Hussey out LBW for 10!

Would it be pushing it to predict I absolutely won't bump into a nymphomaniac millionairess supermodel this evening?

Jon

if i was you id predict that you will win the lottery

Sadly it seems my predictive powers are limited to cricket


Jon

At tea on Day two Australia are 445 all out, with North scoring 110 and Clarke out earlier for 93.

England have come out to bat after tea and are currently 17-0. They need to score 343 just to avoid losing by an innings. Unless they can bat for most of the next three days, we'll be going into the final test at 1-1, in which case only an England win will stop Oz from retaining the ashes.

Jon

Sorry to quote myself, but this needs emphasising. England ended the day at 82-5. They lost the top half of their batting lineup - which is, after all, supposed to be the good half - in one session for less runs than two of the Australian middle order scored individually. Bopara got a duck. How he remains at three is something Mulder & Scully should be looking in to. Utterly, utterly abject. They'll lose this test by an innings and 100 runs with a day and half to spare. If they're lucky.

Jon

They could have lost more if Prior hadn't have been dropped on the last ball of the day. If North had held that catch Ponting could have easily forced another half hour's play. Who knows what could have happened in those 30 minutes, given that the previous five wickets were lost for just 20 runs.

I don't normally like one-sided matches, but I'm enjoying this drubbing for the fact that it gives Ponting a change to stick two fingers up to the oafs in the England crowd who think it's big and clever to boo someone (inspired, no doubt, by the antics of their chief oaf, Flintoff). I don't have a lot of time for Ponting, but I think he's responded to the idiots with class. Get booed onto the pitch, slog 78 and humiliate the opposition in a way that's going to have them cowed for the final Test.

True. I think TBH it wouldn't have made a whole lot of difference though. England are going to get a complete kicking over this performance and whether it's over today or yesterday isn't going to save them any grief.


Ah see now that's just not fair. Flintoff has shown in the past he's as good a sportsman as anyone on the pitch. And, apart from some actually pretty silly stuff in Cardiff, this series has been played in pretty good spirit by both sides as Ashes series generally are. The booers are idiots and deserve to be chucked out but Flintoff (or indeed any of the England team) have done nothing to encourage them. In fact, whenever I've seen it mentioned to an England player in an interview, they've gone out of their way to condemn it. I also heard an interview with the spokesman for the barmy army - they're very kind of organised these days, they have membership lists and god knows what - who absolutely denied it was them and said it was against their 'code of conduct'. It's a few idiots who don't actually know much about cricket and only turn up to the ground once very four years then get beered up and act like hooligans.

Flintoff may very well be an oaf (pedellos and all that) but as far as I can see he's a pretty good-natured oaf. I doubt very much he'd want to be associated with the idiots in the crowd.

Ponting is great cricketer and, from what I've seen of him, seems a very decent man as well. We don't have to like him when he's the opposition but most cricket fans respect the bloke. I think the booing reflects badly on us more than it harms him and I'm sure the majority of England fans don't want it.


Yep. Always comes across as a pretty level headed guy. I think the crowd at the Oval is likely to be more knowledgeable and therefore better behaved anyway but I suspect there still will be a few.

Jon

True, but it would have been nice from an Australian perspective to wrap the game up in two days. Although Broad is doing himself proud right now, which is nice to see.

The big fear for Australia - which I admit, is unlikely at this point - would be for them to have a low score to chase. For some reason Australians seem inept when it comes to chasing down a low target.

No problem with that. England are all out for 263 to lose by an innings and 80 runs, so I wasn't that far off in the end. The Broad/Swann partnership was fun for a while but other than that it was utterly one sided. Johnson is apparently back in form, as to a degree is Broad. should make for an interesting final test.

Jon

Well Broad and Swanny showed up the rest of the England "batsmen"

Perhaps they should bat 3 and 4 at the Oval?

My XI for the Oval test would be:-

Strauss
Cook
Trott
Ramprakash
Collingwood
Flintoff
Prior
Broad
Swann
Sidebottom
Onions

Those names - where else but cricket could you gather such an improbably named bunch of people?
It as if all the kids in school with the odd surnames were filed to one side and told 'Sorry, you might love football or rugby, but it's cricket for you.'
I hope that's a Johnny Onions, btw.


(No, I'm not a cricket fan.)

Hmm, no Anderson?

My XI :

Strauss
Cook
Ramprakash
Bell
Collingwood
Flintoff
Prior
Anderson
Swann
Harmison
Onions

If Flintoff is out maybe put Sidebottom in, or another batsmen.

after that display my XI would be

Postman pat
Pugh
Pugh
Barney McGrew
Cuthbert
Dibble
Grubb
Bagpus
Windy Miller
Tinky Winky
Dipsy

They might put up a proper fight!!

My Oval X1 (if Flintoff is fit, which I doubt he will be):

Strauss
Trescothick
Key
Trott
Collingwood
Prior
Flintoff
Broad
Swann
Anderson
Sidebottom

Harmison in for Flintoff if he's not fit.

I suspect he will be passed fit regardless, seeing as it's his final test. However I believe Anderson is now crocked as well? And Tescothick? Are you sure? I mean, talented batsman and all that but he's psychologically incapable of handling pressure and I can't think of anything more pressurising than being thrown in as opener in the final test of an Ashes series when it's win or bust. Same goes for Trott really, hell of a place to make his debut. I'd have Key but I'd stick with Cook as an opener. God knows who'd come in at 4. I'd almost be inclined to shove Prior up the order frankly.

Jon