blonde poker forum

Ok a bit early to start this, but the Aussies are already getting excited...........

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdST6D4idOg

That's a pretty good advert to be fair to them.
KP needs to start making some runs. Can't imagine going into an Ashes without him.

I am pretty excited to be fair as well. We geniunely do stand a chance this time round down under, mainly due to the fact that this is most mediocre Australian team in a generation.

Pakistan are really giving us a good test ready for the winter...

KP dropped from T20 and one day squad apparently.
Angrily tweeted about it days after being warned not to tweet sensitive information.

I don't get this, he needs time at the wicket not being dropped. Despite his slump in form he is deffo still our top limited overs player, I understand he is going to get some games for Surrey but surely he is better playing for England.

Yeh seems weird. Forcing him to play before the tests would have made sense. Hampshire offered him reserve games and he refused. Don't see the point in not getting him at the crease now.

Yes, but arguably time at the crease in T20/ODI's is not necessarily to best preparation for the type of innings they will need from him in the tests in oz. I would hazard a guess they have some more appropriate preparation planned for him.............

Bump, cuz I'm already getting excited about this after seeing how bad the aussies have been recently ;D

Was trying to get to the game in Perth, but the dates don't quite fit around my other travel plans over Xmas/NY........... >:(

I can't see how the aussies are favourites for this series, even though they are at home, are bowling attack is so much stronger than theres and the batting lineups are pretty even.

And by the looks of things the media are getting on there backs already, which they are not used to at all. All the pressure is on the aussies and i don't think they can cope with it.

I predict a 3-1 victory to England.

Get as much money as possible on england to win the series imo.

Our best pace bowler (Anderson) is useless in Australian conditions and none of the others are all that anyway.

4 years ago he was shocking, but he is a much improved bowler in all conditions and will lead the attack well, and keep things tight when the bowl is not swinging!

Yeh think Broad top english bowler might be worth a shout at 4/1. Swann is obviously favourite but price indicates that. Jimmy has always been poor in Australia and Finn is playing in his first Ashes so we can't expect alot from him.

Could go 1 of 2 ways, Anderson blasts thru them in 15 overs with the new ball, or they get off to a flyer and take advantage of the lifeless 20 over + ball. A lot of pressure on Swann in the middle overs could take its toll. Gonne be a long hard grind for the bowlers this winter i think.

On bouncier quicker pitches ? I think he will do well myself.

Sandy

I think he'll do alright but I don't expect him to be top wicket taker.

Why all the negativity about out bowling attack? we have a excellent attack and a team we should get behind and be proud of, unlike those that kick a ball a around!

I think they will do pretty well too, our attack is certainly a lot better than the aussie one, that is our big advantage currently...........

If Anderson/Broad don't do it with the new ball he might get a chance and then he has a good shout. If they do well he has little chance since he has an older Kookaburra and less wickets to get.

Sandy

mitchel johnson will be pretty devastating though on the bouncy pitches, they haven't got much else though. Anderson is full on ordinary in benign conditions. Broad our best bet probably. Assume Swan will do the best overall. I can't wait, not tken any holidays yet, going to take a week off for the first test and go nocturnal.

Will switch my body clock so I can see a few hours each night I reckon too...........

UK time what time is play going to be? I remember catching some of it before work last time.
Work from home these days so 6-2's rather than 9-5's might be an option.

Midnight starts except Perth which is around 3am iirc.

SAndy

The sponsors sure are confident...........

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/post/Company-offers-free-beer-to-all-Aussies-if-team-;_ylt=AokigIJxQ.T1XQxdB6PZDck5nYcB?urn=top-286127

http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/486576.html (http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/486576.html)

Some analysis of spinners performances away from home. I'm confident Swann will take wickets but it does suggest that a seamer may be decent value for top English bowler.

Didn't realise that sky are showing the warm up game on currently, managed to watch a couple of hours last night...............

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EIwhljK2PA

Bresnan's sprinkler is world class

Englands back up seamers all looking good in this game, if england bat well in this series then we will win easy.

I know this is completely against anything that Woodsey would ever do so it's probably not the thread I should be posting such thoughts on BUT.....

Are Australia value @ 13/10 in the first test?

Last 5 series 1st test - 4 Australia wins 1 draw
Last 5 series down under 1st test - 4 Australia wins 1 draw

Not sure if it counts as betting against your team still but Australia to win the test and England to win the series is 12/1. I expect a close series but don't ever remember us being quick starters in the Ashes.
http://www.oddschecker.com/cricket/international/ashes/australia-v-england-%5B1st-test%5D/match-and-series-double (http://www.oddschecker.com/cricket/international/ashes/australia-v-england-%5B1st-test%5D/match-and-series-double)

Mmm, I'd say not tbh, Clarke is a doubt for the first game now too. I suppose the 12/1 isn't the worst thing I dunno, the thing is if the Aussies win the first game it will be a close series, if we win I think we will take the series 3-1 minimum.........

How about this market? England to win by 2 is 10/1, that's not bad imo........

http://www.oddschecker.com/cricket/international/ashes/winning-margin

Or a cheeky 40/1 on 4-0 to England, take your pick...........

http://www.oddschecker.com/cricket/international/ashes/series-correct-score

The 13/24 for England to win the series is still value imo. I genuinely think England are slight favourites for the series even though the Aussies are at home. Can't believe the aussies are even money tbh...........

Plus those two draws, one was a last day thunderstorm that saved us, and the other was the last wicket heroics of Panesar and Anderson.

I think you can throw history out the window for this series. The team that put those wins in was basically the best team in the history of cricket..........

I agree. I was gonna add no Warne, McGrath, Gilchrist, Hayden, Langer etc makes it irrellevent but i cba.

Meh I think the bookies have it about right imo. I would deffo take England at a neutral venue(s) over 5 tests which is pretty much the first time in 25 yrs I can honestly say that.

Think recent Ashes tests have little bearing especially in Australia where England have been so inferior in every department. We are properly prepared this time and injury free the exact opposite of 2006. The value in picking 1st tests out against the whole series is when touring teams are under done/ in completely alien conditions (think England in May on green tops).

Really looking forward to this series and am expecting to be tarding up this thread on a regular basis.

What are people doing for watching this ? I'm debating whether to change my schedule around so I can watch this but it makes it awkward when I have to go to real work Monday morning,sigh.

Got loads of holiday left so will probably take the 2nd test off work but for this one i'm going for 5-6am wake ups and start my 9-5 work from home job early.

Won't you only catch an hour watching up from 5? or is tea at 4.40am?

For the first one the programme finishes at 8 so I'm guessing they expect the cricket to finish about 7,the only test that'll be different is the third at Perth.Pretty sick that the fourth test starts Christsmas Day/Boxing Day.

At the Gabba in the last 10 tests Aussies have won 8 drawn 2. They won the toss 3/10.

4 times they won by an innings including 2 out of the last 3. Smallest win was by 149 runs.

Sandy

Of course, but the plain fact is the Aussies were better than our team in the last ten tests. Now shorn of McGrath and Warne especially but also Gilchrist, Hayden, Langer and Gillespie its a lot closer in terms of ability.

I think it will be a close series, with us having the advantage in a few areas counter-balanced by the fact that the Aussies are so strong at home

I'll be doing my usual of watching the first session (11pm-1am) then catching up with highlights on the morrow.

First session 12-2, hour build up on Sky beforehand

So 12-2, 2.40-4.40, 5-close of play?
That's what I thought it was and thought i'd catch the last session each day.

Sod's law I have to leave for work at 6am on Thurs am which I basically never have to do. Gotta watch the first few overs tomorrow night though.........

Very doubtful I can go fully nocturnal for Test 1 as I have daytime commitments and an event to run at the weekend but thinking of watching session 1 and the radio then goes on low volume through the night while I slumber.

