98 all out!!!

Dozed off through the lunch break - woke up to find I'd missed all the excitement.

Now let's see if the four pacemen are as effective as the Pommie lot.

Quote from the Telegraph

04.25 Bowling figures: Anderson 4/44 and two batsmen bursting into tears; Tremlett 4/26 and five kicks in the shins; Bresnan 2/25 and a Chinese burn; Swann 0/1 and 3.5 million YouTube hits.

The Brits are getting excited.

Humph, you're gloating....I can tell.

Until we get screwed in the second innings.

Gloat while ye may - tomorrow will come along and smack you in the face.

I'm off to get lunch now.

The sports bar will be packed with Aussies, as usual.

I wonder what'll be on the telly?

I'm off to get lunch now.

The sports bar will be packed with Aussies, as usual.

I wonder what'll be on the telly?

Try the porn channel, you might see ND getting " pumped "

Until we get screwed in the second innings.

Gloat while ye may - tomorrow will come along and smack you in the face.

The Ashes: Australia all out for 98

Poms are rapt, I found watching hard to believe.

Still 4 days yet.

Remember Perth......!

Neva count OZ out till the last bell.

Footnote:

Black Caps beat Pakistan, 20Twenty.

First win in living memory.... LOL.

Think that bell's ringing mate.........

Unless there's a miraculous turnaround over the next few days, my money's on Ponting getting the bullet.

Unless there's a miraculous turnaround over the next few days, my money's on Ponting getting the bullet.

Reckon Ponting is in same class as Warne?

Saw this in NZHerald..........

Four years after his last Test at the MCG, cricket legend Shane Warne will be the latest sports star to be honoured with a statue at the ground.

The Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC) have announced it will be the first in a new series of statues outside the famous sporting venue.

Unless there's a miraculous turnaround over the next few days, my money's on Ponting getting the bullet.

Reckon Ponting is in same class as Warne?

Saw this in NZHerald..........

Four years after his last Test at the MCG, cricket legend Shane Warne will be the latest sports star to be honoured with a statue at the ground.

The Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC) have announced it will be the first in a new series of statues outside the famous sporting venue.

The MCC???

You've got to be kidding?

Anyway, back to the real MCC (where the Ashes are displayed).

Reckon England, with 10 wickets in hand and a useful lead on day one, need to bat through tomorrow, putting on about 300-350 by tea or just after, then declare and take a couple of Aussie wickets before stumps.

Then skittle the rest out on day three to win by an innings and yonks.

Won't do the ticket sales much good, but should close the series.

Maybe for days four and five the England team could give lessons to the kids on how to play the game?

Yes, I'm gloating - and it's still far too early.

Went to the sports bar for lunch, usually 30-40 there. Arrived anf there were about sixty mo'bikes outside. Went in and there were 100-120 people watching the match and quaffing ale.

The only place for me to eat lunch was out of the sight-line of the big screen. But a nice rare rib-eye being more important than the match, I took the table and listened for the fall of wickets. Heard nothing. Watched a bit after I had finished eating - still no wickets. Strauss and Cook looked very comfortable. How the <deleted> did Australia collapse?

Yes, I'm gloating - and it's still far too early.

Went to the sports bar for lunch, usually 30-40 there. Arrived anf there were about sixty mo'bikes outside. Went in and there were 100-120 people watching the match and quaffing ale.

The only place for me to eat lunch was out of the sight-line of the big screen. But a nice rare rib-eye being more important than the match, I took the table and listened for the fall of wickets. Heard nothing. Watched a bit after I had finished eating - still no wickets. Strauss and Cook looked very comfortable. How the <deleted> did Australia collapse?

HUMPH, ya forgetting the sorry affair in Perth.

I will be watching it live.

Days like those at the W.A.C.A. are what make cricket so interesting.

Hope your thoughts and desires are fulfilled.

I barrack for 2 teams only.........

Black Caps, and whoever is playing the BAGGY GREENS

HUMPH, ya forgetting the sorry affair in Perth.

I will be watching it live.

Days like those at the W.A.C.A. are what make cricket so interesting.

