The Ashes

[mittheimp]

29 days to go!

[Old Croc]

England made an inauspicious start to the ashes campaign in Australia

In a 50 overs match against the PM's Xl (containing no current test players) they were thrashed by a massive 166 runs.

Hope they improve a bit or the ashes will be a very boring affair.

http://content-aus.cricinfo.com/australia/...tch/249218.html

http://content-aus.cricinfo.com/australia/...ory/267406.html

[chonabot]

Hope they improve a bit or the ashes will be a very boring affair.

Well , your lot are the ones who have to improve on their last effort......

[Donz]

I think the poms should even turn up.

They should just come up with some excuse so they dont have to get emabarrased.

My old high school team would probaly give the poms a run

[mittheimp]

I think the poms should even turn up.

They should just come up with some excuse so they dont have to get emabarrased.

My old high school team would probaly give the poms a run

mmm, the only embarrassing thing here is the literacy level of your post!

[chonabot]

I think the poms should even turn up.

They should just come up with some excuse so they dont have to get emabarrased.

My old high school team would probaly give the poms a run

mmm, the only embarrassing thing here is the literacy level of your post!

Mitt , you should have seen the effort before his Mum corrected the mistakes.....

[Donz]

We are talking about the Aussie crushing the talentless poms, stop trying to change the subject. I guess If I had a team like yours then I probaly would be picking at silly things too.

[chonabot]

We are talking about the Aussie crushing the talentless poms, stop trying to change the subject. I guess If I had a team like yours then I probaly would be picking at silly things too.

Talentless won the Ashes last time.......

[Donz]

We are talking about the Aussie crushing the talentless poms, stop trying to change the subject. I guess If I had a team like yours then I probaly would be picking at silly things too.

Talentless won the Ashes last time.......

Yeah last time was last time, they didnt play to win, just let them take the ashes so they could actually play of something.

I mean winning all the time gets boring.

[mittheimp]

by fair means or foul!

[Pink Mist]

by fair means or foul!

foul odour, thats why they are referred to as soapdodgers

[bkkandrew]

England made an inauspicious start to the ashes campaign in Australia

In a 50 overs match against the PM's Xl (containing no current test players) they were thrashed by a massive 166 runs.

Hope they improve a bit or the ashes will be a very boring affair.

http://content-aus.cricinfo.com/australia/...tch/249218.html

http://content-aus.cricinfo.com/australia/...ory/267406.html

Well, sorry to spoil the party, but it appears the convicts are having a reality check as the English get into gear:

Pietersen and England find form

Tour match, Sydney, day two of three (stumps): New South Wales 355-9 dec v England 256-4

Scorecard

Pietersen played some typically flamboyant strokes to rally England

Kevin Pietersen capped England's best day in Australia so far with a fine innings against New South Wales.

Pietersen (80no), Andrew Strauss (50), Alastair Cook (59), and Andrew Flintoff (48no) all shone on day two in Sydney.

Earlier, Steve Harmison claimed 3-95 as the hosts declared on 355-9 after rain allowed only 4.1 overs before lunch.

Interview: England batsman Kevin Pietersen

"The boys did fantastically against possibly four of the bowlers we could face in the Ashes"

Left-hander Strauss was hit in the chest by a Lee delivery but recovered to produce a succession of crisp drives and cuts off the speedster Glenn McGrath.

Pietersen got lucky when he top-edged a hook shot off Lee into space at backward square leg, but he then smashed Henriques for six over the mid-wicket boundary.

Pietersen continued to torment the young all-rounder, hitting three fours off the 37th over, but then McGrath broke the fourth-wicket stand, bowling around the wicket to trap left-hander Cook lbw.

Pietersen brought up his 50 by lofting McGrath over mid-on for four, before Flintoff got in on the act, hitting spinner Beau Casson for three boundaries in quick succession.

/edited from Source: BBC Sport

Edited November 13, 2006 by bkkandrew

[Old Croc]

Yes, the English are doing a lot better this time out thankfully.

Who are the convicts?

Would you be referring to the English criminals who were sent to Australia a couple of hundred years ago because there were too many of the buggers for their own local prisons?

