn't had some kind of niggle, I think it's to do with some of the bizzare shots he plays!
Anyway, the less you boys see of it the better, then you can cease the pro-ozzie posts
Spawn's not pro-ozzie, he's anti-English and will support anyone playing against them, except India
I think 337-7 isn't a bad days work, could've done with losing 2 less wickets I guess but as KP and Strauss said they'd have taken that at the start of the day considering how badly we've started against them before and that wicket doesn't look like it's going to get any easier to score on.
Bopara looked really nervous, he's very talented but I'm not sure how mentally hard he is.
There was some genuine swing and turn at times too, our bowlers will be delighted to see that
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I think 337-7 isn't a bad days work, could've done with losing 2 less wickets I guess but as KP and Strauss said they'd have taken that at the start of the day considering how badly we've started against them before and that wicket doesn't look like it's going to get any easier to score on.
Bopara looked really nervous, he's very talented but I'm not sure how mentally hard he is.
There was some genuine swing and turn at times too, our bowlers will be delighted to see that
I think Bopara will grow with confidence as the series goes on. It was dissapointing today because he got himself in, like most of the batsman and got himself out. It was almost Bell like in that respect, except Bell doesn't usually look quite as flaky in the rest of his innings!
Agreed. Although Australia have the edge going into tomorrow, if we can get another 75 runs we might well just edge ahead.
I think 2 positives have come out for England:
1) Australia's bowling attack didn't really look that threatening, apart from that spell Siddle had early on in the innings who was unlucky not to pick up a wicket or two. They looked a bit lost when they had to turn to their spin option and without the ball reverse swinging it was pretty comfortable for England until KP got himself out.
2) All the England batsman, bar Cook, got starts and all looked in good touch, apart from perhaps Bopara but he at least did play some nice shots. I can't remember the last time I saw Flintoff bat like that but he looked back to his best - not always pretty or tidy, but simple see it/hit it batting which does the job nicely. Prior also looked excellent - people have questioned whether he could score runs against decent bowling attacks and he did his reputation no harm. If he was a better keeper I'd suggest he'd have the potential to be better than Stewart.
Was really disappointed watching us try to play the short ball, it's such an integral part of test cricket. How is Bopara ever going to play Brett Lee's short stuff if he struggled against Johnson? Hopefully we can stumble our way to 360ish and then let Anderson and Flintoff do the magic *fingers crossed*
Was interesting to hear the comment today about Flintoff supposedly wanting to establish himself as a "batsman-allrounder". Considering he'll be 32 this year he'll really need to stay fit and kick on over the next couple of years, I mean he's basically averaging the same as Broad in test cricket who is (perhaps harshly) viewed by many as merely a bowler who can bat a bit.
Personally I didn't see much in the Aussie attack to scare me this evening, thinking back to previous series we've faced the likes of Alderman, McDermott, Hughes, Warne, May, McGrath, Lee etc and none of the current crop would put the fear of god into me.
Looking forward to seeing Hughes bat as when I was in Australia recently there was a HUGE amount of hype surrounding him. He is very much viewed out there as the secret weapon who could catch many poms unawares.
Personally I didn't see much in the Aussie attack to scare me this evening, thinking back to previous series we've faced the likes of Alderman, McDermott, Hughes, Warne, May, McGrath, Lee etc and none of the current crop would put the fear of god into me.
Looking forward to seeing Hughes bat as when I was in Australia recently there was a HUGE amount of hype surrounding him. He is very much viewed out there as the secret weapon who could catch many poms unawares.
Why on earth have they changed the venue for the first test match? Lords always usually has the opening match for any England series.
Slight advantage to the Aussies maybe but it will be interesting to see how their batsman do on this match
When he first emerged he was seen as a pretty decent batsman but it has been a long time since he performed with the bat. Last time he got a century was nearly 4 years ago, fair enough he hasn't played as much as he could have but still his performances with the bat have left a lot to be desired. He has however been a top notch bowler for England whenever called upon, he really developed into a top class bowler but not surprisingly his performances with the bat have also suffered.
Slight advantage to the Aussies maybe but it will be interesting to see how their batsman do on this match
When he first emerged he was seen as a pretty decent batsman but it has been a long time since he performed with the bat. Last time he got a century was nearly 4 years ago, fair enough he hasn't played as much as he could have but still his performances with the bat have left a lot to be desired. He has however been a top notch bowler for England whenever called upon, he really developed into a top class bowler but not surprisingly his performances with the bat have also suffered.
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Because we always lose at Lords, and Cardiff, out of all the grounds is the one which should suit us given the spinning conditions.
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The decision wasn't based on their general record at Lords but v the Aussies specifically.
We haven't beaten them there since 1934, P16 W0 L7 D9
Pth, does anyone really believe the change was for cricketing reasons and not the massive wedge of cash that was floated before the ECB 
Good start, I think - if we can get 50-odd more runs from the tail then got to be happy, not to mention thanks to Prior and Flintoff having a bash at the end there, racking up 330-odd on the first day of a Test is a pretty good effort
Actually we don't have a bad tail really, Broad and Swann can bat a bit, in a sense it's a shame Panesar is so poor with the bat, I can see the sense of having 2 spinners but it would be nice if he had a few runs in him
Good start, I think - if we can get 50-odd more runs from the tail then got to be happy, not to mention thanks to Prior and Flintoff having a bash at the end there, racking up 330-odd on the first day of a Test is a pretty good effort
Actually we don't have a bad tail really, Broad and Swann can bat a bit, in a sense it's a shame Panesar is so poor with the bat, I can see the sense of having 2 spinners but it would be nice if he had a few runs in him
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It's good to see Stuart Broad coming on so well, I think he's going to be a great player for England for a long time, seems to have a excellent attitude and approach to the game, pretty talented with the bat and ball too
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D'oh
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D'oh
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It's good to see Stuart Broad coming on so well, I think he's going to be a great player for England for a long time, seems to have a excellent attitude and approach to the game, pretty talented with the bat and ball too
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D'oh
I was waiting to post something on those lines! But he does look so good with the bat. You get some bowlers who can bat a bit but then you get someone like Broad who actually looks like he's got the ability to hit test hundreds.
Having Swann come in at 9/10 as well makes England's batting look a lot longer than it is at first glance. Having said that, if Australia had Watson in, they'd have Johnston batting at 9 I think which would be ridiculous!