Hope your thoughts and desires are fulfilled.

I barrack for 2 teams only.........

Black Caps, and whoever is playing the BAGGY GREENS

That's why I'm gloating now. Might have to creep away and hide tomorrow.

I follow the same principle as you - support Wasps at all times in RU, support whoever is playing against Man. U. in soccer.

In cricket I support the commonwelth side - England players supplemented by refugees from the various African countries - playing / managing / coaching. Multicultural, that's me.

And in the Bledisloe Cup there is only one team a sane man could support - and Dan Carter plays for 'em.

LUNCH England 226/2 (128 ahead) Trott 31* Pietersen 30*

Too slow - too goddam slow. Pick it up after lunch, chaps.

HUMPH, ya forgetting the sorry affair in Perth.

I will be watching it live.

Days like those at the W.A.C.A. are what make cricket so interesting.

Hope your thoughts and desires are fulfilled.

I barrack for 2 teams only.........

Black Caps, and whoever is playing the BAGGY GREENS

That's why I'm gloating now. Might have to creep away and hide tomorrow.

I follow the same principle as you - support Wasps at all times in RU, support whoever is playing against Man. U. in soccer.

In cricket I support the commonwelth side - England players supplemented by refugees from the various African countries - playing / managing / coaching. Multicultural, that's me.

And in the Bledisloe Cup there is only one team a sane man could support - and Dan Carter plays for 'em.

Humph, gunna havt visit you sumtime.

Have a few drinkies.

Man after me own heart.

Pieterson and Trott, trotting along, run for run at the mo'.

Ponting, hot under the collar, takes on the umpire....... he he he.

Aussies are cheats, get wickets any whichway.

I wonder if Punter would have kept his big gob shut, that nice Umpire may have not thought quite so hard about the no-ball. Only human in he...............

I wonder if Punter would have kept his big gob shut, that nice Umpire may have not thought quite so hard about the no-ball. Only human in he...............

But as Richard Ponting Esq., has to sleep in the showers these days, as he dare not go out on the streets, it may have seemed like a gamble worth taking.

He'd be better off playing the slots. ('Pokies' to you antipodeans)

At the risk of being called a bad loser I'm going to make a few comments addressing some points the bad winners here are making.

Ponting did make a dick of himself with Dar, he seems pretty good at buggering up everything these days including batting, captaincy and even catching a ball. He certainly picked the wrong decision and the wrong stage of his tenuous career to let fly at the umpire.

However, Dar has been haunting Australia in every series played for years. His inability to hear snicks always seemed to work against one side in that period. A couple of his calls at crucial times in the series when England first regained the ashes, helped decide the whole thing, and I believe led to the premature retirement of Damian Martyn. Dar put him out twice for lbw when he hit big inside edges!

Australia is always at a disadvantage with umpires because the two best of them are never allowed to officiate in their games. And also, everyone hates a side that dominates the game for decades at a time, including umpires from the sub continent.

One poster, without presenting any valid reasons, called Australia cheats. And this in a game where England tried to claim a catch which clearly bounced before the fielder got it!

I would like to know how the poster believers cheaters get away with it now that appeals are allowed, and third umpires, with electronic help, review decisions.

Anyway, looks like the South africans have dug in, and a lead of 500+ with heaps of time left will see the Ashes stay where they are. A good lesson for Australia really because at last the rebuilding will have to start with a major overhaul right through the whole structure.

Stumps England 444/5 (Trott 141*, Prior 75*) lead by 346

That was an awful day for Australia, in the end. When they had the English openers back in the hutch within eight overs this morning, and then again when they removed Ian Bell to make it 286/5, there was a hint of a sniff for them in this match, and in this series. But a desperately flat evening session, in which their bowlers looked very short of ideas or threat, and they are now red hot favourites to lose heavily. Jonathan Trott was commanding, Matt Prior rode his luck but batted himself back into some form, and that pair have all-but nailed down the lid of Australia's coffin.

