England 1, Mc Grath 0

Fairlane · 04-08-2005, 08:28 PM

Well for all you cricket junkies Mc Grath is out of the test after twisting his ankle before the game.

http://www20.sbs.com.au/theashes/index.php?pg=nw&id=175

Though most of you Cricket nuts probably already know this and are tuned in the game as I type.

Fairlane · 04-08-2005, 08:31 PM

Woops, Moderators move this to Bar

AdzT3-146 · 04-08-2005, 10:09 PM

England seem to be Enjoying no Glenn McGrath. 132/1 at lunch. Trescothick on 77*

MickyB · 04-08-2005, 10:56 PM

I wouldn't write off the Aussies just yet, remember the first day at Lord's. Although we will miss McGrath, Kaspa is a decent seaming bowler and Warne will come into his own as the pitch wears a bit. Plus these are the kind of wickets that Hayden thrives on, he is due for a big innings, as is Gilly. I'm tipping either a 5th day Aussie win, or a draw.

AdzT3-146 · 04-08-2005, 10:58 PM

definatly silly to write the aussies off after 1 session. kaspa has taken 2 quick wickets this session anyway. 185/3.

MrSparkle · 05-08-2005, 07:37 AM

If the pitch can give those whinging Poms that many runs, the it should easily provide twice that for our lads. Same went for the bowling in the 1st test - England thought they were King Sh*t bowling in the 1st innings until Ooh Aah came and showed them what it's all about!

It was so enjoyable crushing them in that game after they were acting so confident and smug in the 1st innings. Always grand to make them STFU!

Rodp · 05-08-2005, 12:11 PM

Pitch looks as flat as a pancake but we'll see how it holds up after 4 days. Could be a little tricky D5 if it starts to crumble and we're chasing a reasonable total.

I'd like to see our batsmen take a little more care than the Poms did though. So many good starts and not one of them reaching 100. Had they kept their heads they could have batted well into D2 and got 550+ and batted us out of the game.

Racecraft · 05-08-2005, 12:17 PM

yes, the total isn't as impressive when you consider they were out before stumps on D1..The run rate was though, but someone forgot to tell the poms there are 5 days in a test match

Maybe if we had to face those few overs before the showers and covers came out and England scooped a cheap wicket or two but now we can see what a decent wicket will net us for a first innings.

Hawk · 05-08-2005, 01:01 PM

The pitch is definately a road. England would be disappointed they didn't make more than their 407...should have pushed 500 at least by the looks of it. Seemed to me as though they were too focussed on hitting quick runs rather than building a big total.

What would be more disappointing to them is the fact that there wasn't McGrath in the attack, meaning they really should have pushed on.

Ponting and Hayden should love this pitch. Will suit both of them without doubt.

James Brayshaw mentioned a fair point though on MMM this morning - if you go into a match without your Number 1 bowler (McGrath) and the lynch pin becomes your spin bowler (Warne) then you want him to be bowling last, when the pitch has deteriorated the most. The decision to bowl I think though was rightly made by Ponting - simply because they really didn't know how the pitch was going to play.

Terribly irresponsible that there were cricket balls lying around on the ground during the warm up - particularly when they weren't using them! Should have known better - know they may have ended the Ashes career of McGrath.

Fairlane · 05-08-2005, 02:22 PM

Australia should still be careful batting last is always a risky prospect.

turboute · 05-08-2005, 02:30 PM

The aussies just wanted a challenge for once... 407 isn't too big a total, we just need Hayden, Langer and Ponting to have a good day, or a couple if they dont match it tonight...

aimzes · 06-08-2005, 05:55 PM

did anyone see that "thing" warnie bowled??? holy sh*t. f**k he can bowl.

Rodp · 06-08-2005, 07:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aimzes

did anyone see that "thing" warnie bowled??? holy sh*t. f**k he can bowl.

Helped by the fact that Straus played it in the worst possible way imaginable.

I've seen it compared to the ball he bowled Gatting with, IMO they don't even come close to comparing. Good ball but not quite that good.

Fairlane · 07-08-2005, 09:16 PM

Anyone watching the cricket.

