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The Ashes

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Goodness Gracious Meme

12:35 / 21.07.05

Am very impressed with Harmison: attitude, aggression, pace, control, but the England bowlers are all performing well.

Goodness Gracious Meme

12:41 / 21.07.05

And that's it!

All out for 190. Blimey.

Harmison finishes with 5-43. Amazing stuff.

Great aggressive, opportunistic bowling, but too many lose/sloppy shots from the Aussie batsmen.

12:47 / 21.07.05

Full credit to Harmison - that was a superb effort and he deserved to finish with such good figures.

If the sun can stay away for a bit longer then we may be ale to get a few English wickets and keep ourselves in the game. If the sun comes out then it could be a very different story.

Can't wait for them to come back out. I wonder who will be McGrath's 500th wicket. I say Tresco caught behind.

Goodness Gracious Meme

12:50 / 21.07.05

It's vital the Straus and Tresco can stay in and get settled, take it slow.

I reckon you might be right.

Goodness Gracious Meme

12:51 / 21.07.05

Though I'm not so sure he'll get caught behind as be tempted by anything slightly wide and hook it up...

13:50 / 21.07.05

Both out, McGrath. Here we go...

14:37 / 21.07.05

What the hell is going on with this wicket? Scores are just bonkers.

15:38 / 21.07.05

25-5??? FFS.

nedrichards is confused

15:41 / 21.07.05

Thankfully, Jones and Pieterson seem to be restoring some sanity to the situation. Come on you not so English warriors!

22:01 / 21.07.05

ooh - aahh! ooh - aahh!

so cash, All out for 170 by tea. England 120-0 by stumps would be nice. england even getting to 120 at all might be nice!

good to see lee get the next couple of wickets, he bowled pretty well and deserved a couple. mcgrath's a machine, isn't he?

and what australia also have is fieldsmen like clarke. stunning.

but a seventeen wicket pitch? like, surely not! what happened?? anyone brave enough to predict a day two stumps score? i'll plumb for england all out 135, australia 217-3. cash?

nedrichards is confused

23:42 / 21.07.05

It all depends on Pieterson, like a much less experienced version of Gilchrist he has the potential to get England right back up to parity on his own and all that before lunch, of course, if he falls early...

I'd say 220-5 at close of play for the Aussies though I'm not sure what England will get. Ideal circumstance from here would be leaving England 350 to win which they then knock off with ease... However BBC weather looks like it has some possible solace if(slash when) we're on the ropes.

08:22 / 22.07.05

The wicket certainly wasn't in bad shape - no way was it a 17 wicket track. I saw the pitch report in the morning and it was nice and hard with a good covering of grass and only tiny cracks.

Was it Nasser Hussain who said that when you are deciding whether to bat or bowl at Lords you look up and not down? It was the cloudy weather that helped the ball to swing and kept the mositure in the pitch so it was difficult for the batsmen to judge whether a ball would come straight onto the bat or not. Plus you have to remember that the Lords groung has a big slope so depending on whether the batsman is right or left handed it gives the bowler extra help in swinging the ball in or out to them.

And there was some bad batting, particularly on the Aussie's part. They kept swinging when they should have been defending and waiting for the bad ball. Trying to hook Harmy in the first few overs of the day is stupid. If it works then it can score good psychological points and Australia have done very well in the past by bullying a team into submission early on, but I think it was a bit arrogant to try that with England considering their recent form. Plus they should have realised early on that Harmy was having the spell of his life and should be treated with caution.

So it was a combination of exceptionally good bowling on both sides, poor batting by the Aussies, ok but not good enough batting by the English (exposing your off stump to McGrath is a very bad idea), good conditions for swing and a sloping ground. All the factors that come into play to make test cricket the wonderful game that it is.

Roll on day 2!

nedrichards is confused

08:59 / 22.07.05

Loomis: good points but that wasn't the spell of Harmy's life. I remember something about 7-12. ;-)

Pieterson seems to be doing an excellent job of milking the strike as much as he can, reaping 11 of McGrath was fun to watch. And a six of Warney! Have at it.

nedrichards is confused

09:00 / 22.07.05

Since he was just caught next ball by one of the better catches, well done Damien Martyn.

