Australia in England

[squiz]

I'm just happy England weren't good enough to bowl us out in 108 overs

Goodbye Gillespie, wave goodbye to the ashes England

 

[aldersley]

i can't believe no one has mentioned how poor Harmison's last over was. i could bowl a better over than that. 2 down the leg a couple easily left and a full toss on the last ball of the over. Absolutely shocking.

 

[m_vaughan]

I am sure if you bowled the Aussies would have scored atleast 36 runs in that last over

 

[Sureshot]

i can't believe no one has mentioned how poor Harmison's last over was. i could bowl a better over than that. 2 down the leg a couple easily left and a full toss on the last ball of the over. Absolutely shocking.

Can i say how poor mcGrath and Warne were in the second innings and first for McGrath. McGrath had match figures of 5-198.

Do you realise that we will be able to bring players in to replace those that retire?

warne and mcGrath are irreplacable.

If it wasn't for the tailenders Australia would be screwed.

and whoever replaces Gillespie must be able to swing the ball as it will swing at Trent Bridge so we have an advantage there.

 

[Sando]

I disagree about McGrath's first innings performance, could have easily had 3 or 4 wickets.

I do agree that Warne and McGrath were ordinary in the second innings, but again, both had easy chances squandered off their bowling and could have easily had 2 or 3 each.

I also agree that the tail has bailed us out in the third Test, and incredible effort indeed.

I don't agree that the bowler replacing Gillespie has to be able to swing the ball, if the bowlers create as many opportunites as they did in the third Test, they have done their job.

 

[squiz]

Warne could have had a few wickets in the 2nd innings as well if it wasn't for Geraint Gilchrist as he is known by some people

 

[Pace-Ace]

Really bad umpiring

Are u kidding me. England are nothing but pathetic. Australia shud have won this match and the previous one. The poor umpiring has cost Australia much more than England. If Martyn hadnt been given out the Aussies might have won but they still had the guts to draw the match. And in the 2nd test simon jones was saved due to poor umpiring and later put on 50 runs with flintoff. If that hadnt happened Australia would have won that as well.

 

[ZoraxDoom]

Are u kidding me. England are nothing but pathetic. Australia shud have won this match and the previous one. The poor umpiring has cost Australia much more than England. If Martyn hadnt been given out the Aussies might have won but they still had the guts to draw the match. And in the 2nd test simon jones was saved due to poor umpiring and later put on 50 runs with flintoff. If that hadnt happened Australia would have won that as well.

Test 2: Pieterson and Bell were both not out, but given...
Test 3: Your correct. Martyn should have been out ages ago when he nicked the ball behind. Then England would have won.

 

[Annihilation66]

The fact is that Australia played crap with an ageing team but still only lost by 2 runs and were only 50 runs short in the end this test match. If martyn wasnt given out it could have been a different story. BUt thats life.

Australia have effectively won the ashes as we have alerady seen that no matter how well England play and how badly australia play Australia are still close to winning.

I think Australia will be the same strenght in the nnext ashes as they are now just with younger players. the one after that will be a walkover for Australia and the world will be back to normal.......1st Australia............2nd India......3rd England

 

[aldersley]

i think if i bowled they would hav got no runs off the over because they were trying to block it out. but you cant say it wasnt a crap over in the circumstances. (Harmison's last over).
mcrath bowled well but with no luck but he wasnt at his best. lee caused a few problems but he is to inconsistant. warne unlucky but he should have maybe changed ends. gillespie is bowling very poorly but he has bowled a few very good balls followed by many more shockers.
i think tait wil come in for gillespie. maybe mcgill but i dont think so. katich hasnt played to bad as he got 67 in 2nd innings at lord's i think but he doesnt look very comfortable so hodge in for him.
they should play symond's cos he is in great form and i think he is underrated with the ball. he can bowl a very tight line and length and can bowl some offies. they wont but just being biased as he is very entertaining and my fav player.

 

[squiz]

Test 2: Pieterson and Bell were both not out, but given...

Just like Pietersen should have walked when he gloved it to Gilchrist right?

