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Asheeees!!

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22:11 / 10.01.07

i watched the 20/20 thing and was impressed at freddie's new found attitude [the only english bowler to show any inventivenes and resistance] and vaughan's display in a long-awaited hit out in the middle.

rekkun freddie is still a year or three away from being genuine captain material; but he'll make it one day.

i also thought gilly's 'commentator role' comments were apt: he was asked to take the viewers to a break at the end of an over with the score something like 5/122 and started with "england in trouble, the aussies looking to keep on the pressure, england 5/122" or something like that - sounded like richie might intone and was appropriate for the role.

do any english fans have any problem with that? seems some in the press do/did and he was called to task on it. and it is only a bit of fun anyway - certainly not crikkut!

11:10 / 23.01.07

wotcher all. Been away for a bit (though sadly not following the Ashes round australia like my 4 housemates) and saddened to come back to Policy threads lamenting slow progress over here.

That said - many aussies I've spoken to share English frustrations the the series was such a non-contest which might go some way to explaining this thread's faltering a bit. I dunno, maybe they're just being generous. That's not to say that I haven't come in for my fair share of stick over the whitewash, mind. Big helping of humble crumble for me, please.

What do the australians in this thread think? Is a 5-nil reaming exactly what the Engish deserve after having the temerity to win the last lot (and not be too gracious about it, either) or would you have preferred a tense edgy encounter with australia nicking it from an evenly-match England side off the last ball of the last day of the last Test? Y'know - for the Good Of The Game?

Either way; congrats - it was madness to think that Australia are anything but the absolute best.

Oh, and - WTF happened last night in the CB day-night affair. All I've seen is the score. Can anyone give me the objective view or do I have to wade through the usual apologias on Cricingo and 365?

20:48 / 23.01.07

first, yeah i was looking forward to a contest, but (rightly, as it happens) feared none such would eventuate... i blithely tipped a white-wash, but not really with my heart. i was a bit awed at how bad the aussies made england look, even though really they are a good squad - just entirely outgunned at every turn. look at adelaide...

and last night, the black caps did enough of what the english had done on a lively-ish pitch, kept gnawing away at english low-confidence and got them onto the mat at four for not enough. then captain freddy, bless him, came in and played the worst shot in the circumstances i think i've seen from the captain of a team deep in trouble... awful cricket, from which point there was only one likely result. nz attack is actually pretty potent. bond and vettori are two class bowlers, with oram being entirely handy. can't see england climbing back into the finals from this...

08:26 / 26.01.07

Oh for crying out loud. Nine-wicket defeat, huh? Jeez.

Happy Australia Day, Astro (and others). Here, I got you something. It's England's self-respect.

Y'know the way pub conversation about the woeful state of your favourite failing team ends up with some beered-up, stocky non-athlete proclaiming "I could do better than that." Hell with it; I could

I certainly couldn't do any worse!

00:04 / 29.01.07

pretty awful performance that one from england, i must say. the crowd boo'd the loss of the toss and were too heavily rewarded for their prescience! radio commentary was telling of the farmers come into town (adelaide) historically for this game [used to be a test match] after the crops were in, etc... bloody waste of a day out, innit!

i remember a final in sydney a few years ago, drove up from canberra (3 hrs or so) and went with my sister. england were all ut for about 90 and hayden and gilly got the runs in about four balls (inside ten overs, or thereabouts, from memory) - the aussie openers put on a clinical demonstartion, but i was back home in canberra at about the scheduled finish time of the encounter.

value for money?

maybe england should forfeit their last two odi matches and head home now. can't see the point of them playing on after that lot of bollocks. england have a lo-ooo-ooo-ot of work to do, and i can't see how facing a rampant brett lee, stuart clark or australia's top order will do them any good at all...

rekkun you could do better and i've never seen you play. fancy a trip to the windies, son?

still and all, monty is a revelation. he's a terrific player and worth the money. pity we can't say that about some of his more established team-mates...

09:02 / 02.02.07

ONE-DAY SERIES, SYDNEY: England 292-7 (50 overs) beat Australia 200-9 (38.5 overs) by 92 runs

Gasp! at my lightheaded joy! Now where did I put those pom-poms...?

23:06 / 06.02.07

and now they go and stop nz 14 runs short, to snag a berth in the one day finals!! ee-gads!

don't tell me they'll go home to the old dart with the ashes in their luggage and the one day trophy??????????????????

[my tip is another white wash: 2-0, no third final needed]

12:27 / 09.02.07

Commonwealth Bank Series, Melbourne:
England 253-6 beat Australia 252 by four wickets

Holy shit!

Game on. Game is the fuck ON!

15:33 / 09.02.07

I can't decide whether Fred was being a little hyperbolic when he described Collingwood's as the best English ODI performance he's seen. Obviously difficult to tell from the radio, but I am struggling to think of a similarly complete performance.

23:55 / 11.02.07

now they went and won the whole thing!

and collingwood's performance was pretty good, though strangely enough, the game never seemed destined for great things and was a mediocre affair in many ways, so i'm not sure how to rate c.'s outstanding effort.

in that he bowled and fielded well, too, it was of great consequence, but overall, i wonder at how seriously australia took this triangular series, faffing about with the lineup even more than injuries required; while england were all out - finally -for some glory to take home...

but well done england, a good result for cricket, methinks.

13:26 / 13.02.07

i wonder at how seriously australia took this triangular series

I dunno; in his post-match interview Ponting, although dignified and generous in his praise of England, couldn't hide his disappointment at the result. One of the most-cited reasons for Australia's dominance is their commitment to the cause. Punter can be a pretty spiky fella and historically, playing against England sees him at his most combative - remember his anger (justified) at the use of specialist substitutes during the 2005 Ashes? The same is true for the rest of the team; I'd be surprised if they were complacent going into the finals. Would be a bit out of character.

More than England coming home with a little pride, I'm delighted that we got something out of the tour because I've read more and more over the last few years articles questioning the relevance of the Ashes. When Australia went unbeaten for 16 years, there were a few voices wondering if the time wouldn't be better spent playing against a more competitive nation, Pakistan for instance.

Now, I don't know how seriously this was taken across Australia but I'm just glad that even with the Test whitewash, the ODI fightback at least gave the tour some spice - it can be boring when the win is a foregone conclusion.

Not that England would know how that feels!

I love the Ashes. Bar the football World Cup which, at it's best is The Best Thing, it's my favourite sporting contest. Thankfully, this tour has been both sporting and, at last, a contest.

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