12:19 / 22.07.05

I haven't seen any cricket today, but I gather Martin's catch was a blinder.

What an amazing day - bombs on the underground and a good old fashioned England batting collapse. Sanity seems to have returned, but I won't be making any predictions.

12:19 / 22.07.05

I haven't seen any cricket today, but I gather Martin's catch was a blinder.

What an amazing day - bombs on the underground and a good old fashioned England batting collapse. Sanity seems to have returned, but I won't be making any predictions.

21:36 / 22.07.05

clarke played on on 91 - silly boy. could have scored century debuts on three continents! (after 150+ both on debut in india, then at home) he was wonderful in full flight! he has a natural gift, but needs to reign in impetuousity. but at about 350 ahead (after just two days play - bizarre crikkut!) and three wickets still in hand, can't see a result other than another australian lords win.

one up, where are we next?

21:46 / 23.07.05

's all gone a bit quiet here... no-one thinks peitersen can emulate derek randall in the centenary test and knock up a quick fire ton and a half or better??

no, neither do i...

well, dizzy has earned his stripes for the second test, no matter if he gets that elusive wicket today or not. he is captain brick wall, isn't he? just reading somewhere that he has an average innings time of only 14mins shorter than gilchrist!

any changes to either line up for test two?

nedrichards is confused

23:12 / 23.07.05

I think KP has every chance of getting 150, if he gets the partners to do so.

Which he won't.

I fear Ian Bell may be dropped. That would be a very bad move, he's an excellent player, very much in the mould of Clarke. Hopefully the new England, who actually persist with people who they think are good will prevail.

nedrichards is confused

10:20 / 24.07.05

Come on the rain! You can beat us but you can't beat our weather. Very much like McGrath in full flight the sort of steady drizzle I'm happily regarding out of my window saps the will to live until a rash choice is taken.

Goodness Gracious Meme

10:38 / 24.07.05

Indeed. England's deadly 12th man comes to their rescue once again.

11:36 / 24.07.05

I thought England's twelfth man was Extras. We like when he bowls to us as he adds plenty of runs to our tally and takes no wickets.

nedrichards is confused

16:01 / 24.07.05

In the end that was a bit of a damp squib. Congratulations Aussies. Cue repeated singing of 'we shall overcome' I think.

09:02 / 25.07.05

Yes, congrats to the Aussies.

I'm trying to look at some positives, and can come up with only 2.

1. England *can* take 20 wickets. Whether they do this with any consistency remains to be seen, but at least they have shown themselves capable. Harmison, especially, was a bit of a handful, but all the other seamers had their moments.

2. Pietersen. It's early days but I think he lives up to the hype. He looks solid in defence, moves his feet well, and, despite being the debutant, looked the least cowed when McGrath and Warne had their purple patches.

For me the most important passage of play in this test was the thirty-odd balls in the first innings where McGrath took 5-2. England had been on a high and McGrath ripped their heart out. Players who can perform like that inspire those around them, often making them lift their own games. I hope Pietersen is a player in that mould; able to inspire his team-mates. He has got to do something about his catching though.

09:21 / 25.07.05

Good point about the English bowling. I think that is certainly a positive to take out of the match.

KP was great in the field during the ODIs. I wonder what happened. Although one of the commentators made a point about how he was usually feilding in the deep during those. Third man I think. Maybe he should be put back there if he's unable to do the job up close.

Mind you he wasn't the only one. Poor Simon Jones getting his catches dropped over and over. I thought he was going to twat Gerraint Jones mid-over. He had a shocker behind the stumps. All his recent improvement seems to have gone out the window. Back in the day I was very much against Jones being made keeper ahead of Chris Read as I though a few extra runs were not worth a dropped catch. But recently Jones has improved with the gloves and he's settled into the team so I figured they should just stick with him now. BUt after that performance ... what a mess.

Still, I don't think either team will change their lineup until at least one more test.