Perth and certainly the Xmas test, I am going to be pulling the all nighters


Hoping we show up, as I think it could be an exciting month

Was hoping to get to Perth, had it started 2 days later I would have been there................

never been, told it is fantastic.

One day, Woodsey, one day

Yeah, I wasn't even due to be especially close to it tbh, I'll be in south east asia at the time, but I would have gone out of my way for a week for sure if the dates fitted.............

All tests, not just ashes tests.

Sandy

fair enough, but the point still stands. India and SA apart at times, who has been capable of challenging the Aussies at home, especially in a first test? Not many world sides for a long time

The Aussie team is weaker than at any time since about 1980-5 I reckon, pre Border.

Not to mention the pressure they are under and the disarray they seem to be in............

Granted, they still might win. They are Aussies, at home, and we're English chokers.

Isn't it when they're dangerous though, when there backs are against the wall with everyone writing them off?

In Australia since Warne/McGrath retired there have been 17 tests. Australia have won 12 drawn 2 lost 3.

2 losses 2 SA who they then went on to beat over a series in SA and 1 loss to India who still lost the series.

Aussies maybe weaker than in recent history but they are no Bangladesh and by the same token England are better than recent history but the are no 70s/80s Windies.

Sandy

Dunno, I can barely recall them being in this position before, I reckon its more likely they will cave to the pressure than the other way round but we will see I guess. If they don't win this first test, its gg for them.........

if Clarke is fit, 7/1 best Aus bat is massive no?

Series or 1st test or 1st innings ?

Either way it is if he's fit but if it's series then given the doubt not so much.

Sandy

series, I think Totesport

So who's betting on what then?

I would liked to have had a massive lump on England for the series when the odds were better, but can't afford it as I've got a ton of upcoming stuff I have to pay for. So I'll probably had a crack with a couple of hundo on a correct series score or something like that...........

A day normally lasts about 8-9 hours yeah ? It normally starts 10:30 here and finsihes between 18:30-19:00 ? So I thought it would be 00:00 - 08:00 roughly.

I'm not having a bet as I wouldn't bet enough that would make me any more interested.CMON ENGLAND!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.cricketweb.net/fantasycricket/article.php?CategoryIDAuto=22&NewsIDAuto=6492

Anyone want to organise a fantasy ashes pool ?

Sandy

CBA organising but would participate.........

Ok well i've set up a league and the key needed to join is 1290517014.

What kind of stake ? £50 max for me but £25 ok

Who would collect the money ? (i would as a last resort but nobody really knows me so if someone wants to collect and distribute winnings)

Sandy

I won't be around for the second half of the series, so probably better be someone else, but I would have done. See what everyone else says about the amount, I think £50 is too much to get a decent number maybe £20 or something, I don't care personally...........

I'm in for £20 but not much more because i don't really know about cricket but i'm looking forward to The Ashes

Ok make it £20.

5 people winner take all. 6+ 1st and 2nd ?

Team entered by start of play and payment by 5pm Friday (once we have a banker sorted)

Sandy

Wow I'm becoming a little distressed with how upbeat everyone seems to be in regards to England beating the Aussies, far too confident for my liking. I think the Aussies are alot better than they're getting credit for and I dont think England are as good as people are making out. I'm just hoping its a close contest and England dont take a pasting.


Either way i have been on late nighters for a couple of weeks now in preparation for the Ashes so at least i have my late night viewing sorted for the next couple of months, hoping for a belting series and really hope England crush, Im cautiously optimistic but I honestly would'nt be surprised if they choke.

Optimism ftw! If my hopes get dashed then it will be nothing new :D

Theres just something not quite right about the English expecting to beat the Aussies in their own backyard, it gives me an eerie feeling in the pit of my stomach

I we can't get excited about having a great chance this time, then I think we never will..........

In for the game,have joined league.

If everyone's happy to ship funds via Tilt then can send to me if you like as I never use that account.

Works for me. Make it $30.

Sandy

Send to mondonewc on Tilt then.

Yup

11-6 are the official times over here, which can be extended to 6.30 if the required overs haven't been bowled. Then a further 30 mins can added if any weather delay.

I'm in for the fantasy league, will ship later.

Money sent.

Sandy

Shipped from account name susannie

3 teams in the league so far.

A few of the "experts" seem to be awol. ;)

Sandy

This is a massive tradition in Australia the Boxing day test match, it happens every year and is always at the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground).

My plan for the ashes is to grind in the evenings, watch the whole thing at night and then go to bed at 7am etc. God knows how this is going to work tomorrow as I am flying back from the US today.

My team is shite anyway, just got frustrated trying to juggle to get who I wanted and just thought fuck it and picked a couple of randoms in the end........ :D

Monda can i pay by bank transfer?

Yeah ok then,will pm you details.

Recvd monies from Henrik and Woodsey.

Someone start a separate thread imo, so more people see it and doesn't get mixed in here with all the chatter.......

Go on then  :P

LOL I'm grinding 6 tables, I'll do a quick alert thread........

I'll fire one up then since I'm doing jack

I've had a few bets on the ashes for sweat reasons.

£25 KP Top Series Bat@9-1

£25 Swann Top Series Bowler@3-1

£25 England to win 2-1@9-1

£12.50 2-2 Draw@7-1

£6.25 England 4-0@40-1

£6.25 Australia 3-0@20-1

Last one i'd rather not win and am regretting placing it already!

I've gone Mitchell Johnson top Aussie bowler- could be between just him and Hilfenhaus if things don't go well for the hosts. Bollinger could easily come in for Siddle and Hauritz for Doherty if they need to make changes so could be just 2 bowlers playing all 5 tests.

Broad top England bowler

Australia to win the first test and lose the series

England to win 3-1

GRASSY PITCH, CHANGEABLE WEATHER


good toss to lose imo, risky to stick them in but you don't mind bowling


Going to be a fun few days

Going out to get a couple of beers to drink during the first hour I'm allowing myself to watch. Getting really excited now, very few things I get this excited for apart from big England rugby games.......... :)

Sounds worth a go

link anyone?

£100 on this at 10/1

Also £100 on England to win the first test at 11/5

GL mate,LETS DO THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

on the 3-1 England too, Cook series top batsman at 15.

Wiiiiiiiiiiiiii ship the flip

Let the ships continue......(http://smileys.on-my-web.com/repository/Leisures_and_Sports/cup-038.gif)

Good start. 100-1 at lunch please.

.

http://www.everythingon.tv/channel/view/sky-sports-1-1

Couple here

http://www.myp2p.eu/competition.php?competitionid=&part=sports&discipline=cricket

not tried though

Had a quick look couldn't find much. Cricket is pretty much the worst sport to find links for, due to a number of factors. There is always TMS.

Sorry KP but please get rid of that horrible slug on your face......... >:(

Had a bit on Trott to be Top England 1st Innings Bat @ 5/1

perfect thx

lol got to up for 6am.....but fk it

c'mon ennnnggggeeeerrrrllllaaaannnndddd

5-0 on their soil my prediction

FUCK OFF

series over already :(

oh dear

lol! anyone got link, listening  atm.

PLease GTFO this thread with that kind of talk >:(

Optimism ftw please :)

http://www.everythingon.tv/channel/view/sky-sports-1-1

Such an unbelievably poor shout from Strauss,huge sigh.

Lol, I reckon it is still a better start than we had in 06'.

Yeah, my optimism lasted a few balls extra :D

How many times can they review it ?

Well that referral was pretty confusing. I was sure he was out when they showed the technologic output, presumably ball was clipping leg and therefore decision on the field stands.

Has to hit full on I think...........

You are allowed 2 wrong reviews.

caption was wrong, should have been original decision as it was clipping leg.

Big 30 minutes this,we look really ragged.

Yeah, Atherton talked about 'clearing up the confusion' about that decision and managed to do absolutely no such thing, and Lloyd then kept going on about how it was sliding down leg, after it's already showed it hitting leg stump. Obviously is the 'just clipping' thing - not sure I agree with that as it happens, think it makes a bit of a mockery of the review process.

