To be fair to the bowlers that pitch was a disgrace from the end of day 3, it became almost impossible to take a wicket on and thats not even exaggerating it was that flat, reminded me of the St Johns wicket in Antigua at times, a total fluff bowl, shame really because the first 2 and a bit days of this match threatened to turn it into an epic, England all out for 260 Aus struggling at 141-5 the game was looking great, then the wicket just totally lost any sort of balance between bat and ball and you end up with one of the most boring last 2 days of cricket you'll see.
MERGED - The 2010/2011 ASHES tour thread...all Ashes related chat here please!
- Thread starter Sassy Colin
- Start date
Johnson hasn't been dropped, but Ryan Harris and Dougie Bollinger are into the 13-man squad.
SQUAD: Ponting, Clarke, Bollinger, Doherty, Haddin, Harris, M.Hussey, Hilfenhaus, Johnson, Katich, North, Siddle, Watson.
SQUAD: Ponting, Clarke, Bollinger, Doherty, Haddin, Harris, M.Hussey, Hilfenhaus, Johnson, Katich, North, Siddle, Watson.
So North/Clarke are safe...Usman Khawaja gets dropped from the squad.
Yep. Khawaja 'failed' (scored 17) with the bat yesterday in the Shield match vs WA, as did Smith (8 batting at four). Bollinger and Hauritz have both taken two wickets in WA's innings. Smith hasn't bowled. Stuart Clark has 1-16 from 13 overs. But the selectors obviously aren't even considering him.
Fair enough...no point in putting in batsmen short of runs to replace batsmen short of runs...hehe.
Yeah Stuart Clark won't be getting another look in, the selectors have obviously moved on.
Yeah Stuart Clark won't be getting another look in, the selectors have obviously moved on.
I never thought I would see England score over 500 for one wicket in Australia.
Insane, but also very, very satisfying.
Insane, but also very, very satisfying.
Aye if this was in India, all the news reports would be centered around the flat track hampering the test match
The problem with our bowlers is that they're all equally shit, so who do you drop?
Australia have a rubbish bowling attack.
There is no way players of Cook and Trotts' quality would have survived even on a flat track with the likes of Warne and McGrath in the attack.
Quality of Cricket is declining rapidly. There are no decent teams around.
There is no way players of Cook and Trotts' quality would have survived even on a flat track with the likes of Warne and McGrath in the attack.
Quality of Cricket is declining rapidly. There are no decent teams around.
Am I the only one who hates watching Trott?
I'd rather sit in a hospital ward.
I'd rather sit in a hospital ward.
feck me the Australian selectors are a joke. If the Australian Media had a clue, they'd be begging for Clark. They make the same fecking mistakes every single time. Wow, Siddle got 6 wickets. How about the fecking hammering he got in the second innings. Its the fourth test of the ashes last year all over again. Shit bowling rewarded by shit batting. As far as i'm concerned all four Australian bowlers should be gone. Absolute overrated shit. Bring in Bolinger, Clark, Tait 'for some fecking pace', and Horritz.
feck me, Tait may get flogged to shit, but atleast he offers more then the useless cnut Johnson.
feck me, Tait may get flogged to shit, but atleast he offers more then the useless cnut Johnson.
I think either side is going to struggle to get results with the flat Australian wickets. The next test is likely to be an even more batting paradise.
Its going to be the 3rd test before there is any chance of getting a result.
Even if we get 5 draws, at least we still retain the Ashes!
Its going to be the 3rd test before there is any chance of getting a result.
Even if we get 5 draws, at least we still retain the Ashes!
England v Australia is the only test series where you can guarantee both teams are going full hilt regardless of the quality they bring to the table, not to mention the banter stays on the pitch and its never really become too nasty bar the 'borderline' series in the thirties.
Other notable games in test cricket for me are Australia v India which is always a great series and tough cricket, Australia v South Africa in one day internationals and yes India v Pakistan is amazing if you can be assured both teams are genuinely interested in winning.
2005 Ashes, still one of the great sporting events I've ever seen.. followed by the 1999 world cup semi final between Australia v S.Africa.
I don't think he's that bad Sults, I get more bored watching Cook.. modern day Geoff Boycott that lad is.
What would everyone say is the best country in terms of producing exciting pitches/conditions?
That was an epic early morning.
I'd also add the 2006 Adelaide test to that.
Speaking of, I might be able to grab a ticket to this from my grandad who is stuck in hospital
That was an epic early morning.