21:20 / 25.07.05

what, loomis? and have england panicking only when they are two down in the ashes series??

i suspect the england selectors might look to make a change or even two to stir them up from their complacency. eight batsmen in single figures, four ducks. not nearly good enough, even given two of the world's best bowlers in a patch of form.

(anyone else notice mcgrath was also unbeaten with the bat!)

07:46 / 26.07.05

There was a great line I read somewhere: "McGrath was stranded 80 short of his century." I bet that's how he felt too!

09:00 / 02.08.05

Ok, two days to go till the second test.

England at first named an unchanged squad, but now they have added Collingwood, who has been in brilliant form in the county game. Not only has he been batting well but England really need an extra decent bowler, not to mention his fielding skills as well. As it looks like it will be a fairly green pitch at Edgbaston there will be even less use for a spinner so Giles could be given the elbow. I do feel sorry for the stick that the king of spain has been copping but I think it was unwise for him to write a column about it in the paper. That is exactly what the Australians want. Mental disintegration.

In fact if that pitch doesn't get a chance to dry out then we could see another short match like at Lords. Whoever bats first could be facing a very difficult couple of sessions.

I don't expect any change in the Aussie line-up. Dizzy, kasper and Tait all did fairly well in the warm up match so I think they'll leave things as they are for the moment. Maybe if Dizzy doesn't make much of an impact in this test then Kasper might get a chance for the third.

12:36 / 02.08.05

Poor old King of Spain. I haven't read his article, but I have read some of the reaction to it, the consensus of which seems to be, at its most charitable, that he has been unwise to appear so self-pitying and emotionally vulnerable. As you say, Loomis, that is just what the Aussies want. Giles knows he is a bit of a target in that the Australian batsman will be looking to hit him out the game to put more of a burden on Harmison and Flintoff, and this just increases the pressure he is under. Still, it may be that the (almost) tornado-stricken Edgbaston pitch will provide England with a kind way of keeping him out of the firing line for the time being.

Ponting seemed to be talking up Gillespie's performance against Worcs yesterday despite the fact that he took 2 wickets to Kasprowicz' 5, so I imagine he keeps his place for the time being. He got a 50 as well, so maybe there's another all-rounder at the tail to go with McGrath.

21:03 / 03.08.05

ooh, is the skipper gonna play? will they lose anything without him? collingwood seems to be the only englishman apart from pietersen with any form. and the full contingent of potential australian bowling attack seems primed and ready to face whoever they send out to greet them in the middle. pretty intimidating for the england squad at the moment, i'd say...

how do you rekkun they'll bear up? winning the toss might be enough of a tonic, if they can do some real early damage. but the australian bats are as about primed as their bowling arms, aren't they? bat all the way to 11!! not much hope, is my prediction, but i am a biased aussie, of course...

and what do you englanders make of the palaver the australian team is making of walking out if there is more terrorist activity? i find this a distrubing thing for the team to be contemplating. any thoughts?

07:42 / 04.08.05

Just heard that McGrath injured himself playing a warmup game of rugby this morning. He could be out of the game. Kasper is warming up ...

nedrichards is confused

10:09 / 04.08.05

McGrath out and England motoring along at 95-0. Tresco with a 50 and Warne on early before being spanked around the pitch a bit, including a huuuuge 6. Have at it lads.

10:35 / 04.08.05

Dang, Strauss down for 48. Still, Tresco's banging the ball around, and as long as the next few don't go down the pan, this could be a health innings. 132-1 as I write this.

10:47 / 04.08.05

The pitch situation is rather interesting. Before the match it seemed to be agreed that the mositure in the pitch would make it difficult to bat on and that fielding was the wise choice. But now (probably with the benefit of hindsight) commentators are suggesting that Ponting was alone in thinking that bowling was a good idea. Odd.

Still, it's definitely Tresco's day. Sounds like he's taken advantage of the Aussie's loss of rhythm and is playing with confidence.

Now it's time to see if Vaughan can finally shake off his bad form.

13:09 / 04.08.05

Wow. Flintoff and Pietersen are going to town. Run rate well over 5 an over at the moment. Exciting stuff. Wish I was home watching it.

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