Anyway, anyone know if Australia lose a review for that, in spite of being correct in asking for it..? Obviously they shouldn't, but I don't know how they deal with it.

Yeh they lose one. They weren't correct in asking for it as there was no clear error made by the umpire.

yeah they lose one.

If its clipping, its whats classed as reasonable doubt. So whatever the original decision is, stands

http://www.totalsportsmadness.com/2010/11/22/ashes-live-stream-online-2010-ashes-test-live-video-links/ link 1 is sweet

Bed for me I think. Hopeful that the situation will have improved when I wake up.

Honours even I think, hopefully we can build on this as it looks a good wicket to bat on.

Agree,more of the same from KP and Cook after lunch plz.

how long is lunch?

2.40am restart

wicket should get easier, ball softer. Got to make the next session pay. 50-50 1st session

might nip to brothel

Slight advantage England i think, especially after losing Strauss so early. Their attack has looked ordinary imo.

Sure is possible to go to sleep when watching the Ashes,sure am switching it off.

Sigh, this isn't a 125-4 pitch.

Pretty much the same as the 1st session I think the Aussies had seized the initiative with the 2 quick wickets but England fought back well to make it a close session.

Both sessions 86-2 bizarrely.

this bowling attack is so ordinairy, all batsmen other than strauss getting starts, pitch is pretty decent, could do with a nice partnership between these two!!

Crucial partnershp,need to reach 250 without losing another wicket.

Would be so sweet if an Aussie hattrick gets scratched on referral.

Arses.

Sighhhhhhh.

Grame swann to be top england bowler 1st innnings 12/5 looks good to me as even doherty was getting it to spin, i think swanny will like this pitch

250 sighhhhhhhhhhhh

Trying find the positives, at least some of them posted some scores!

Katich is a sucker for LBW, next dismissal is 4/1 LBW, 9/4 LBW or bowled

We cant be having Bell bat at 6 when he is in such good form, just a waste that he has to bat with the tail and lower order, him and collingwood should swap!

big first hour this. No or few wickets and I fear the game is lost, as its going to flatten out a lot from here on

what time does it start?

12am

well a few people out there have said the pitch is gunna be better for bowling on days 2 and 3 so hopefully with the ball still relativly new we can nip a couple out sharpish and get back into it. if they get to lunch 100+ for none then i think were sturggling

If that happens were fooked. Just had a good sleep, and no early work commitments tomorrow so reckon I will see half of it tonight...........

BOWL IT UP FFS!!!!!!!!!!

Do these guys not learn anything?

Sigh, flat pitch and we're bowling too short

We're 150+ short on first innings too


Match over by tonight I fear

Tea is the crucial time, if we are into them big by then we are foooked............

Right COME ON!!!!!!!!!

A couple more right now please.........

A-ha!

Now this is a big half hour. Need Ponting cheap

Obv leave the sofa for the first time to make a coffee and we get a wicket.

Standard.

THATS IT JIMMY

deserved it after last few overs, much more like it, come on, nip another 1 or 2 out before lunch and were still in it

Please do the same 5 times more in the next hour.......... :)

GTFO Ricky!!!!!

[/quote] Did u go for anuva cupa :p

Did u go for anuva cupa :p
[/quote]

Ha the sick thing is I didn't see it live I was watching the NFL game and hadn't switched back for the afternoon session.

I saw all 10 of England's wickets yesterday!

 :)

GTFI!!!!!!!!!!!

C'MON.

Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii. Great catch.

Thought we'd got him there,sigh.Get another one quickly and where well back in this.

I didnt go make coffee

But i did go make tuna and sweetcorn wraps and we took a wicket during that time.

would you guys like me to get even fatter over the course of the next 2 months? i dont mind

Get in there

BAMMMMMMM

North's a poor starter. Need him early.

I might be hated for this lol, but had to back hussey to get a 100!!! Hes lookin in decent touch

 ;)

Please GTFO >:(

And wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii obv

barmy army barmy army barmy army!

swanny pwns left handers!!

We are back in this, lets get a few more.

Good fightback this, enjoying it.

Get Jimmy back in,things need freshened up here.Haha spk off the devil.

mother fkin replays, grr

Damn could have done with Hussey then..... :'(

Run better, Australia.

Impressive start, good pressure.

so sick how bad were running. on the plus side, bowing has been A+++ so far

Sick bowling, gotta happen soon surely?

get 1 we get the lot i think

Sooo frustrating, Hussey is putting me on tilt... Anderson must want him to GTFO!

FFS,Sky recording not worked due to snow and now whole thing not working :(

You obv online so Sky Player? Unless you are playing a hundred tables of course

You dont want to watch the 1st hour anyway If you have eaten anytime recently

Yeah I'm watching it on Sky Player but obv tv would be better.

I think this is going to get painful quickly....... :'(

We never get any wickets until I go to bed :(

I cant hold out til lunch so I'm off to make a toasted sambo, there'd better be a wicket down by the time i get back.

well **** of then u self c*** lol

So frustrating after bowling so well for the first hour and a half.
Commentators were saying if we restrict the lead to 100 and get 350 then that could be enough all of which is feasible but I wouldn't want to see the lead much bigger than that.

No wicket in the first couple of overs and this test is over,if it isn't already :(

Pleased with our bowling attack though and we can bat a lot better so I'm still confident.

we can bat alot better, but we haven't batted well for nearly 2 years now, the bowlers have been carrying the team for far to long , time for our batsmen to stand up and be counted.

THIS IS SHIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fk this shit, its too painful to watch, I'm off to bed..............

What just happened, an Australian batsman walked off the pitch on his own. It doesn't appear to be Lunch or Tea.

Anyone enlighten me?

Think he had to go off to be treated for sunburn after being outside for too long.

This is even more tilting, just shows what "might" have happened if we had made a breakthrough this morning/yesterday.

I fear this may be done by close tomorrow.

come on boys, we can still win

I'm on strauss to get over 24.5 at 4/7 cmon show a captains innings

bloody hell!!! phewwwww

I thought that was out in real time.

gunna be one hell of a slog. new ball was doing stuff like, these 2 gotta see it thru and it gets so much esier to bat. hollllllllldddddddddddddd

that first hour yesterday was sick. Anderson bowled fantastically

Need Swann to come to the party quick for Adelaide.

 >:(

That first hour was so frustrating, we were a whisker from wrapping them up, and instead got nothing! I had to go to bed!

New day,new hope,Lets gogogogo.

so far so good. i intend to stay up until the finish tonight to watch the heoric opening partnership of 289. looks like it might be a mitchell johnson 'on' day though.

anybody else tuned in?

yep, going about it totaly the correct way imo, being agresiv.

Yup,really good start.Pretty sure where going to win this.Lets do this.

Ricky lookin grumpy for the first time this series - lots more of that please.

Pretty surprised Aus are 2/1,I'm not betting against England but that's valuooooooo imo.Draw is 1.67 on Betfair.

If it is on you can assume I am watching.

Really good morning so far.

wuuuuuuueyyyyyyyyyyyy i love mitchell johnson!!

WOW,massive let off,GTFI.

well Johnson hasn't dropped the ashes...but he has dropped the 1st test now!

still a hell of a long way to go and a lot of time left in match, england gotta bat tilt lunch time 2moro minimun to get out of it

what a let off! but it definitely took the wind out of our sails against the spinners.

Meh, just came 15th in the 50rb at DTD so a bit disappointed. This has got me back on the right track :)

Disappointed ?? You get away from the pokers to watch the Ashes,shippppppppppp!!!

LOL would still prefer £14k tbh :D

Meh,it's close.

PHEW!!!!!!!! Take it easy Strauss.

he's defo losing it......pressure massive on him.....but he can handle it :)

I certainly wouldn't say losing it,Incred knock from Strauss after his first innings putting the pressure right on him to deliver.Keep it going plzzzzzzzz.