It cut real deep. Australia short by two runs

out:

After one of the most incredible bottom order stands by the Aussies

AdzT3-146 · 07-08-2005, 09:19 PM

great effort from Warne, Lee and Kasprowicz.

paul7v7 · 07-08-2005, 09:33 PM

i was watching it and i am still reeling from it...bloody hell

big_pete · 07-08-2005, 09:37 PM

NOOOOOOO!

im shattered, we were so bloody close!!!!

england will be even more C0cky now, the aussie will be sure to fire up for the third test

BA GT-HO · 07-08-2005, 11:42 PM

The best part about that was that it shows that England is still not the real deal. They cannot finish a match when the pressure is on. Australia should have never got within 50 runs of the target.

They got lucky.

borry · 08-08-2005, 12:36 AM

lee is gonna carve up flintoff when he bowls at him next, i wouldnt be looking forward to it if i was him...

Rodp · 08-08-2005, 06:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by borry

lee is gonna carve up flintoff when he bowls at him next, i wouldnt be looking forward to it if i was him...

I think it'll be the other way around. Flintoff tends to give the crowd catching practice when Lee digs them in.

**Mechan1k** · 08-08-2005, 07:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rodp

I think it'll be the other way around. Flintoff tends to give the crowd catching practice when Lee digs them in.

Actually last night ... Lee gave the crowd catching practice when Flintoff was bowling ... hee hee.

And so was Kaspa

MrSparkle · 08-08-2005, 07:33 AM

Today is going to be rough. My workplace is packed with Poms! :(

merlin · 08-08-2005, 08:10 AM

That was some nail biting stuff last night - i would have been OK if we had lost by 100, but to get SO close only to lose makes it worse!

MrSparkle · 08-08-2005, 09:37 AM

Got this in email today, good for a laugh but would have been a bit more enjoyable had we won last night!

Q. What does Ashley Giles put in his hands to make sure the next ball almost always takes a wicket?
A. A bat.

Q. What would Glen McGrath be if he was an Englishman?
A. An allrounder.

Q. What do Geraint Jones and Michael Jackson have in common?
A. They both wear gloves for no apparent reason

Q. What advantage do Kevin Pieterson, Andrew Strauss and Geraint Jones have over the rest of their team-mates?
A. At least they can say they're not really English.

Q. What is the English version of a hat-trick?
A. Three runs in three balls.

Q. What do you call an Englishman with 100 runs against his name?
A. A bowler.

Q. What is the most proficient form of footwork displayed by English batsmen?
A. The walk back to the pavilion.

Q. Who has the easiest job in the English squad?
A. The guy who removes the red ball marks from the bats.

Q. Why is Andrew Flintoff the unluckiest English player?
A. Because he was born in England.

Q. What does "Ashes" stand for?
A. Another Sad Horrific English Series.

Q. What's the English version of LBW?
A. Lost, Beaten, Walloped.

Q. Who spends the most time on the crease of anyone in the English team?
A. The person who ironed the cricket whites.

Q. What is the height of optimism?
A. An English batsman applying sunscreen.

NAK302 · 08-08-2005, 11:17 AM

i have to ask one question.

how many more chances does Mathew Hayden get? 2 years without a century is a long time.

flavze · 08-08-2005, 12:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nak351

i have to ask one question.

how many more chances does Mathew Hayden get? 2 years without a century is a long time.

Who ya gonna replace him with though? It's the middle of winter here, their aint nobody ready to go over an replace him. He's got the talent, just needs to put his head down an grind out a decent score. Hopefully ponting gets amongst the runs at Old Trafford as we need somebody to stand up an take the pommie bowlers on. The aussie top order looks like it aint takin the pom bowlers seriously enough!

merlin · 08-08-2005, 12:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nak351

i have to ask one question.

how many more chances does Mathew Hayden get? 2 years without a century is a long time.

hayden top scored out of the recognised batsmen

MickyB · 08-08-2005, 12:57 PM

Put Katich in to open, bring in Hodge. Thats the only logical replacement, although I wouldn't drop Hayden just yet.

NAK302 · 08-08-2005, 03:35 PM

hayden has scored 77 runs in 4 innings of the ashes series so far. as MickyB says Katich opens with Langer and Hodge comes in behind Gilly. as for bowling i can see Macgill in for Gillespie at Old Trafford on Thursday and Kasper out if Mcgrath is fit.

**Mechan1k** · 08-08-2005, 07:03 PM

Well ... so much for that ... our bowlers batted better than out batsmen ... pretty poor really.

But what's just as bad is that is that England nearly lost to us as well. Was a close match though ... if we had one ... the UK tabloids would have given the British cricket team so much crap.

With the lead England had at the start ... they should have flogged us.