Haddin, Hussey and Siddle are the only players who can hold their heads up in that Aussie side.
England simply too good.
England simply too good.
MERGED - The 2010/2011 ASHES tour thread...all Ashes related chat here please!
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Watson too, despite him being an utter cnut he hasn't been bad.
You have to include Ponting in that, his career achievements haven't dissapeared because he now has a squad around him that isn't even a shadow of what it was.
Get in England, but lets enjoy the moment and then move on to greater things.. we need to focus on beating the likes of the Indians, South Africans and the Sri Lankans.
Raped.
But the thing is, he's not a fantastic captain and never has. He was only ever picked because he had great PR with the press.
No he wasn't. His bowling average was about 35 and it was about 44 against England if i remember rightly. He was probably the best pace bowler in one day cricket for quite a long time though.
Brett Lee was great when he broke into test cricket...but his career has been a massive disappointment. Not unlike Steve Harmison, but to be fair, the Geordie did actually go to top of the PWC ratings. But yeah 35 average....I'd take that if I were a batsman.
Just checked and in fairness his average in Tests was 31. Not bad but not a great bowler by any stretch. Much, much better limited overs player (ave 23 in ODIs)
It's poor for a frontline pace bowler, but decent for a spinner.
Fantastic achievement retaining the Ashes, will be a bit of an anticlimax if we lose the last test and only end up drawing the series though
I turned the radio off 1 ball before the 8th wicket and went to sleep
In the last year before he broke down, Lee was the best pace bowler in world cricket when he took over from McGrath as the spear head. From 07 until mid 08 he averaged something crazy like 20.85.
ffs
What exactly are you laughing at, the public relations thing or the PR thing?
I dare you to say that Warne and Gilchrist where not better captains. Gilchrist was the first Australian captain to win a series in India in 40 odd years and Warne should have been captain if not for some of his off the field indiscretions. Its alot easier to be captain when you have those players around you. But funnily enough since they retired, Ricky's batting and captaincy has turned to shit. Sure you can't replace them, but if he was as good as we thought, he'd have kept Australia in the top 3 in the world.
Warne's bloody annoying as captain. He takes micromanagement to a whole new level. He captained his IPL team and he'd spend 15 seconds between each ball assessing and changing the field.
Marchi you just sound bitter, even if Jesus was captain Australia aren't a top 3 side anymore.
a quality performance by england
Love the sprinkler!
Didn't find out until about 6.00pm this evening due to travelling...
I seem to think I read that we need to avoid defeat in the final test to retain the Ashes but as far as I was aware we only have to draw the series to retain the Ashes, so job done. Avoiding defeat means winning the series which I guess is different to retaining the Ashes.
It would be a real shame not to win the series too after totally dominating the Aussies for 3 out of 4 tests...
Roll on the final test!
Final scorecard, not that it really matters now, satisfying none the less...
BBC SPORT | Cricket Scorecard
I seem to think I read that we need to avoid defeat in the final test to retain the Ashes but as far as I was aware we only have to draw the series to retain the Ashes, so job done. Avoiding defeat means winning the series which I guess is different to retaining the Ashes.
It would be a real shame not to win the series too after totally dominating the Aussies for 3 out of 4 tests...
Roll on the final test!
Final scorecard, not that it really matters now, satisfying none the less...
BBC SPORT | Cricket Scorecard
Ay the Ashes are retained, but that's because we're currently holding them, and there aren't enough games for Australia to win the series now
I really hope we at least draw the final test, if they win we've kept the Ashes almost by default, rather than going into their back yard, and doing them all ends up
England will be desperate to win the final game. It will be interesting to see how the aussies respond, could go either way.
For me (as an Englishman) It's important we win the last test and actually Win the series in Australia. Drawing the series to retain the ashes is just a big cop out to me.
My dislike of Ponting has been going on for longer then my posting on the caf.