 :)

boooom superb straussy

GET IN THERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WP STRAUSS SICK GOOD.

Vwp Strauss, captains innings.

Lets make it a big hundred.

goooooo straussy....great knock...now go get a double century

Loving hearing the Barmy Army belting it out,sure not jealous.

crowd starting to make noise for the first time all match, come on the boys!!

Have we got an outside sniff of winning this? They seem to be scoring fairly quicky, maybe 300 ahead by tomorrow lunch time and stick 'em in for a shot? :)

19/1 on bf,Aus 5/1 is still massive though.We still got a lot of work to do.

would never do it, but aussie's 5/1 is very good value imo. if we lose 2 or 3 wickets before tea were still in a bit of trouble

The big period as Botham said is the 2nd new ball, hopefully we can get there with these 2 still there.

Don't think England winning is realistic, if we are lucky enough to get that far ahead I can't see Strauss being that adventurous with any decleration. The one scenario I see us winning is that are all out for 470ish and we set Aussies about 250 in about 50 overs and they collapse going for it.

fuckkkkk

Huge moment in the game now,got to add another 50 without loss.

Damn, just got to keep it going here.

No collapse plz.

this

If Strauss doesn't hesitate he probably stays in,surely his instincts should've been instant ? Obv not criticising him just strange that he pauses ?

massively crucial 10/15 overs now. get 30 ahead for no more wickets would be huge.

I'm fooked, bedtime soon for me ;sleep;

get to tea no more wickets on time!!!!

distinctly un-patriotic

I want to stay up trust me!

Coffee/Red Bull FTW.

Had a bottle of wine now so too late for that...........

how long till tea?

Can't be bad being Shane Warne,already multaii and getting paid for doing two jobs in the same place,niceeeeeeeeeeeee.

Think teas around 5ish.

tea is at 4.40am our time

refreshing to have warne back in the commentary box. he might be my favourite australian.

anyone see/hear gower getting destroyed by nasser's chair leg?lol

yeh

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ob75JKIElbM

Yeah his commentary is good.PMSL when Gower yelped out,gg.

Proper com when Bumble was asking Warne if he was connected,haha.

what was the comment when they were corpsing about 'throbbing with anticipation'?


how can our opening batsman (cook) be completely unable to play the drive?

in the lead!!

HOLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We haz a lead.

i clapped

Not really sure why you'd want to criticise Cook when he's hit +50 in both innings ? I very much doubt he can't either.

i'm not unhappy with him but he simply doesn't have that shot.

The shot he just played there was a peach.Hope he reaches a ton,deserves it.I like Alisdair.

Test cricket may be long but it's by far the best form of cricket,absolutely no doubt.Loving this,keep it going boys.

100%, it should be boring buts its utterly engrossing.

I keep moving towards the edge of my seat haha,great to watch.If all results are on for tmoro which they hopefully will be it'll be an incred last day.

Wp boys, hopefully Chef can get his ton.

Game is probably close to even now, the Aussies still stand a better chance to win because of the time restrictions.

draw is so so likely, we can't risk hitting out. great result from our position.

Just put £20 on us @ 22's :)

Lets gogogogogogo.

i would have laid it for you!!!!   no way they can take ten wickets on this pitch in 2 sessions.

Jimmy mfkn Anderson can.

i hope so

As long as we don't lose I'll be happy.

Nice one Cook, very solid innings.

Great knock,more plz.

Ponting's getting desperate, that never looked out.

Gambolllll!!!!!!!!!!!!

pwning

Ship :)

England's best hope of a win tonight is to collapse and get bowled out...set them 200 and hope the pitch crumbles

that apart should be a draw!

This just shows how weak australia are without a world class spinner! Strauss and cook absoulte class!

You never know what will happen in this game, if Anderson bowls like he did in the first innings he could easily knock out 3 or 4 early, they start getting nervous then and anything can happen........

Lol at this talk of England winning - if they get bowled out wth a lead of 250 they won't be thinking 'great, we can win this now' - they'll be bricking it.

Of course its LOL realistically, but you never know in this game. A lead of 250 would give us a better chance to win the game anyway, by the time we get there the aussies would have to take big risks to get to it...............

No declaration for me, keep them out there all day. The 2nd test starts in a few days, at Adelaide the best wicket in Australia, win the toss there and the Aussies could be in the field for four days in just over a week.

Nah gotta have a punt! :D

Yes but its their best chance of winning, by being put in a position where they have to take wickets


they aren't going to declare otherwise are they? they need to be bowled out to stand a chance of the win, thats my point

I would declare but not in attempt to win the game, it just isn't realistic with the time left in the game especially on this pitch.

If we do get to a point just after Tea where we are 300 ahead, I would put the aussies in for an hour. Just to rough them up a bit and maybe give Swanny some extra overs. It is exactly what the Convicts wouldn't want to do, which is exactly the reason to do it.

Lets just save the game first.

There will be no declaration - even if the game is saved Strauss would rather players got more batting time rather than tiring out bowlers. After the first innings a draw will feel like a win so it will be advantage England - five draws will suit us fine.

No they won't, I have zero interest retaining the ashes that way >:(

Totally agree,If where going to win it I don't want it to be by default.

I think the point is valid though, there's no point in us risking losing to gain a win right now. Also Strauss has never been very adventurous with his declarations so I doubt he'll start now.

so it logically follows that our best chance of winning is to collapse this morning then bowl them out!

but I'd take the bat for two sessions and move on, now, lol

I'm not much of a statto but we can't have had many 25 year old openers for England who've played as many tests with such a solid record. Take a bow.

I'm feeling pretty tired already,going to be a longgggggggggggg night.

 rotflmfao rotflmfao At spot the Aussie.

Actually got to go out in the morning so giving it a miss tonight. Can't be anything but a draw.

I'm guna watch first couple hours and see,be so devd if I went to sleep and we won but not really looking to right off 2 days as I'd have to go all the way through with work at 8.

That cover drive seemed tasty enough to me...

going to goto bed to listen to tms

it will be called a draw at tea

and i am feeling like crap so hoping

an early night with tms will sort me out

I was quite amused when half hour after ACE2M posted this Warne said "Another great cover drive from Cook" :)

LOL

ROFL

I really don't get why with 9 wickets in hand and a reaonable lead why we can't have a blast at this ?

Another 50 and I'd agree with you.......

Safety first n all that.

Because we've got back to back tests and we want to grind them into submission in the field.

Oh and we can't win this test but if we tried something silly we could possibly still lose.

Pretty sure where not going to at any point though,hope I'm wrong.

It wouldn't be impossible to win this,if we smash some runs and make it 280 runs ahead with 50 overs if we got 1 or 2 wickets in the first few overs they'd be bricking it and with them nervous anything could happen.

Doesn't it make your heart glad, seeing us flay the Aussies?

The way where batting maybe we are :)

If we go 1 up in the series then there really is no way back for the aussies, there bowling attack is so weak, siddle bowled the spell of his life on day 1 and i doubt he will even get close to that again.

406-1 never seen anything like it

So sweet. I'm gonna be fecked in the morning but can't go bed just yet!

Haha,same here.

‎5th day of the test must be fancy dress, the Aussies have all come as plastic seats!!

LOL

tms

Think I'll just watch Cook get his double century & Trott his ton before bed.

;D

kp must be hating this. doubt he's ever been padded up this long

Ship the 200 cooky......

 ;tightend;

Reckon we should be having a punt now.

[  ] will happen

Oi Oi Oi Trotty........

Bloody well done lads! I'm going to bed with a smile on my face.

Incred stuff from all three,vvwp.

Honestly don't think they can lose now. Have a bang after lunch IMO........

ridic good

We've got no reason not to have a go now.

He's probably gutted at missing his chance to score 200!

I don't think we are appreciating this 456/1 score tbh. We may never see this again in our lifetimes......

never out

It is an amazing score,the performance we put in yesterday was incredible.It was that good am not even shortening it to incred.

