I don't doubt it's gonna be tight Portly, I don't think there's much between the 2 teams but I'll never tire of hearing the Aussies moan about things not going their way 🙂
THE ASHES
- Thread starter Ryan
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I am not cricket expert but haven't England and Wales largely unperformed during the current series.
If they were to play to their full potential this winter they would be strong favorites surely.
Yes it's a fair point - particularly in the batting department. If the likes of Cook, Trott and Prior can start making big scores again, England can win in Australia.
I see some of this slightly differently from some of you above. The real point here IMO is that talent alone is only a part of what's needed to be successful in sport. On talent alone I reckon that currently England are streets ahead of Australia. What the Aussies have and have always had, and what made me sceptical all along of the more extreme claims that the current series would be a walkover for England, is their sheer bloodyminded grit. That can take a team a very long way, even against technically superior opponents, if it feeds through into their performance - Istanbul was the glorious proof of that if proof were needed.
If England are at their best they'll beat this Australian side whether here, there or on Mars. That's always a big "if" though, especially out there in Oz. I still make England favourites, but not by much.
If England are at their best they'll beat this Australian side whether here, there or on Mars. That's always a big "if" though, especially out there in Oz. I still make England favourites, but not by much.
For a series that started so well, this has been the most boring Ashes series I can remember.
Yes it's partly down to the weather and partly to England's cautious tactics. If it hadn't rained on the last day at Old Trafford, Australia might have won and put the cat among the pigeons. England's slow batting on Friday and the day lost to rain on Saturday has made this last day at The Oval into a non-event . . . . . unless the two camps decide to engineer an exciting day's play through declarations . . . . . which probably won't happen.
Yes, they play Twenty/20 matches under lights, so there's no reason the exciting finish should have been cut short by the umpires, just when England were on the verge of winning!
Still, as Nasser Hussein remarked, the umpires were applying the rules for test matches as laid down by the ICC.
Still, as Nasser Hussein remarked, the umpires were applying the rules for test matches as laid down by the ICC.
Ridiculous that decision. 20 odd balls to go, both teams want to play it & bring the ashes to a thrilling conclusion & they stop play.
Well, 'bad light' happened to the Aussies earlier in the series much to their chagrin, so it works both ways.
I'm with others though, I'd have liked to have seen a conclusion to it. Perhaps if England hadn't have spent all day Friday straight-batting it, they'd have got a result.
Kinda agree with Portly too from the previous page; this is set up for a great series in Australia. The Australians aren't as bad as people make out. 4 of the top 5 run-makers in this whole series were Australians (Bell the only Englishman), in Harris they've got genuine class, and their tail wags.
They're short on genuine world class spin, and the middle order needs some serious work, but I'm actually of the opinion that England aren't that great. But for Bell, that top 6 have underperformed, and they've had to rely on some bowling heroics coupled with wondrous Australian collapses to get them through this series. 3 of the 5 tests could have gone either way really.
I'm with others though, I'd have liked to have seen a conclusion to it. Perhaps if England hadn't have spent all day Friday straight-batting it, they'd have got a result.
Kinda agree with Portly too from the previous page; this is set up for a great series in Australia. The Australians aren't as bad as people make out. 4 of the top 5 run-makers in this whole series were Australians (Bell the only Englishman), in Harris they've got genuine class, and their tail wags.
They're short on genuine world class spin, and the middle order needs some serious work, but I'm actually of the opinion that England aren't that great. But for Bell, that top 6 have underperformed, and they've had to rely on some bowling heroics coupled with wondrous Australian collapses to get them through this series. 3 of the 5 tests could have gone either way really.
It would be nice to sit up all night watching the tests in Australia. I tried to do that last time, but have to give up because after a couple of weeks I was beginning to feel quite ill. I'm getting too old for that kind of thing.
The best I can do is listen to Test Match Special on the radio before I go to bed and set my alarm clock radio so that TMS wakes me up in the morning. I get a sinking feeling when I wake up to the news that Anderson is batting.
The best I can do is listen to Test Match Special on the radio before I go to bed and set my alarm clock radio so that TMS wakes me up in the morning. I get a sinking feeling when I wake up to the news that Anderson is batting.
If England aren't that great, they didn't underperform. Either way they were too good for Australia, though the margin wasn't as great as the more overconfident among us might have thought and I expect a close-run series down under.
I'm off work from 24th Dec until 4th Jan so I'm planning on being Nocturnal for the Melbourne test. That's all I can manage really as have work otherwise.
So you're gonna sleep through Christmas day?!
The series was 4-0.
Emphatic.
Clarke's a lucky man, another 4 overs and he wouldn't have been able to go home after getting whipped again.
Emphatic.
Clarke's a lucky man, another 4 overs and he wouldn't have been able to go home after getting whipped again.
Test starts about midnight Xmas night so I'll prob go the pub about 12, have 6 pints then have dinner and go to bed. Get up about 11pm.
I don't like Xmas night, it's shit and boring. Xmas eve is the best day of the year.
Heh. Wait til you have kids! Christmas day is fucking aces, Christmas night is too.
Christmas eve is spent putting together toys & wrapping presents with a baileys or three.
Xmas day's exhausting. Them kids drape themselves over the sofa watching shite TV and munching 4kg of chocolate whilst I 'help' them with putting together the helpful and educational 'kits' their black-hearted relatives have bought for them.
I twitch when their aunties and uncles turn up with brightly packaged 'gifts' for them. Bah Humbug.
Chance to watch the Tests would be a fine thing. Too effin' exhausted.
I twitch when their aunties and uncles turn up with brightly packaged 'gifts' for them. Bah Humbug.
Chance to watch the Tests would be a fine thing. Too effin' exhausted.
Fuck that, traditional Xmas eve is finish work at 1pm then ale all day, roll in about 10pm! When I have kids I'll do all the prep on the 23rd so I can still have a few on Xmas eve 🙂
Why don't you come over here for it mate?
Get yourself some flights, you can sleep at mine. My mate is good mates with Ian Botham so we're hanging around with him for the week.
Come on mate!
I'll discuss with you at the weekend! Was thinking about it actually.
