A_S

What are the odds of England again being 3/fuck-all in the 2nd innings, still a load of runs behind when the rain intervenes again?? I guess that is what they mean by 'home' advantage- even the weather gets in on the act!

I was thinking that myself, but then think back to 2006/7 in Australia and for the majority of those Tests, England were well in the game but then lost their way badly for a single session and it ended up being the difference. That was anything but what a 5-0 scoreline would suggest. Long hard slog for the Aussies tomorrow. If England are only 3 or 4 down at stumps, it could be hard to force any result through lost time.

IT- Stephen King 1984- George Orwell HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY- Douglas Adams

So Australia have replaced a top-order batsman with......er, a bowling all-rounder! Because, y'know, we have plenty of runs in the bag, it's just those pesky wickets we need that keep eluding us! Sorry, what? It's the other way around, you say? We need more runs and not wickets? Fuck, why didn't you say so, this makes perfect sense!....Ah shit, I forgot, he's a bowling all-rounder, isn't he? Shit....ah well, best of luck Jimmy! Seriously though, what the fuck is going on?

Feb/March is the best time in Australia, weather-wise (except up North where it is fucking humid!)

Talk of Khawaja being dropped and Wade being played as a specialist batsman, as well as Bird out for Starc. Whilst it will mean a slight loss of control, it is something different in the form of a left-armer and it extends the batting somewhat, as the last Test had a tail that was WAY too long without Pattinson, Agar, Starc. Pat Cummins out with another long-term injury. FFS.

This is about as 'alive' a dead Test you are likely to get. A lot of individuals from both sides are playing for their spot on the Australian tour. Australia breaking its dreadful run of winless Tests will be vital for team morale, as well as England wanting to maintain Australia's run of poor results, which will also preserve its own excellent record of 11 (or 12?) Tests without a loss. You can argue about how good this England team may be in comparison to other sides that have won 3 Ashes on the bounce, but you don't simply avoid losing Tests for that long a stretch without having a bit of character within the team.

Saying 'Bopara' around here is almost as bad as using f*oty references on the GF. As for Bresnan, sounds similar to Pattinson's situation, but apparently he will be right for the Australian summer. Works out well in that it almost forces selectors' hand in picking Tremlett for The Oval, with an eye on taking him to Australia. He did well there last time and I know Warne is a big fan of his bowling. Says he is too nice for a fast bowler though!

I like Boof's thinking

Rogers, Clarke and Warner can at least know they were done by really good bowling. The bowlers are bowlers so I'm not hanging anything on them regarding this collapse. Khawaja, Watson, Smith and Haddin, just dumb, dumb, dumb and fucking weak. You should be ashamed of yourselves to let the position you were given go to waste so meekly. I'm not sure the English batsmen will just snap their fingers and find form though. The Aussie bowlers have kept them honest throughout (except Bell, who has been outstanding) and I'd be surprised if it changes dramatically in Australia when the Ashes are again up for grabs. The most frustrating thing is that each of the batsmen have shown at least glimpses of their ability throughout this series, but the consistency and the mental toughness is just nowhere to be found. Rogers looks like he might go out every other ball, but he values his wicket and puts bad bowling away (one full toss aside!) Warner looks like his very public humiliation might have done him some good. He batted really well against Swann and it was a great delivery from Bresnan that got him. Overall, I think Australia could have gone to Australia thinking they were a chance to make something of the series had they won this Test (or any of them, for that matter). To lose in a such a way must be demoralising though, so the Oval could see some guys playing for their spot for the Australian series.

Hats off to Bell. Whilst Australia has been well below par for most of the series with the bat, the bowlers have actually kept the English top order more than honest and given the Aussies some chance of staying in the series. Except for this bloke. I'm not going as strong as saying it would be a completely different result in this series without him, I would go as far to say that the Urn would still be up for grabs at this stage, he has been that important. Not just the volume of runs, but he has often been in at 2 or 3 down for under 70. Australia simply have to be chasing less than 300 to be any chance. A sub-250 score would be ideal but 300+ would be too much on the last day or so, with the pitch starting to keep low and offering some turn. Been a really good game though, with neither team ever able to dominate for more than a session before being levelled out again with a couple of quick wickets.

'Put Bird and Root in the same sentence' hahaha Good game this. Umpires really are average though. The Rogers, Lyon and Harris decisions were all incorrect. 3 from 5 this morning alone.

Well in, Rogers. His 61st FC ton was his 1st Test ton, I'm not sure many have scored more before their maiden Test hundred. He rode his luck at times, but in those conditions you need a but of that. Big day tomorrow.