Tough, I wasnt sure tbh....

I think it was, which is even better.

Ponting throwing his toys out of the pram, is one of the greatest sights in sport.

Tez Aussie performance now I think England should make it exciting and declare go for the win

think we're getting carried. Flattest wicket ever with Aussies least threatening attack ever equals current score

Yeah but if we want to win we need a fee overs as wicket is so flat

this

looks like they've started to go for it a bit now

The greatest sight ever in sport was ponting getting the permanent scar on the side of his face from Harmison as a reminder of the 2003 win...... ;D

The mighty, mighty army!!!!!

This is so com, complete and utter dominance.

Deffo should stick them in before tea.

Might cancel my holiday and go watch us win this instead.......

If I had the money I'd 100% be there,incred scenes with the barmy army rocking in the gabba.

Been watching cricket for 30 years, don't think i've ever seen 500/1......lol

 :)

Am pissed now but will stay up for anther 30 mins or so.......

Lets shake em up boys.

I was at Trent Bridge with an Aussie mate in 1989, when Mark Taylor and Geoff Marsh batted through the first day finishing 310-0. This makes up for all the piss taking that day. Plus i'm seeing him tomorrow night. It's payback time.  :)

Jimmy, Jimmy, Jimmy Anderson...

Who knows eh?

There's one!

Would love to get Ponting cheap, really put the pressure on the captain.

HOWZATTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CMON :)

We've caused more problems in them three overs there than they did in two days.The fact we've even got one wicket so quickly is obv so deflating for there bowling attack,can't wait for Adelaide.

2nd Test commencing Friday. Australia 3.65, England 3.6, Draw 2.18.

Very rare to see the draw that short in Aus.

May be worth a punt that England win the toss, bat, and put up a score on the flattest track in Aus......?

lol

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pht2ApNG53U

Def gonna be a draw in Adelaide without some sort of collapse

Check about 5 pages back  ;whistle;

Even money though seems very stingey and is surely too low.
Think i will lay it at those odds and hope for something in the pitch.

that's my view. Yes the draw is favourite, but its in the price. Value is elsewhere

Adelaide Oval groundsman Damian Hough is preparing a pitch that should deliver a positive result in the second Test.
Full story: Adelaide Advertiser (http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/the-ashes/adelaide-curator-to-prepare-a-pitch-he-hopes-will-produce-a-result/story-fn67x4c9-1225962879570)

It's unlikely to happen, but i would like to see Bresnan in for Collingwood. I've been saying for 12 months that i don't think think we can win in Australia with just 4 bowlers. 5 tests in 6 weeks on flat wickets is a hell of a task for a 4 man attack. The Aussies know this hence their approach to Swann in the first test, if he is unable to tie up an end Anderson and Broad are going to be bowled into the ground.

There was some talk of Shazad replacing Finn to exploit his reverse swing, but they have had quite a lot of rain apparantly so if the outfield is lush i can't see it happening.

Lets win the toss and bat for 5+ sessions.

COME ON.

LET'S GOGOGOGOGOGOGOGOGOGOGOGOGOGOGGOGOGOGOGOGOGOGGOOOOOOO

Come on England!!!

What price Strauss wins the toss?

Nooooooooooo but I prefer to watch England bowl

10/11

When i worked at Skybet a customer always used to ring up and have like £5,500 on a team to win the toss @ 10/11

is it midnight kickoff?

Epic lol

Have managed to reverse my body clock completely, so looking forward to watching/listening to Australia rack up 350-3...

yip

not sure if they still do it but laddies used to go 11/10 one side, always amused me.

Proper tosser obv.

Get in there!  Great start

GTFIIIIIIIIIIIIII

GET OUT

booooooooooooooooom

so good...

OH HI DER!!!!!!!

GTFO Katich

wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

wiiiiiiiiiii. awesome start

When I used to run the trading for a big US sportsbook we used to bet on the Superbowl coin toss and one day in the run up I had to leave early and left my assistant in charge.  The next day when i came in I was looking through the prices and noticed that we were betting 4/6 head and 11/10 tails.  When I queried it the girls said "I took a big bet on heads and thought I had better move the line in case they knew something".....I didn't know where to start explaining why this was wrong and had a bit of a hangover so I said...."move it back...i quite fancy tails so will take a bit more!!!"

LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL

weeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

LOL OMG!!!!

GET OUT RICKY

yyyyyyyyyyyyeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeessssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss

bye bye Ricky

Is this Real ?

FUKN CMON

zomg

WIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIi

GTFO Ponting!

Wow

good job i'm not a betting man

Good toss to lose?

Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii, get out Ponting.

Incred scenes, the England supporters in the background was amazing.

yeeehaaaaa laters ponting.. am dancing round my lounge!! unreal

OH JIMMY JIMMY,JIMMY JIMMY JIMMY JIMMY ANDERSON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WEEEEEEEEE GTFO RICKY!


WEEEEEEEEEEEEE GTFO PUP!

Is this fucking real?

This is superb!!

I am dreaming!

doubt it somehow

Please don't let it be a sick Aussie joke.

gtfo aussies

Pretty incred dream i am having, might post about it on blonde tomorrow.

Anyone know any online links where I can watch?

FFS. trying to finish a challenge on COD, fine to miss the first 15 mins surely i thought!!!!


come on boys.....

CGI obv ;D

Aus 3-3

Will someone  confirm this score isn't just on my TV

Are you watching Blatter?

lol Richard Herring on twitter: Australia have lost their top run scorer! Sorry, their run scorer!

gratz to australia for finally taking the lead, now 6-3 up

sorry to be the party pooper but On hussey to make a century again

 ;nemesis;

Me too, regardless of the pitch i just feel more comfortable watching England bowl, I always fear a batting collapse and every ball has me on edge where as if theyre bowling you can be more relaxed watching imo.

P.s Unbelievable start, Jimmy is the man!

Found a link yay!

Epic star!

Katich out not having faced a ball? That can't of happened too many times to a top of the order batsman?

Norrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr Anderson's shit.

first test top 3 english batsmen score centuries. second test top 3 aussies score zero. gotta love it

When Anderson gets it to swing, he is absolutely lethal.

Aussies have steadied the ship at 14/3.

As Mikey Holden says he's the King of Schwing!

Sloe gin poured. Dominos ordered. Mr Cricket's wicket now please

PMSL @ Bumble,blokes abs com,legend!!

U can have domino's this late?

order up to 12.30, 1.30 tomorrow and saturday

5am close in West Bridgford

Is it? Used to be 11pm.............

really, wow. times I posted must just be my local then. I run bad

Yeh that's 7 days a week too. I'd say it's mad but it's pretty good for an Ashes series down under so can't complain.

Would have taken that for sure at the start of the day. Just annoying the pitch seems to be getting better to bet on. Hopefully Jimmy can do something with the ball after Lunch.

Huge wicket,GTFI

kp holding a catch. now I know it's a dream

LOL,was a good catch too.Time for another I reckon,Swanny ?

YESSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

michael hussey is an absolute class act, such a good temprement. Bowling been very very good so far, pitch really isnt 160-5!! come on boys, nip them out before the end of the day

oiuhutdfhrtrytyhuijk

tht is huge wicket!!!

Yessss, Swanie!! Get in there..

Bye, Hussey.

Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
Swanie on for Hat trick, come on my son.

207-7

Great time to pick up a couple of wickets, but the referral system is an absolute nonsense a lot of the time. Harris knows 100% that he's hit that, and everyone else knows it as well since otherwise he wouldn't refer it.

In cases like this you actually get a worse decision with the referral system than you do without. Without referrals, the umpire gives it and everyone says 'ah well, might have hit it might have not, but swings and roundabouts etc etc' - with referrals everyone knows the decision is wrong but there's not enough evidence to overturn it. And the team doing the referring lose a referral, even though they were right...