[bkkandrew]

Yes, the English are doing a lot better this time out thankfully.

Who are the convicts?

Would you be referring to the English criminals who were sent to Australia a couple of hundred years ago because there were too many of the buggers for their own local prisons?

That would be the ones..

Wondered who would bite first!!

[In the Rai!]

Yes, the English are doing a lot better this time out thankfully.

Who are the convicts?

Would you be referring to the English criminals who were sent to Australia a couple of hundred years ago because there were too many of the buggers for their own local prisons?

I can just imagine the conversation taking place over in old England all those years ago.

We have far too many prisoners here and no where to put them. I know lets send them to Australia, they will hate the beautiful beaches filled with white sand and blue water, clear blue skies and fresh air. That will teach them!

mmmmmmm

I am sure they are still regreting that decision, just like the one you made in sending your crickers to play us in the Ashes.

Seriously, our boys will get more of a work out in the nets, though they are a little tired after having carried that ICC trophy back to Australia. I guess we are lucky the world cup is next year otherwise we would be even more tired from carrying that one aswell.

ITR

[Old Croc]

England's Trescothick out of Ashes tour

England's Ashes defence has been dealt a huge blow with opener Marcus Trescothick leaving Australia with a recurrence of his stress-related illness.

Trescothick, 32, flew out of Sydney about 10pm (AEDT) on Tuesday and will take no part in the series, which starts in Brisbane on November 23. The veteran opener met with team management on Tuesday and it was agreed he would return home, which continues a wretched year of personal misfortune for the left-hander.

Trescothick prematurely left England's tour of India in March when he was first diagnosed with a stress-related illness, and he then missed his country's Champions Trophy campaign, also in India, last month to spend time with his family.

England coach Duncan Fletcher and medical staff met with Trescothick before the group agreed it was best he return home. "Following discussions between Marcus and the England medical staff, it was decided that Marcus should fly home at the earliest opportunity," Fletcher said. "We are naturally disappointed to lose a player of his quality from our Ashes squad and everyone in the dressing room hopes that he is able to make a full recovery and resume his cricketing career."

Trescothick has never specified exactly what his illness entailed, although he last week revealed the condition involved a combination of depression and exhaustion.

Fletcher, his two assistants and captain Andrew Fletcher are now discussing how best to replace Trescothick, who is the only specialist batsman in the 16-man squad to have played an Ashes Test in Australia.

I hope Harmison doesn't get a bout of homesickness, for which he is famed, and also drop his bundle.

[Pink Mist]

It's a pity, it gives the soapies another reason to moan about why they lost the ashes

[mittheimp]

this is just not cricket!!!

totally disgusted!

honest!

[Pink Mist]

this is just not cricket!!!

totally disgusted!

is that why trescothic went home?

honest!

[In the Rai!]

It's a pity, it gives the soapies another reason to moan about why they lost the ashes

Its what they are good at.. They have been doing it for 20 years now bar last year.

ITR

[Siam_superfly]

Seriously, our boys will get more of a work out in the nets, though they are a little tired after having carried that ICC trophy back to Australia. ITR

.......so true

[Siam_superfly]

England's Trescothick out of Ashes tour

England's Ashes defence has been dealt a huge blow with opener Marcus Trescothick leaving Australia with a recurrence of his stress-related illness.

Trescothick, 32, flew out of Sydney about 10pm (AEDT) on Tuesday and will take no part in the series, which starts in Brisbane on November 23. The veteran opener met with team management on Tuesday and it was agreed he would return home, which continues a wretched year of personal misfortune for the left-hander.

Trescothick prematurely left England's tour of India in March when he was first diagnosed with a stress-related illness, and he then missed his country's Champions Trophy campaign, also in India, last month to spend time with his family.

England coach Duncan Fletcher and medical staff met with Trescothick before the group agreed it was best he return home. "Following discussions between Marcus and the England medical staff, it was decided that Marcus should fly home at the earliest opportunity," Fletcher said. "We are naturally disappointed to lose a player of his quality from our Ashes squad and everyone in the dressing room hopes that he is able to make a full recovery and resume his cricketing career."

