The Ashes Tour 2013

[BookMan]

How clear was this on the T.V the players celebrating in the middle of the pitch "Australia you F#$cking beauty." English commentators jumping straight in to apologise to their viewers for the language.

Blimey!

[David48]

How clear was this on the T.V the players celebrating in the middle of the pitch "Australia you F#$cking beauty." English commentators jumping straight in to apologise to their viewers for the language.

On the CH9 broadcast, they just quickly turned down the field effects mike.

Aussie Ashes Team ... you little rippers ...

.

[Radar501]

Special thanks must go to Stuart Broad for all his delaying tactics during the game. Otherwise it wouldn't have gone TWO days!

[Northpoint]

That's why they are called the British and Irish Lions!

Both Australia and England in a number of sports have used players who were not native born.

End of, please.

As for the cricket; not a lot I can say, really.

In Oz we have at lest a million Poms born in England proud of their Australian citizenship. They all seem too support England when it becomes to a sporting contest between those two great countries. Go figure?

[Bikkii]

Farewell must also go to Kerry O'Keefe. ABC radio won't be quite the same in summers to come.

[Old Croc]

Ryan Harris Man of the Match,

Johnson Man of the Series for 37 wickets at 14. Just beat Haddin.

Edited January 5, 2014 by Old Croc

[chooka]

How clear was this on the T.V the players celebrating in the middle of the pitch "Australia you F#$cking beauty." English commentators jumping straight in to apologise to their viewers for the language.

On the CH9 broadcast, they just quickly turned down the field effects mike.

Aussie Ashes Team ... you little rippers ...

.

Watched on Sky Sports

[Old Croc]

Just looking at the stats for this tour.

Bailey was the obvious failure with the bat for Australia with an average of 26.14.

However, that was enough to finish ahead of Cook, Bell and Trott and just below Carberry,

Pietersen and Root.

[7by7]

Not much to say, really.

I didn't expect it to be easy, but I certainly did not expect England to be so pathetic.

In 10 innings, England have scored less than 200 six times and only passed 300 twice!

In 10 Australian innings, England have taken all 10 Australian wickets only 5 times.

[keddy]

I don't whether to laugh or cry. It was pathetic, they just couldn't adapt or turn it around as a team. It was almost pitiful watching it, just a nightmare for all concerned. There will be a backlash for the next one though

[uptheos]

I don't whether to laugh or cry. It was pathetic, they just couldn't adapt or turn it around as a team. It was almost pitiful watching it, just a nightmare for all concerned. There will be a backlash for the next one though

You're talking about the 5-0 defeat by Forest, right?

[keddy]

I don't whether to laugh or cry. It was pathetic, they just couldn't adapt or turn it around as a team. It was almost pitiful watching it, just a nightmare for all concerned. There will be a backlash for the next one though

You're talking about the 5-0 defeat by Forest, right?

Take your pick but at least with the football the suffering is mercifully short; a mere 90 minutes. The cricket on the other hand was a drawn out slow death in 2 hour+ installments stretched over several weeks. I blame the piss poor Australian beer, the drugged food and some underhand tampering of the English bats. Did you see Carberry's folding bat the other day?

[BookMan]

For those that missed the final song

[7by7]

.........at least with the football the suffering is mercifully short; a mere 90 minutes. The cricket on the other hand was a drawn out slow death in 2 hour+ installments stretched over several weeks.

And it's not over yet; still got the ODIs to come!

[keddy]

All those 'taches, tattoos and close embraces. They were definitely on their way to pop a few champagne corks in the bath house later that evening

[ripstanley]

.........at least with the football the suffering is mercifully short; a mere 90 minutes. The cricket on the other hand was a drawn out slow death in 2 hour+ installments stretched over several weeks.

And it's not over yet; still got the ODIs to come!

The ashes are 5 days for the men. ( sometimes a lot shorter this summer) The women include the ODI and 20/20 This topic is about the Ashes.

[Exsexyman]

Congratulations to Australia, they hammered us, pure and simple. I have been following English cricket for more years than i care to remember, and that is the worst performance in a Test Series by a country mile, they were absolutely gutless.

Very depressing to see in the English press today that Flower and Cook are being supported by the hierarchy, and are seen as the right people to "Take England Forward". Imagine the England football team going to a World, or European Finals, getting thrashed in every game, being totally humiliated, and when they get home with their tails between their legs the FA saying, "Well, Roy has done a sterling job, and he is the man to take us forward"! Laughable, Roy would have already resigned. Time for this Essex triumvirate to leave the stage, Cook as a captain is tactically clueless, inept doesn't even come close, and his man management skills are a joke, his treatment of Panasaw both on and off the pitch was a disgrace. Reading between the lines of the writings of some experienced pundits, Flower was effectively captaining the side in the last couple of Tests. Andrew Strauss was considered a bit conservative as a captain, but now he looks positively cavalier compared to Flower and Cook, with their ultra defensive fields, even when in a potentially winning position, and the constant resort to time wasting tactics.