What was Ponting fuming about at the end?

Excellent stuff, fell asleep at Lunch first bit of the series I have missed, meh.

Aussies are at least 150 short on this track, bat all day tomorrow and significant portion of the 3rd day plz.

usually i would say i wouldnt wanna have to chase to many last on a pitch against australia. im really not concerned, imo we declare over night on zero, bowl them out again 2moro, and knock off the runs on day 3 so we dont have to worry about batting on day 4/5 pitch

I wasn't watching live but If you have 2 referrals and 3 wickets left and the rest are bunnies I think you're going to be referring close to 100% of decisions.

Yeah, I take your point, but it was obvious that he was referring it because he knew he wasn't out, rather than on the off chance.

really struggling with the crossword today, 10 down: Australian start to an innings (2,4,3)

the referral system is not being used in the way it was designed....its being used far more as a game of tactics ("they're 12-3 and if we can get another one now we're in great shape, even if its only 10% to be overturned") than a game of "that's obviously wrong, we must overturn it"

I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing, but it is a poorly thought out systen

Does the coaches' challenge system in NFL get used in the same, tactical way?

I think it works pretty well tbh, I don't see a problem with tactical use.

That was an interesting one with Harris last night though, I think its likely he did feather the ball but the conclusive evidence was not there to overturn the decision.

Yeah sort of,but  it works differently as the coaches have headsets to their staff upstairs who are watching replays of the incident to advise them whether to challenge

They would not challenge a call that is clearly wrong if it meant reversing a 3 yard gain.

Yet a 5% chance of overturning a touchdown to the opposition would almost always be challenged.

There was definitely enough evidence there to overturn that decision imo, hotspot showed there was a nick there albeit faint, you could also see the ball deviate in real time with your own eyes and obviously Harris was convinced he hit it with his immediate call for the review. A bit disappointed  with all the technology that a guy who hits the ball Is still gave out lbw. I would have been steaming if it was the other way round.

Can they use hotspot for the referrals?

I'm not convinced of that tbh, if you think about how clearly the nicks normally show up it was hard to overturn it, bearing in mind it was barely visible.........

Hotspot is used yes, Snicko is not


there was one in Brisbane, no evidence on hotspot, snicko was clear


The whole thing is still a bit unsatisfactory to my mind, but its early days...

I don't get not using snicko tbh, that probably would have been conclusive............

lol barely visible is still visible isnt it

I heard the comms say last night that Snicko takes too long to use thats why it aint being used.

snicko can't be set up in time. takes 6 minutes or something like that at the moment to analyse a particular delivery

Its was probable and not conclusive though, even sky had to trawl through the replay a number of times afterwards to spot it, I didn't see it till they pointed it out either. I doubt the umpire even saw it first time round let alone be able to give it.

I'm gonna declare Woodsey, will you take a draw?

But I wanna win :D

Whatever you get the general point  :)

Snicko would be used in the UK but the host broadcaster chooses what to use.
Aussies chose hotspot and whatever the southern hemisphere version of hawk eye is.

The point of the refferal is to overturn the obvious bad decisions and leave it in the hands of the umpires. If it was barely visable on hotspot it shows why the umpire didn't give it so it wasn't an obviously wrong decision.

Really? Ii thought we used snicko here, or is it always several mins after they show it? :dontask:

I thought Snicko was bollocks because the sound graph and image had to be lined up by hand so the operator basically chooses whether there is an edge or not.

apparently they can get away with hotspot decisions that are very faint if they have stickers on their bats where the ball hits as they don't show up like hitting the wood does. I suppose this decision is the reverse of that so it evens out?

The referal system itself hasnt failed here, as the referal system is in place to take out the absolute stinking decision's. In real time, (and slowmotion for that matter) this is far from a stinker. One thing i hate about the referal system is that it can be used to really knock a team's confidence, ie james anderson being given a wicket, the whole team celebrating, it gets refferd, and the whole team is on a low, i dont think this is right.

WTF ??

i was about to take the piss out of bollingers face paint. twat

Hawkeye said it was going over...

LOL,Pretty terrible leave from Strauss,huge sigh!!

The new ball is a mare on this wicket

pukka looking ground btw

Confusion sets in as I watch the feed on laptop and Primeval on BBC1. On the TV was guy with a white painted face and it's a horror story, on the laptop........ hmm let;s see.

lol @ hussey getting nutmegged

Haha,we are riding our luck here,lets hope it continues.

Phew,reviews are great :)

 Keep it going Cook and Trott,great stuff already wpwp.

looking forward to k.p coming in, if he keeps his head, theres no reason he cant make a big score

Another session in the bag,hopefully KP steps up with a decent knock and Cook makes another ton,didn't someone say they'd backed him to be top Eng scorer for series ? MBN if so.

SICK GOOD FROM COOK  ;kneelsucker;

just in incredible nick right now

on the commentry they said it might piss down day 4 n 5 without a ball being played?? mega sighhh if that happens

Yeah heard that,just Botham saying it.The actual forecast is possible showers.Hopefully not,be pretty sick if it is a washout.

england should have a 300+ lead this time tomorrow no need to worry about batting on the poor wicket on fifth day if they can keep this up

Looking really good.

Pietersen is looking good and this is kind of circumstances where he can take an attack to the cleaners.

Nevermind the cricket,how the hell did you get that score on Brick in the Wall ???

Australian bowling attack is just comical

Great day today,VWP England.

reckon we should play 6 bowlers for the 3rd test. doesn't matter how long your tail is if you never reach it

great stuff yet again

Been waiting decades to see the Aussies in disarray like this. Hope the weather allows us to win it here

Cook has just got sensational temperament. Second only to Tendulkar for number of test centuries at the age of 25 (granted thats a modern day stat due the the greater number of tests played) and near the end went past Wally Hammond's English record of 370 runs without being dismissed

He's now batted over 1000 minutes without being dismissed and has been on the field for all the series bar 11 overs.

he's an hour short of 3 full days since he was last out. ridid good

anyone know what the lump on pontings back is?

I think the chip on his shoulder slipped.

lol

Dreadful waste of their last review there, they've shot it mentally imo.

desperate times call for desperate measures

 lol loving it

Ricky prob thought it was worth a gamble once the runs were signaled as leg-byes - from his viewpoint he wouldn't have seen it hit the batsman about a foot outside the line.

WD KP, he is such a glory boy though isn't he? :D

well chuffed for kp. having him on form could make the difference this series

 ;applause; Cookie  :)

"The fizz has gone out of Bollinger"

100% this.Although tbf we crush them in every department.

Even if Cook has seven ducks in the next seven innings this series, he averages 50 for the series


Now that is a stat!

Low Aussie crowd again. I hope we've put them off cricket for life.

at my brother in laws, he hasn't got sky  ;grr;. lets move on, link please.....

http://www.everythingon.tv/channel/view/sky-sports-1-1

ta

what a great session again 132/1

ha ha. pieterson is such a show pony.

Pieterson has got his eye on something really big here, he's looking very focussed.

Nathan Hauritz is no world beater, but to pick this clown in front of him is unbelievable.

Yeh North looks the better spinner for Australia.
Doherty has only played 37 games in 9 year. Don't know how he's playing for Australia.

When we declaring? Bearing in mind possible weather, 300 ahead and have a punt right? Hope they don't get too conservative..............

350 for me. should give us about an hour to bowl at them tonight

declare sometime after tea give us 10-15 overs tonight

They were suggesting 400 on Sky, that's too high for me, we can always bat again...............

but they might give wait till peterson gets out after run of form they might want to give him chance of trebel
but i would assume they tell him to treat the last session as a T20 innings

400 lead 45 mins before the close i reckon.

200 then swing for it imo..........

no point leaving it too late imo, we can always bat again 4th innings!!! give them 20 overs tonight after the batsmen been in the feild for 2 days

5 of the top 6 in redic form

and coly looked nice for his brief innings

I foooking hope not, too conservative............

