Ashes thread - England vs Australia * SPOILERS *

Well one can but help. It's gonna need one hell of a monumental effort, but who knows. If kp can fuse a bit of boycott spirit into his batting he could just save the day. Really needs Jones to remember how to bat and Giles to prove his worth to the team.
 
The Barmy army were very good, made the aussies seem very quiet.

Some of the players need to get themselves together after that shambles. Read an article I actually agree with for the most part, including the suggested team.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/606/A17725412

Strauss (de-hooked), Cook, Bell, Collingwood, Pietersen, Flintoff, Jones (for now), Mahmood, Hoggard, Harmison, Panesar

Im not 100% sure with Pietersen at 5 compared to 4.

I'm not sure on the 2 spinners theory and the aussies see to be leaning towards Clark over MacGill. Pietersen can be given some overs if the pitch does start to turn a lot.

With Panesar in for Giles Mahmood could be brought in at 8 to give the tail some runs.
 
Wow what an absolute thumping the English got from the Aussies, should bring them down a peg or 2:p. Looks like last yrs ashes win was a complete fluke, the aussies were all over the english from the word go.
Harmison is useless, first ball he bowls is a massive wide lol...not the best way to start an ashes match i guess. One thing i cannot for the life understand is why Panesar wasnt playing??:confused:. You gotta be a dumb mofo of a coach not to play that lad, he takes wickets and takes them very well. Giles cant take wickets although he can bat but come on...you cant out-bat the aussies most of the time...at least bowl them out then bat lol.

Seriously though if the English want to make this an exciting series then for the love of god, put monty boy in and let him do his magic. Prime example is Warne, he may have given up a lot of runs but he got the wickets when it counted. McGrath was simply sublime in the first innings, 6 wicket haul for a 36 yr old:eek:...take that Botham and shove it where the sun dont shine hehe.

Ponting??, what a batsman:eek:..196 in the first innings and 60 not out, no wonder hes the best batsman in the world..some superb shots played in the first innings and second one as well. Still a bit mystified as to why he didnt enforce the follow on but then i guess he wanted to toy with England a bit and turn the screw in slowly...very slowly.

Pietersen needs to calm down a bit when batting, plays some stupidly dumb shots tbh and same goes for Flintoff. He did well bowling but batting??, he needs to concentrate more...i dont think making him captain was a good idea tbh, its affecting his form one way or another.

Im hoping the next test is a lot more tighter and it would be interesting to see England tie it up but i highly doubt that will happen but stranger things have happened. Look at the last ashes series, england were battered hard in the first test but went onto to re-claim the ashes. So all is not lost yet....

All in all it was a resounding victory for the Aussies, showing exactly why they currently are top of the bunch when it comes to test cricket.

On another note Pakistani batsman Mohammad Yousef is only half century away from beating Viv Richards 30 yr old record of most runs in a calendar yr...keeping my fingers crossed that he breaks that record :). Hes another batsman thats going places...2nd in the world next to Ponting but for him to break that record would make my year tbh.
 
Spawn said:
Wow what an absolute thumping the English got from the Aussies, should bring them down a peg or 2:p. Looks like last yrs ashes win was a complete fluke, the aussies were all over the english from the word go.
Harmison is useless, first ball he bowls is a massive wide lol...not the best way to start an ashes match i guess. One thing i cannot for the life understand is why Panesar wasnt playing??:confused:. You gotta be a dumb mofo of a coach not to play that lad, he takes wickets and takes them very well. Giles cant take wickets although he can bat but come on...you cant out-bat the aussies most of the time...at least bowl them out then bat lol.
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All valid points, but i seem to recall we got a thumping in the first test in 2005, so im not writing off out chances just yet :)
 
not many positives for you guys, well done to tresco the deserter.

if your workplace colleagues were cricketers.

Flintoff: (Warehouse Stock Coordinator): If he ever has a day off sick, the place will fall apart. Or to use a cricket analogy: if he doesn’t take all the wickets and score all the runs, it’s just not going to happen.