Flower and Gooch have had their day now, it has to be accepted that the 'Army approach' may have worked for a while, but not any more. 48 hours before the team left on a 3 month Ashes Tour, they were taken away from their families and sent to a boot camp! Ridiculous. Just look at the difference in the Australian dressing room now they have got rid of the control freak Mickey Arthur, with his 'detention' if you don't do your homework approach, he and Flower are two peas of the same pod. The Aussie dressing now under Lehmann is clearly a fun, happy place to be, and it shows in the way they play. Not much chance of any fun or happiness in the England dressing room with Flower and Gooch, they always have permanent scowls, and a military approach. This might be needed for some players but not many. According to some articles i have read, Graham Swann had been having issues with this for a while.

Graham Gooch, although a fine opening bat, was never naturally gifted, he was a grafter and a very good one. He was similar in some ways to Boycott. he never appreciated the naturally talented and flair players, (Think David Gower)! He effectively ended Gower's Test career when Gower, after having a very high scoring season, at the top of his game, probably the best player of spin in the England set up, was left out of the winter tour to the Subcontinent. There was uproar at the time, of course it didn't go unnoticed that if he had gone, Gower would almost certainly have pulled far ahead of Gooch as England's highest Test run scorer. There was another little Essex Man standing behind him then too, Keith Fletcher.

Cook should stay as a opening bat and concentrate on getting some form back. He is just not captain material, that is blindingly obvious. I haven't got a clue who should replace him, but Flower and Gooch should fall on their swords now if they have any shred of self respect. A new broom is clearly needed after this Ashes debacle.

[7by7]

.........at least with the football the suffering is mercifully short; a mere 90 minutes. The cricket on the other hand was a drawn out slow death in 2 hour+ installments stretched over several weeks.

And it's not over yet; still got the ODIs to come!

The ashes are 5 days for the men. ( sometimes a lot shorter this summer) The women include the ODI and 20/20 This topic is about the Ashes.

The topic title is "The Ashes tour 2013" not "The Ashes tours 2013/14.".

If you really want to be pedantic, it's about Australia's tour of England in 2013; not about England's tour of Australia 2013/14 as well.

The tours include the ODIs, as well as county etc. games in England for the Aussies and state etc. games in Australia for the English.

Following your logic, every post since the fifth test at The Oval finished has been off topic!

But, if you don't want to talk about the ODIs when they start, no one will force you to.

Edited January 6, 2014 by 7by7

[Will27]

Speaking of "off topic", are we going to start a thread on the South African tour?

I know it would mainly be us Aussies commenting, but let's face it, apart from 7by7

who bravely flew the flag and the odd cameo by some others, it was mainly us anyway.

Funny that.....

Also, will be interesting to see how the ODI's go. Due to the Aussie success in the Ashes,

they may be popular, but I think 50 over cricket has nearly died since the introduction of twenty/20

(yuk). Apart from the World Cup, I don't think it has much interest anymore. I would like to see it revamped.

Maybe 35 overs per side.

Opinions?

Edited January 7, 2014 by Will27

[chooka]

Speaking of "off topic", are we going to start a thread on the South African tour?

I know it would mainly be us Aussies commenting, but let's face it, apart from 7by7

who bravely flew the flag and the odd cameo by some others, it was mainly us anyway.

Funny that.....

Also, will be interesting to see how the ODI's go. Due to the Aussie success in the Ashes,

they may be popular, but I think 50 over cricket has nearly died since the introduction of twenty/20

(yuk). Apart from the World Cup, I don't think it has much interest anymore. I would like to see it revamped.

Maybe 35 overs per side.

Opinions?

Just listening/watching Michael Clarke at the Sydney Opera House and he is looking forward to the ODI's and hoping for another white wash.

Celebrations at the Opera House for the ashes win, good opertunity for Abbot to get his profile lifted.

The womens ashes starts on Friday.

Edited January 7, 2014 by chooka

[chooka]

For those that missed the final song

Sky Sports neglected to beep out the F word

[7by7]

.........I think 50 over cricket has nearly died since the introduction of twenty/20

(yuk). Apart from the World Cup, I don't think it has much interest anymore. I would like to see it revamped.

Maybe 35 overs per side.

Opinions?

In England, all forms of the game are popular and regularly sell out; at international level.

But at county level, apart from T20, it's often a case of:

"What time does play start?"

"What time can you get here?"

My personal opinion is that a five day test is the finest form of the game, and I get the impression that most contributors to this topic would agree.

In the one day game, I prefer the 50 over form over T20.