This............

yeah, 400 def too conservative. 300 is probs enough but the problem I have with it is we should be there by tea, it's still a good batting surface and the last thing we want is to declare too soon and watch their openers bat a whole session

350, throw fresh bowlers at them for an hour and then let swan bowl at them on a day 4 pitch

Yup, I'm rat arsed now anyway.......... :D

Good lad KP, peacock it up I don't mind.......... ;D

Rain  >:(

norrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

delighted with my decision to go to bed at tea

what do we do now? I'd like to see us just declare overnight, we can't lose the test from here. got a feeling we're gonna bat for 1/2 hour though

I reckon it might depends what the conditions are like, but readless I would declare now and get straight into them. Hopefully Jimmy might get the ball to swing early in the morning.

Having lost a session and with the forecast unsettled you have to declare now, on the assumption more time will be lost. Could be ok bowling conditions too, and North was spinning it square yesterday.

I'd bat for a ball and then declare just to piss Ponting off.

Pretty sure I would be pissed off than Ricky if this happened.

Great plan bongo. We lose a couple of overs for the change of innings, then it rains a bit and the match finishes with us 1 run short. That's why you weren't captain in leeds

Meh no decleration yet, have just looked at the forecast for tomorrow and it looks horrid.

Think we should gamble a bit here (not that it is that much of a gamble).

Odd. They know that there might be little play tomorrow, they might need to bowl them out today, so why bat on?

There's no gamble. Game is not losable from here. Anything but an overnight declaration would be terribad

Duuno I think they should declare, as they are in they should swing away for 30 mins max

i quite fany a geet sized burder now like

Sigh at not declaring,ridic decision imo.

This all seems very pointless.

Given the fact that there is a horrid forecast, Australia are very unlikely to get that far ahead given that if they bat well. If there is zero rain and they set us say 150 (that is about the max) against this attack on this pitch we would massive faves to chase that easy.

Be nice to get to 600 though now, it's a psychological barrier maybe.

declare, please

Doherty turned one square to get KP, Swann can win this for us

Gift Doherty 3 wickets to keep him in for the next test.

go for sixes till we are out.

WHY ??

Finally,lets do this!!!!

27-3-158-1

Not sure that plan quite worked. I will be truly amazed if they pick him for the 3rd test.

bring back mitchell johnson

No chance of him playing again, he should never have played in this match.

Well Doherty has done his job, he was picked to get Pietersen out!

Fun innit

Winning is more fun.

FYP :P

Which commentators do you loathe most? Nasser and Botham are especially irritaing imo.

I think Nasser is actually the most informative of them tbh. Botham is not that great but is there for 'legend' value, and taking the piss out of Nasser of course......... :D

Bumble and Warne the best 2 imo.

Come on England! Although a bit of a shame for my fantasy team that Watson is out.

boooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooom tht is huge!!!

Just watched the highlights and the Swann interview.

Can just imagine KP running in the changing room shouting "I'M AN ALL-ROUNDER"

Does it start 30mins early again tonight?

Is there any news on Broad? If he's injured could we see KP bowl a bit more today?

11:30 start.

No real news on Broad, doubtful is the word I have heard used.

Anyone got any idea how much time we are likely to lose to rain today?

It will rain but the forecast is getting better. Michael Holding is on Sky sports now saying that the forecast is for it not till rain till after tea.

England are 1.68 on betfair, which is shorter than when the innings started.

Should be a very interesting days cricket.

Just spoken to a guy who bets heavily on cricket and his latest info is that 50 overs are expected to be bowled today.

That sounds like very few, is he lumping on the draw?

Vaughan has said on twitter it looks similar yesterday.

Broad has a torn stomach muscle, I gather


We need two wickets in the first session. Get that and we're in business, long tail and worsening pitch

50 overs should be plenty. Aussies going down.

Today in Adelaide
Rain Amount    40-80mm

Tomorow in Adelaide

Rain Amount 1-5mm

which carries on until Friday when it gets less than 1mm

lol, good timing.

Broad will fly home apparently - out of the series.
Will 2 bowlers need to come in?

Tremlett for perth, monty for sydney. A big blow to the balance of the side though

I doubt anyone will come in. We have Bresnan, Shazad and Tremlett in the squad. Plus if we win today i can't see us playing 5 bowlers in the remaining tests.

Although I think Broads very good I think he's been the weakest of the bowling attack so it's not a major setback.Still disappointing though.

That's what I meant - would be need to go to 5 bowlers to make up for the loss. Decent batsman too. I'd probably get Bresnan in for him.

This will be all over by lunch imo. Come on England.

Swanny will clean them up no bother.

SIGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CMONNNNNNNNNN,HUGE WICKET

huuuuuuuuge wicket

lol fans behind are incred

 ;yippee; ;yippee; ;yippee;

do england get another go at batting when aus have been bowled out?

this is clever. keeping north in so he gets picked again

Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii.

Oh Jimmy Jimmmy.

WIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

OH JIMMY JIMMY..................

SHIPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

On a hatrick lets do this

cheerio, cheerio, cheerio

shipppppppppppppppppppppppp

epic stuff

Plz don't rain.

Comedy leave from Harris. lol.

Looking like an early night for a change :)

This one's out imo.

SWANN SWANN WILL TEAR YOU APART AGAIN

GTFI

lol they are tez

This is brilliant.

I love cricket.

What was the umpire thinking there btw?

Hahahahahahahah this is brilliant, will be over before the niffle

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say no

so pleased with this. though I was going to have to 2 table the ashes and MNF. can probs have the nfl on fullscreen now

Have had to get out of bed, turn the radio off and the TV back on.

Think he thought North hit it first.

Reviews FTW

They could be all out before Anderson get's a go at his hat-trick.

Jimmy's got to be happy with his hatrick chance now

doesnt get much more middle middle than that

gtfo aussies!

EH?????? How have the bails not fell

Aussies run good

Stat of the day

In two test matches, no player batting number 8 has made a run

Over 1,300 runs have been scored in that time

give them a chance. the 2 no. 8s only faced 2 balls between them in this test

SWANNYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

One more. Hurry up Swanny, I need sleep.

Start the car.

a good sweepstake would be...how many Australia changes for Perth?


4? Katich, North, Doherty, Bollinger

more?

Sounds about right Tighty

Replacements: Hauritz, Hilfenhaus, Ferguson and Hughes?????

Katich out now...

For the series, that is.

I'm not sure Harris is fit, thought it was strange he didn't bowl yesterday.

Katich out for the rest of the Series.

Steve Smith a possibility? Can bat a bit.

Something like that

Hughes
Watson
Punter
Clarke
Hussey
Ferguson
Haddin
Hauritz
Siddle
Hilfenhaus
Some other seamer

We can lag it up with Tremlett for bounce and wickets or tag it up for the batting of Bresnan

Johnson will be back.

Winner

WIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

WIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Awesome.

Losing by an innings and 71 after winning the toss and batting in Adelaide - wp Ricky and Co.

Go screw yourselves Australia, looking forward to 20 years of dominating your superior smug cricketing backsides


Next!

Boom!

SHIP THE INNNINGS WIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!

GET IN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

INCRED STUFF BY ENGLAND,WP ALL

(http://smileys.on-my-web.com/repository/Leisures_and_Sports/cup-038.gif) (http://www.mysmiley.net/imgs/smile/party/party0036.gif)

Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii, leading a test series in Australia doesn't even seem real.


Think Tighty says it best, lol.

So much latent torment just erupted there.

A little credit must go to Strauss and Flower for deciding to bat on yesterday morning. In hindsight having the new ball this morning was very shrewd!!

GTFO Ricky,they sure have any bowlers anywhere near as good as Jimmy Anderson.

Worst possible start to the day for me as the power went off after the 3rd over.  ;madasahatstand;

Hammered it down too apparently. Wouldn't have been any play after lunch.