Anyone think Root should go back to 6? One innings aside (and he got a massive gift before he reached 10 then too) he has been bogged down each and every time. Today the Aussie bowlers weren't getting much out of the conditions but because England weren't scoring much Australia were only ever a wicket or two away from being back in it. A word on KP too. People say he gets out easily. I would think that Clarke knows exactly the game Pietersen wants to play, but with him you are basically playing russian roulette. You feed him a few chances, knowing that he can barely help himself, but on his day he can destroy you too. As Skaro said, his record probably justifies his approach, even if you don't like him as a person.

Andy Flower talking sense on DRS. Nice.

2/78 & 2/11 3/28 & 3/30 3/64 & 3/27 That has been England's starts for every innings in this series so far. The 2/78 I would consider passable, the rest are just shite. On top of this, England have yet to reach 400 once, yet such has been the incompetence of Australia's batting until this Test, England still managed to win a game by 347 runs! Amazing. England have been the better team thus far and, as holders of the Urn, retain it at least until Australia, so well done to them. However, if Michael Vaughan used Australia's reaction at Old Trafford in 2005 as proof that his team wasn't that far away from Australia, then Clarke has to point to England's go-slow tactics late on day 4, as well as their general relief at the sight of rain on the last couple of days of this Test to point out that they aren't as far in front of Australia as many would like to believe. At least the 10-0 wankfest is over. Seriously, if anyone thinks this team will go to Australia and win 0-5, have a word. The previous England team to tour was better than this one, yet they still lost a game.

Another ridiculous situation where the umpires are going on vague sounds to help determine decisions, yet they can't use the more definitive Snicko, which at least helps the umpire determine both the type of sound, as well as its timing. It's almost as if they dug themselves a hole with the Khawaja decision, so they had to be consistent with the Pietersen one then. Without Snicko, I'm not sure how the fuck Pietersen can still be out. If Hotspot is the primary tool for these 3rd Umpire rulings, then surely the evidence from that has to carry far more weight than some vague sound. Again, the visual evidence suggested neither UK or KP were out, but a vague sound near the time the ball passed the bat was enough to allow the umpire to not overturn the decision. Yet they ignore Snicko. Fucking madness. As for India, I still say fuck them. They have made a stand on DRS and I'll be amazed if they back down from it. For me, there is plenty of evidence available to be getting more decisions right than what is currently happening. It's just that the implementation of the system doesn't seem to have much common sense applied. Even when we come to a day when we do have better rules around DRS, India will remain pigheaded on the topic. They do it with every other fucking issue, so why stop now?

Another good day to back up the 1st. Gotta keep it going though. I actually feel for Bresnan in one sense, in that the players might very well think they've not hit it, but the ridiculous Khawaja dismissal means players don't know what to think. Probably being night watchman rather than a genuine batsman made him play it safe and not run the risk of losing a review. Still a fuck load of work to do for Australia though. Hope the rain stays the fuck away too!

The first 400+ score of the series. Keep it going, lads. Be batting at tea and things are looking good.

So overall a good day for Australia, with some good luck mixed in with some bad luck surrounding decisions. Clarke made the most of the conditions and importantly, didn't just stay back and let Swann dictate the game to him. History has shown he knows how to go on with it once in. From here, anything less than 500 will be disappointing. With that kind of score, England would want to get at least 400 to have thoughts of winning this game. Whilst a draw would seal the Ashes again for England, it would at least arrest the slide of 6 straight Test losses becoming a 7th, which is one of the worst in Australian Test history. That is a record this side could do without! So the Australian bowlers have been asking for a score to bowl at, they should finally get one here, although the batting conditions are superb, so it will be hard work with the ball. We seem to say it every session, but tomorrow morning is big.

Fuck me, this is being kicked when you are down. England are outplaying Australia plenty enough so far this series without this shit. It's a fucking farce in that this is supposed to make the game better. India are again laughing their arses off and with shit like that, they have every right to. In terms of the game, decent start so far. Rogers has looked solid in good batting conditions. I can live with Watson going out like that, as he was working hard to get in, but unluckily fell to a good bit of bowling from Bresnan. Just need Clarke to settle down and consolidate in this afternoon session.

Are you kidding me? I looked through pages of this forum for this thread! Anyway, I just posted in the Ashes thread about the upcoming World Cup fixture. I, for one, am excited! Seeing as I was only 9 years old last time it was out here, I should be able to get to a few more games this time around.

Where'd the other cricket thread go? I was interested in discussing the recent World Cup 2015 fixture announcements. Australia v England @ MCG on February 14. Finally a Valentine's Day to look forward to!

To be fair, you could have picked a pretty fucking good XI from those ex-Aussie cricketers at Lord's: Langer Boon Ponting M. Waugh / Martyn S. Waugh Border Gilchrist Warne Lillee Hughes / Thomson McGrath

All this is true. I think he still handled himself well with the bat at 8, unfortunately Haddin sold him up the river with the run out, then he ridiculously had a decision overturned on the basis of some noise. I think giving Lyon a go is probably the best thing right now, he did take 7 wickets in his most recent Test, which isn't bad for a supposedly shite player.