I can see the appeal of T20 in this modern age with the desire for instant gratification; and I do watch and do find it exciting at times (I'm not yet that far into my dotage!).

But it is all bash, bash, bash (the name of the Aussie domestic tournament says it all).

Fifty overs allows time for tactics and thought; e.g. for the batting side when to defend, when to attack and push the score on; for the fielding side when to attack, when to set a more defensive field.

It was going down the drain; terminal boredom with a ring of fielders on the boundary with the aim of the fielding side being merely to stop runs. But the rule changes which stopped that vastly improved the situation.

Reducing the number of overs would, in my opinion, serve no point. Doing so means the one day game would be neither fish nor fowl; too long for the excitement of T20, too short for the nuances of 50 overs.

The English domestic competition is 40 overs, which I think is too low.

[BookMan]

Speaking of "off topic", are we going to start a thread on the South African tour?

I know it would mainly be us Aussies commenting, but let's face it, apart from 7by7

who bravely flew the flag and the odd cameo by some others, it was mainly us anyway.

Funny that.....

Also, will be interesting to see how the ODI's go. Due to the Aussie success in the Ashes,

they may be popular, but I think 50 over cricket has nearly died since the introduction of twenty/20

(yuk). Apart from the World Cup, I don't think it has much interest anymore. I would like to see it revamped.

Maybe 35 overs per side.

Opinions?

There could be a South africa tour thread...or should there be a 'Cricket' thread in general? For the lesser series around the world that get played?

I tuned off from one dayers (50 over games) years back. They were getting boring. I do agree that rules changes have made them more interesting in recent years. I'm not sure of crowd figures as a comparison for T50 v T20 v Test match.

Im not sure 35 overs a side is the way to go either....really I dont know.

[7by7]

Australia v England: Mitchell Johnson out of first one-day game

Australia v England: Stuart Broad rested for first two ODIs

Anderson has flown home 'to give him a rest' so presumably will miss all the remaining games.

[7by7]

Same old story;

England 269 for 7 after 50.

Australia 144 for 0 after 25.

Strange incident earlier.

Australia on 82, Warner edges a ball from Stokes and is caught behind by Buttler.

Warner asks if the catch was clean, and takes Buttler's word for it and off he goes.

Meanwhile the umpires, as they are entitled to do, refer to the third umpire to check for a bounce ball. replay isn't definitive; the ball does bounce but it's not clear whether it bounces off the ground or Buttler's fingers.

So the Third umpire gives Warner not out, and he is called back.

But why?

Warner had accepted Buttler's word, and was almost off the field before being called back.

So why did the umpire's need to get involved at all?

We've had a lot of criticism in this topic of batsmen not walking; but even when they do the umpire's call them back!

BTW, I'm not criticising Warner at all; he did what he thought was the right thing but the umpires told him he was not out; so he came back. I am sure that any Englishman in the same position would have done the same; after all, the umpire's word is final!

[BookMan]

That was odd.

Looking at the replay I'm not sure it hit the glove first anyway. Botham and his co commentator were saying it definitely was, but didn't look like it was a catch to me. Looked like a grounder just before the glove. Totally understandable why the keeper thought he caught it

I think catches like that are better going to replay rather than accepting the fielders word. A fielder can often believe they have taken a catch but the ball was grounded first.

If Warner had gone off the field, as he was doing, a debatable catch like that could cause divisions

[Bangkokhatter]

There-in lies the problem with these type of catches, you disagree with Botham and his fellow commentators, am listening on ABC Radio and the view there was pretty split also, so how can the 3rd Umpire give a definite decision ? Should have left it to the Batsmen and the Keeper.

Not that it will make much difference to the result

[7by7]

Indeed, Australia win by 6 wickets with 26 balls to spare.

Meanwhile in Perth.

At the close of day 4 Australia's women are 57 for 5, chasing 185 to win.

Maybe not as bad for them as it looks; in their first innings they were at one stage 37 for 5 but went on to score 207, giving them a first innings lead of 6.

Brief report.

[7by7]

At last; England win in Australia!

The women, that is. Women’s Ashes 2014: England win Test by 61 runs in Perth.

[Will27]

I think one of England's problems is that they're picking almost a test side

to play ODI's. I know Pietersen and Broad didn't play, but I really don't think

guys like Cook, Bell and Root are going to hurt you too much in the limited

over stuff. They're good test cricketers.

If you look at the Aussie side, guys like Warner, Finch, Maxwell and Bailey

can be explosive but perhaps, with the exception of Warner, they aren't

good test players.

It was like Australia a long time ago when they sacked guys like Tubby Taylor,

Geoff Marsh, Ian Healy, David Boon etc and brought in guys like Gilchrest,

Symonds, Martyn etc.

I think they would be better off getting rid of the old school test cricketers and look

at some young big hitting, jet fielders like the Maxwell type.