 :)

http://www.sport24.co.za/Cricket/Ashes/Chappell-Botham-clash-at-Test-20101207

Have you seen the rain that fell after lunch? Makes the win sweeter !

(http://i484.photobucket.com/albums/rr210/jarv_1/rain_1779519i.jpg)

Article of the day in the Sydney Morning Herald

No matter how low you might be, read the Aussie press the day after they lose


lololol


As the clouds of despair engulfed Australian cricket at a far greater rate than the storm clouds that were supposed to provide ill-deserved salvation, the inclination was to declare all hope lost. However, I remain confident Australia can win the series.

Yes, the opposing batsmen will plunder an attack that penetrates about as deeply as a picnic fork pressed on a chargrilled T-bone and the Australian top order urgently requires an alarm clock that rouses them before midday. Yet, with eight or nine changes, some favourable umpiring, the aid of seasonal monsoons and the possibility the series will be cancelled altogether because it clashes with the Indian Premier League, Australia remains capable of retaining its place in the top dozen or so Test playing nations after April's proposed tour of Bangladesh.

You thought I was referring to the current series against England? Are you 'avin' a laugh?
Advertisement: Story continues below

On the evidence presented, Australia has a snowball's hope at the 2022 World Cup of regaining the Ashes. Indeed, the idea of Ricky Ponting and his demoralised battlers halting the English juggernaut is like putting a toothpick on the tracks in the hope of derailing a speeding bullet train.

The final two days at Adelaide, we were assured, was when we would find out what this Australian team was made of. The results are not yet back from the lab, but it seems to be some sort of gooey, soft-centred material that melts rapidly when heat is applied, is easily removed from flat surfaces, does not bounce or spin and which stinks to high heaven.

The taste? Ask Alastair Cook, Kevin Pietersen or one of the other Englishmen who have dined out on the Australians for the past eight days of Test cricket.

Australia, of course, should not be disappointed by their dismal performance in Adelaide against an abundantly talented English line-up. They should be chastened, humiliated and utterly sick to the stomach.

Not merely because their ineptitude means the closest they will get to holding the Ashes is on a sightseeing tour at Lord's, but because they allowed the Barmy Army to complete the most chilling invasion of Australian soil since Japanese bombs rained down on Darwin. Listening to the endless choruses of Jerusalem and God Save Your Queen, you would have thought Adelaide was a small city in Shropshire, not the local home of mullets, serial killers and Christopher Pyne.

Which is not to say the Australians achieved nothing at the Adelaide Oval.

Xavier Doherty managed something that was, just two weeks ago, on the ''you must be daft'' side of implausible - he forced a nation to turn its lonely eyes (back) to Nathan Hauritz. Which is a bit like a chainsaw killer making you fondly reminisce about the home intruder who merely beat you on the head with a tyre lever rather than dicing up your spleen.

Marcus North, in his last match for Australia, provided a reminder of his significant place in the game's history - he was, according to Cricinfo's archive, the only Test player whose surname is also a point on the compass. North failed at the crease. But, without him, Australia might have lost all sense of direction.

In the second innings, Michael Clarke showed his backbone to someone other than the team physiotherapist. Yet he remains the most baffling figure. While you could easily forgive Clarke's decision not to walk on the (hastily tweeted) grounds he was devastated by his dismissal to Pietersen in the last over of the day, his later admission that he was trying to push the ball around the corner for a single so he could get off strike is not the type of revelation you want from the captain-apparent.

Otherwise, in the outer, we are left with nothing but our savage second-guessing of the selectors, our black humour and, for English friends, our overflowing message banks. And with the very real hope that, when required, those Bangladesh monsoons move at a greater rate than the sluggish Adelaide storm clouds.

Lol very com Tighty, It had me at the start it was an M knight shamalamadingdong(sp) twist

nicked from Jaffa Cake on facebook

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3evE7s2LOu8

^^ Same guy did this, its good

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMqfLADC_20

very good

good to see broad's staying with the squad and not flying home until after the next test. he deserves to be there when we retain the ashes

warne to play in this series has been backed from 16/1 to 6/1

I've played poker with Shane Warne.

He never mentioned anything to me about a comeback.

how long ago? just before the 2009 ashes he said he'd consider it if asked

Would be sick if he came back, obviously I wouldn't want him to do well but then it would be awful if he was rubbish.

fyp  :)

I reckon Warney is the reason the price for a return has dropped, been lumping on his life savings imo............ ;D

Did he mention anything about who the next Wales manager might be?

i got him to pour me a glass of water at wsope cause it was too high for me
no idea who he was till i saw his sponsors logo on back of shirt and then it twigged

didnt mention comeback to me either but i think that was 2008

No.

But, funnily enough, I think he did say he thought Ken Bates was a wanker.

I love Warne, but pls don't come back.

This. Obviously a fantastic cricketer and seems like a good bloke too. For an Aussie obv.

Wouldn't want him to return as the morale-boosting effect he could have shouldn't be underestimated.

Bring him on IMO.

michael beer. bet none of you saw that coming

only 5 first class matches played but looks like he'll be in the XI

nope

"Beer's inclusion is the biggest stunner since Peter "Who" Taylor was given a baggy green cap against England in 1986-87, Sydney Morning Herald

Steve Smith to to maybe bat at 6.


Some odd decisions, looking like English Cricket selectors 1980-2005     

I loved the story about when England gave a cap to Darren Pattinson (11 first class matches) against SA a couple of years ago. The SA players asked their bowling coach if he had any videos of him bowling for them to study.

He said 'Videos? I can't even find him on Cricinfo.' (He was listed as an Australian).

When I saw the name Beer flash across the screen on SSnews, at first I thought they meant  Beer from Sussex

Have to love the Barmy Army

Brilliant!

Perth on Wednesday night, time to replenish the sleepbanks!

Trawling the Aussie newspapers online is quite my favourite pastime at the moment

Yeah same, I thought ours were brutal........... ;D

Hauritz sells his kit outside his house

http://www.skysports.com/cricket/ashes/story/0,26376,12340_6572988,00.html

love these

http://www.ecb.co.uk/news/england/england-in-australia-2010-11/vote-for-swanny,312758,EN.html

draw out to 4.0 for Perth. Reports of green result wicket

You'd expect some form of result pitch given the Aussies have to win 2 from 3.

Gladstone Small on the wireless this morning stating that he had been to the group yesterday and could not even tell which pitch was to be cut for the test - "All wickets the same colour as the outfield".

Obviously they will trim a strip down before the start Thursday buy Jimmy and Finn must be bubbling over with anticipation.

good article

http://betting.betfair.com/cricket/ashes-betting/match-previews/ashes-third-test-betting-australia-141210.html

SWANNNNN SWANNNNNN WILL TEAR YOU APARTTTTTT AGAIN, SWANNNN SWANNNN WILL TEAR YOU APART AGAINNNNN.

even though its actualy gunna be jimmy anderson and finn who ripp thru them

COME ON BOYS!!

The way they are talking on sky, they are expecting this pitch to do quite a bit. Not very often you see 2 captains adamant that they want to bowl first in a test match.

oi oi tremlett!!!

BOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Get in there Tremlett

Stunning.

Brilliant catch by Colly.

Must be in the running for best fielder in the world.

gtfo punter. what a catch

Incredible catch and an abs hugeeeeeeee wicket,thought Ponting was going to put a big innings in.

Lets do this!!

was just saying to a few friends ponting is still class and is well over due a score and capable of punishing strauss' drop (more like cuple runs saved imo) and then colly manages to pluck that one out the air. hero!!

Incred stuff

love it. hopefully punter will get his wish of having a bowl on this wicket today

oh no, i put Hughes in my team.

Could get caught in this test, i fancied the Aussies to launch a fightback. Sure seems likely atm.

Weeeeeeeee another one gone.

Like Warne and Bumble I don't get why they aren't batting Haddin at 6, he is deffo good enough.