I may be a biased Gilchrist fan, but he should have been captain from the moment Waugh retired. He was vice captain of both sides until Waugh was dropped from the ODI side. His only ever real feck up prior was giving England a day and a half to get 350 in the 01 ashes series when Waugh was injured. Other then that, he was almost faultless when he captained yet Ponting was given it for what ever bullshit reason Cricket Australia could come up with. This Australian side is quite capable of being a top 3 side, bu the shite in the squad is what drags it down. Players like Siddle and Smith should not be near the side. Siddle may have good days, but they are far and few between where he usually bowls like absolute shit.
Well injury has ruled out Ponting from the 5th test (yeah right) , it little finger injury was aggravated during the hammering in the 4th test.
Clarke is going to lead Australia out.
Is this the end of Ponting has Captain.
Sky Sports | Cricket | Internationals | Australia | Clarke replaces Ponting
Clarke is going to lead Australia out.
Is this the end of Ponting has Captain.
Sky Sports | Cricket | Internationals | Australia | Clarke replaces Ponting
Australian squad for 5th test:
Shane Watson, Phillip Hughes, Usman Khawaja, Michael Clarke (captain), Mike Hussey, Steve Smith, Brad Haddin, Peter Siddle, Mitchell Johnson, Doug Bollinger, Ben Hilfenhaus, Michael Beer
I would see Hilfenhaus missing out, leaving an XI of:
Watson
Hughes
Khawaja
Clarke
Hussey
Smith
Haddin
Johnson
Siddle
Beer
Bollinger
Which, I have to admit, looks awful.
Shane Watson, Phillip Hughes, Usman Khawaja, Michael Clarke (captain), Mike Hussey, Steve Smith, Brad Haddin, Peter Siddle, Mitchell Johnson, Doug Bollinger, Ben Hilfenhaus, Michael Beer
I would see Hilfenhaus missing out, leaving an XI of:
Watson
Hughes
Khawaja
Clarke
Hussey
Smith
Haddin
Johnson
Siddle
Beer
Bollinger
Which, I have to admit, looks awful.
Ponting dropped, how very Australian to shoot yourself in the foot like that.
Also Trott continues meteoric rise - England in Australia 2010-11 - England - News - ECB
Also Trott continues meteoric rise - England in Australia 2010-11 - England - News - ECB
Shame for Ponting, that team looks very ordinary and I find it incredible the Aussie selectors won't go back to Hauritz, even though he is nothing special, he's going to be better than Beer (unless Beer turns out to be the next Warne).
Smith at 6 though? Surely better to push Haddin to 6 and Smith at 7? Haddin looks like he could bat at 6.
Australia might get a run from number 3 now Mr failures out.....still that batting line up looks terrible, England would fancy knocking over 5 of that top 6 easily on any surface.
Three innings victories plz.
Australia prolly commit suicide as a nation after that.
Australia prolly commit suicide as a nation after that.
It does not look good at all.
To throw Khawaja in at 3 is a risk - Bell and Bopara anyone? Even if he is that talented (and I assume he is) a string of failures could destroy his confidence. Hughes as well does not look like an opener at the moment, but I cannot see what other options Australia has whilst Katich is out.
I would like to see this order:
Watson
Hughes
Hussey
Clarke
Khawaja
Haddin
Smith
Johnson
Siddle
Beer
Bollinger
More balance to it I think - otherwise Hussey and Haddin could be at the crease at 60/5 again.
Doesn't matter what order they come in, they're still shite.
That in itself is a bit of a pipe dream.
Having another Warne anywhere in the world in the next 20 years is probably a pipe dream too, never mind 6 first class games beer.
Bit of rain on the 1st day, then cloud cover throughout should suit the bowlers. They've said it will be a typical Sydney wicket, so something on offer for the spinners i.e. Swann. England should wrap up a 3-1 here, and you can get tasty odds of 6/4 for that to happen!
11.30pm start for those wondering. Hopefully another memorable match for the English.
11.30pm start for those wondering. Hopefully another memorable match for the English.
Stand by your beds, literally! Bank holiday tomorrow so eyes down for a full house!
I'd make the Aussies favourites for this one. I can recall a good few series against Australia, both in cricket and rugby league, where we've won the last match after losing the series, proving it's difficult to maintain the focus and impetus once the overall goal is reached.
No, this is ours for the taking, they know winning the series is even more important than just retaining the urn.