However, the talking point of the day was not that 163-run unbeaten partnership, but the tantrum thrown by the Australian captain when Aleem Dar gave Kevin Pietersen not out to a caught behind appeal off Ryan Harris. The Aussies reviewed, but the third umpire Marais Erasmus did not see enough to overturn the decision. Ponting, however, thought the video screen at the MCG told a different story and got involved in a finger-jabbing, whiny rant at Dar that was distinguished by both its pointlessness and its length. What punishment he will get remains to be seen, but he did not come out of it with much credit.

As to the match, well, England will no doubt bat on for as long as they can tomorrow and then it's over to the bowlers. They could not ask for a better position from which to retain The Ashes.

That's the summary from the Daily Telegraph.

OC - I agree with your comments on umpires. In many sports these days it seems that umpires/referees or whatever you want to call them have some bias towards or against certain teams. Whether they themselves realise this or not, I do not know.

It could be that they just read their local newspaper, watch their local TV or whatever and pick up the bias from reporters / commentators / 'pundits - who all have bias and are able to show it. An unbiassed umpire or referee would be a very rare animal these days, especially when the senior functionaries of their sport are themselves frequently showing insane bias (Sepp Blather of FIFA springs to mind).

But over the past couple of days it has not just been poor umpiring decisions, it has been poor playing. I think that the team requires a complete rebuild, as you say. Nothing has really gone right with them on this series, although they did win at Perth. But there England just lost interest after the first day - I would say England lost that one, rather than Australia won it.

I wasn't trying to place all the blame on the umpires for Australia's crap play. The players, alone, are responsible for the way they wave their bats around outside the off stump like schoolboy cricketers.

Another aspect of Australia's poor performances, that seems to get overlooked among the rest of their miserable play, is their wretched catching. They seem to be dropping about every second chance that comes their way. Giving quality batsmen a couple of goes makes for record scoring sprees.

Australia used to be the best fielding side in the world, what happened? Poor coaching, aging, myopic players? (could explain why Ponting gets edges, and drops catches, all the the time.)

You don't win matches if you can't take catches.

Australia seems to only have ONE player.

SIDDLE.....

5 wickets

2 catches

Well, at the moment Australia are 6/159 and a couple more overs to go before stumps.

Will we see the fighting tail that they showed in Perth?

Make the game more interesting - but I still predict an innings and yonks, maybe early on day 4, rather than by close of play on day three.

(See post somewhere above)

Gate money must be well down.

Give us another half hour!!!

Give us another half hour!!!

I wonder if Sepp Blatter will step in and insist we give the Ashes to Russia ?

Give us another half hour!!!

I wonder if Sepp Blatter will step in and insist we give the Ashes to Russia ?

Burn Sepp Blatter and give his ashes to Qatar ('cos they beat Oz out of the race and this is a thread about Oz)

Give us another half hour!!!

I wonder if Sepp Blatter will step in and insist we give the Ashes to Russia ?

Burn Sepp Blatter and give his ashes to Qatar ('cos they beat Oz out of the race and this is a thread about Oz)

Well if it's about OZ we can all sing the Sepp Blatter song....." follow the yellow brick road, follow the yellow brick road.."

Stop talking about soccer on this thread! It's been banned in Australia since the bloody Euro trash robbed us! It's a girlie game anyway and we've spat the dummy with it!

Thinking about doing the same thing with that stupid little ashes thing. Even when we won it for 20 years straight we were never allowed to have the pathetic little trophey anyway.

Stop talking about soccer on this thread! It's been banned in Australia since the bloody Euro trash robbed us! It's a girlie game anyway and we've spat the dummy with it!

Thinking about doing the same thing with that stupid little ashes thing. Even when we won it for 20 years straight we were never allowed to have the pathetic little trophey anyway.

I'll sell you a 'Made in Thailnd' plastic imitation.

Why do you think you're never allowed to hold it? 'Cos that nice Dr Grace nicked the original way back when. All they have at Lords is another imitation.

The whole thing's about pumping up the volume.

Keep writing all those nasty things about the other lot, fills the newspapers and the stands.

Can't wait for the footie season to start again - my weekends watching Australia Network running repeats of Totally Wild and Landline are not the same. I have to go out shopping 'cos I can't stand the telly any more.