I'd also add the 2006 Adelaide test to that.
Speaking of, I might be able to grab a ticket to this from my grandad who is stuck in hospital
It was indeed, I remember watching it whilst in Pakistan and that match is still talked about in awed tones even now.
Sorry to hear that mate, I wish him well.
Bodyline?
Trott's underrated. He's very reliable, exactly what you need at number three.
Did I hear right last night that Trott is 15th highest averaging batsman in international cricket and highest of the two squads?
Great stuff from England days 4 and 5.
I just wish the next test wasn't a featherbed pitch - as if the Aussies win the toss they can wrestle back some initiative on a dead wicket.
I just wish the next test wasn't a featherbed pitch - as if the Aussies win the toss they can wrestle back some initiative on a dead wicket.
It's not that great a feat yet...he's only got 1100 runs, wait till he gets around 2500-3000 runs before judging his true worth.
His average is marginally higher than Ponting, 55 to 54, but obviously Ponting has 12000+ runs behind that average.
Why was Stuart Clark ever dropped? The guy was fecking fantastic from what I remember. He is old, yes. But as long as he is playing well why not? Plus his style of bowling doesn't rely on pace but accuracy so age shouldn't be a factor. Atleast he could keep things tight and create pressure.
he had a few injuries, plus the selectors in their great wisdom thought some of the younger players were going to be world beaters...
Of course I'm not suggesting he's in the same league as Ponting, but Trott has been a regular for 18 months, not a mean feat.
Exactly. Line and length.
I agree 100%
..
Yep, playing for Suddd Afrika. And I agree with Sults, he's awful to watch....but then again what do you expect from a player with such a limited technique. And yes, it was an awful match, from the sounds of it Adelaide won't offer a result either. I suspect a lot of that is down to Australia being too scared to lose.
And I thought Wibble was a New Zealander?!!
I was surprised & a little disappointed to learn that Strauss & Cook had overhauled Hobbs & Sutcliffe's opening partnership record.
Read the stats though, H&S average 87.81 , C&S avg 42.68.
Hutton & Washbrook average 60. The only other 60+ average is Hobbs (again) & Rhodes at 61.31.
A symptom of the amount of international cricket played these days...
Hobbs remains the English cricket master
Read the stats though, H&S average 87.81 , C&S avg 42.68.
Hutton & Washbrook average 60. The only other 60+ average is Hobbs (again) & Rhodes at 61.31.
A symptom of the amount of international cricket played these days...
Hobbs remains the English cricket master
New Zelander? 
I was surprised & a little disappointed to learn that Strauss & Cook had overhauled Hobbs & Sutcliffe's opening partnership record.
Read the stats though, H&S average 87.81 , C&S avg 42.68.
Hutton & Washbrook average 60. The only other 60+ average is Hobbs (again) & Rhodes at 61.31.
A symptom of the amount of international cricket played these days...
Hobbs remains the English cricket master
I lost the will to live half way through that. Reciting Pi to 100 decimal places from memory for the "sports" fan.
..Plech quoting Davo said:
Luckily for me I hate both the English and Aussie cricket teams at the moment although the Aussies, bowlers in particular, are worse. The last two days of the test were like watching paint dry. In the tropics.
Just admit you don't like cricket & move on...eh?
It is often a really really shit sport, the stato bit especially, yet strangely compelling at times. Live test matches are often truly terrible which is why 20/20 is now so popular. TV makes it much much better mind.
I saw this performance live and it is much better on TV/YouTube and the modern game is a pale replica anyway.
I saw this performance live and it is much better on TV/YouTube and the modern game is a pale replica anyway.
Which is exactly why you should appreciate the brilliance of the likes of Hobbs...
The fact that Clarke was ever considered to be the great white hope is a testament to that fact.
I said this in an earlier post, but have a look at our side today. Then have a look at the champion sides of 5 years ago, and the side the generation before that. You could not make an argument for ANY of the current players, aside from Ponting, for making those sides of yesteryear.
Watson may become a champion player for us, but that's about it as far as I can tell.
I mean shit, you can look past their bowling and batting abilities and still compare Waugh/Taylor and Warne in the slips to the butter-fingers we have today.
Frankly its about time you have a shit side. Its been too long.
Jesus Christ.
And that bowled around the legs.... WOW!
That ball around the legs was as good if not better than the more famous one that bowled Gatting. Warne may be a cock but at his peak there has never been a spin bowler like him.