With the Ian Bell incident you could see the bat wobble as the ball hit the outside edge. Never mind what snicko said because it didnt even register a sound when the bat hit the pad

 

[m_vaughan]

England have outplayed the Aussies in almost every department in this series. Like I said before its not that the Aussies are playing crap, but its just that England are playing so much better than them.

Simon Jones, who many of you questioned in the one day series, has shown his true class in this test series, with his ability to reverse swing the ball, without losing out on pace. Ashley Giles, despite being an ordinary spinner, is bowling intelligently and picking up wickets. Andrew Flintoff continues to rattle the Aussie batsman and pick up a wicket whenever things looking to be slipping out of England's hands. Matthew Hoggard and Steve Harmison havent performed all that well, but if they do, then only god can save Australia.

The batting fired all guns this match, with Bell, Strauss and Vaughan regaining their form. Vaughan's innings in the 1st innings was a gem, as he smashed every Australian bowler to all parts of Old Trafford. Bell showed exactly why he is rated so highly with two excellent innings in either innings, and Strauss played an awesome knock in the 2nd innings, registering his first hundred against Australia.

Infact the Aussies now have a problem getting the England batsman out, since all of the top six have fired, and even Geraint Jones has shown glimpses of what he can do with the bat.

Having said that, I reckon Ponting's 100 was an excellent captain's innings that saved the match for Australia. Warne performed well with the bat and frustated the England bowlers. But I think Duncan Fletcher will now work out a plan to deal with the Aussie tail which has done well with the bat in this series.

But in the end it comes to the time lost on day 3 due to rain. Otherwise it was surely going to be 2-1 to England.

England have already proved that they are the second best team in the world, and does have what it takes to beat the Aussies. A young, potent bowling attack coupled with a long and inform batting lineup. If only Geraint Jones puts on a regular good show with the gloves, England will be a 100%, and maybe unbeatable as well.

 

[angryangy]

With the Ian Bell incident you could see the bat wobble as the ball hit the outside edge. Never mind what snicko said because it didnt even register a sound when the bat hit the pad

I'm starting to distrust snicko. Sometimes, the stuff you know you heard isn't represented similar in the sound wave. It's a good thing too, these tools like hawkeye often seem right, but not necessarily. Caution and objective cynicism are good.

 

[zub2005]

I think yesterdays performance have changed the ashes, and the worst thing is australia havent clicked yet what would happen when they do. they need 1 victory and then the ashes will be there's otherwise 2 draws.

 

[angryangy]

England have outplayed the Aussies in almost every department in this series. Like I said before its not that the Aussies are playing crap, but its just that England are playing so much better than them.

They've won one match by a couple of runs. That's not so much.

Simon Jones, who many of you questioned in the one day series, has shown his true class in this test series, with his ability to reverse swing the ball, without losing out on pace.

In my experience you need good pace to employ reverse swing properly.

Ashley Giles, despite being an ordinary spinner, is bowling intelligently and picking up wickets.

I think it shows that on day 5 at Old Trafford, Giles could hardly baffle the batsmen. Although Warne didn't get wickets either, he did create several great chances.

Andrew Flintoff continues to rattle the Aussie batsman and pick up a wicket whenever things looking to be slipping out of England's hands. Matthew Hoggard and Steve Harmison havent performed all that well, but if they do, then only god can save Australia.

I think that's harsh on Hoggard, he's employed to swing the new ball, he doesn't really have the pace to swing the old one. There was little in the pitch for new ball swing, but still he was competent. Harmison is a similar story, although he was clearly underperforming at times. I think without Jones and Flintoff's excellent abilities to move the old ball, they would have looked far less damaging.

The batting fired all guns this match, with Bell, Strauss and Vaughan regaining their form. Vaughan's innings in the 1st innings was a gem, as he smashed every Australian bowler to all parts of Old Trafford. Bell showed exactly why he is rated so highly with two excellent innings in either innings, and Strauss played an awesome knock in the 2nd innings, registering his first hundred against Australia.

Vaughan regaining form is a little strong, he was still streaky enough to get out early too many times for my liking. Bell is the real deal though, I like him.

I think Duncan Fletcher will now work out a plan to deal with the Aussie tail which has done well with the bat in this series.

You would hope so, though I'm curious how bowlers get to Test level without knowing how to deal with tailenders.