Harmison (Creative Director): Big reputation, big salary – has to be carried by rest of the team.

Watson (IT Manager): Offers key solutions to all problems but keeps crashing. Hamstrung by software problems.

Warnie: (PR Director): Always on the phone, always spinning something, always out for long lunches. A genius. Regularly embarrasses himself at the office Christmas party.

Pietersen (New Business Manager): The young bull, poached from rival company, who can star on occasions but ego might be a problem.

McGrath (Production Line Manager): The 70-year-old manager who just can’t let go and you know what, is still better than the kids out of uni trying to take his job.

S. Clark (Assistant Workflow Manager): Not rated, hangs around in the warehouse, and you suddenly realise he’s been singlehandedly holding contracts together for the past 12 months.

Langer (Accounts): Accident-prone 67-year-old veteran with a head for figures. Refuses to retire. Somehow keeps up with changes to GST and other tax legislation. Likes martial arts.

Martyn (Retail Manager): The irritating but smooth bloke you’re always trying to get rid of but customers love him and he sells just enough to keep his place.

G. Jones (Office Assistant): The PA you feel a bit sorry for because he has no idea, but the boss likes him and will give him time to develop. Who knows? He may even make a competent middle manager one day.

Lee (Sales Executive): The face of the company with a big laugh, a flash car and charisma to burn. Does he ever sell anything? No idea.

Ponting (Managing Director): There were early question marks over his commitment and longevity in the company, but he’s matured and now is responsible for more than half the company’s turnover all by himself, while also managing the office.

Giles (Assistant Marketing Manager): Been at the company for years, nobody likes him, nobody rates what he does. Must have compromising photos of the boss to keep his job.

Vaughan (CEO): Allegedly in charge but hasn’t been seen around the office for months. His shadow remains.

Bell (Accounts Manager): The university graduate with the Rhodes Scholarship who has now been with the firm for more than a year, lords over the blue collar workers but is yet to actually deliver when it matters.

MacGill (Marketing Manager): Annoying worker who wants to be PR Director but can’t get a shot at the job. Request for office car and phone rejected. Attends Anger Management courses.

Panesar (Intern): Always smiling, keen, energetic, model employee. Strangely overlooked for promotion at every turn.

Hair (Company Secretary): Recently retrenched (suddenly). Last seen being led from the building by security.
 
scott.holmes said:
All valid points, but i seem to recall we got a thumping in the first test in 2005, so im not writing off out chances just yet :)
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Neither am i, just that the way the Aussies played...i think its going to be a very difficult series for them. Saying that id love them to hang onto the ashes but i wouldnt put any money on them doing so:).
 
scott.holmes said:
All valid points, but i seem to recall we got a thumping in the first test in 2005, so im not writing off out chances just yet :)
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True mate, but the major difference between this year and last year is our bowling. Last time, our bowling showed some real promise. We were able to swing the ball well, and really confuse all the Australian batters. Aside from Flintoff, and the odd over from Hoggard, our bowling is just not threatening to the Australian batters. It lacks the venom that made us such a big threat last year. It was not just about the reverse swing, but also about getting the ball in the right place.
Harmison will be a huge factor. He must lift, or England will lose the next test and most likely the ashes.
Saying that, it is still early days, and with 4 test matches to go, the fat lady won't be singing just yet. :)
 
Same team as first test :(

obviously them murdering us for 600 odd runs in the first innings then 200 odd with only a run out in the second is good enough for Fletcher.
 
:confused:

I thought we were going to use two spinners for this test and Monty was guaranteed a place in the team. If Giles and Anderson can get away with bowling that bad and still get selected perhaps cricket isn't as difficult as I first thought.
 
Its a complete joke. Monty's our in form bowler who's played very well but finds himself sitting out for someone who's played like 2 games in 12 months and had to be taken out of the attack when he started getting hit all around the park.

Its a pitch that will spin a bit and we don't pick our best spinner.
 
monty will show them how to do it in this test match... i predict that harmy will be back on form and his first delivery will crack langer on the helmet!
 
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