Trescothick has never specified exactly what his illness entailed, although he last week revealed the condition involved a combination of depression and exhaustion.

Fletcher, his two assistants and captain Andrew Fletcher are now discussing how best to replace Trescothick, who is the only specialist batsman in the 16-man squad to have played an Ashes Test in Australia.

I hope Harmison doesn't get a bout of homesickness, for which he is famed, and also drop his bundle.

Lampard....get ur bat ....England needs you

[mittheimp]

..

Edited November 17, 2006 by mittheimp

[mittheimp]

52 hours to go - time for people to give us there real predictions - forget the bravardo!

OK i predict 0:5

In all seriousness England are up against it - for England to compete they need both Flintoff and Harmison bowling well - this at the moment looks unlikely - but fingers crossed! My concern is that Panasar is going to play with too much pressure as Fletcher is well keen on Giles being in the team - Monty needs time to find his feet in the series and then he will bowl well (he is by far and away Englands best spinner). I also don't like the inclusion of Jones over Read - Fletcher has his favourites and that is no way to pick an international cricket team.

Less concerned with the batting - i think both strouse and bell will have a good series.

Aussie batting will again depend on Ponting perhaps too much but Martyn will probably do alright as he can't have the same run of bad luck that he did last time. Mcgrath is past it so its only Lee and Warne that we have to worry about! Just checked the ages of the Aussie team, going to be injuries and lots of them for a team this old! (No youngsters coming through then?)

Final prediction -

England all the way (honest!)

[Pink Mist]

52 hours to go - time for people to give us there real predictions - forget the bravardo!

OK i predict 0:5

In all seriousness England are up against it - for England to compete they need both Flintoff and Harmison bowling well - this at the moment looks unlikely - but fingers crossed! My concern is that Panasar is going to play with too much pressure as Fletcher is well keen on Giles being in the team - Monty needs time to find his feet in the series and then he will bowl well (he is by far and away Englands best spinner). I also don't like the inclusion of Jones over Read - Fletcher has his favourites and that is no way to pick an international cricket team.

Less concerned with the batting - i think both strouse and bell will have a good series.

Aussie batting will again depend on Ponting perhaps too much but Martyn will probably do alright as he can't have the same run of bad luck that he did last time. Mcgrath is past it so its only Lee and Warne that we have to worry about! Just checked the ages of the Aussie team, going to be injuries and lots of them for a team this old! (No youngsters coming through then?)

Final prediction -

England all the way (honest!)

you forgot Tait

[mittheimp]

52 hours to go - time for people to give us there real predictions - forget the bravardo!

OK i predict 0:5

In all seriousness England are up against it - for England to compete they need both Flintoff and Harmison bowling well - this at the moment looks unlikely - but fingers crossed! My concern is that Panasar is going to play with too much pressure as Fletcher is well keen on Giles being in the team - Monty needs time to find his feet in the series and then he will bowl well (he is by far and away Englands best spinner). I also don't like the inclusion of Jones over Read - Fletcher has his favourites and that is no way to pick an international cricket team.

Less concerned with the batting - i think both strouse and bell will have a good series.

Aussie batting will again depend on Ponting perhaps too much but Martyn will probably do alright as he can't have the same run of bad luck that he did last time. Mcgrath is past it so its only Lee and Warne that we have to worry about! Just checked the ages of the Aussie team, going to be injuries and lots of them for a team this old! (No youngsters coming through then?)

Final prediction -

England all the way (honest!)

you forgot Tait

Didn't forget - just glossed over as not worth a mention - stress fracture of the back coming any time soon with that action - besides he's all over the place!

[Pink Mist]

52 hours to go - time for people to give us there real predictions - forget the bravardo!

OK i predict 0:5

In all seriousness England are up against it - for England to compete they need both Flintoff and Harmison bowling well - this at the moment looks unlikely - but fingers crossed! My concern is that Panasar is going to play with too much pressure as Fletcher is well keen on Giles being in the team - Monty needs time to find his feet in the series and then he will bowl well (he is by far and away Englands best spinner). I also don't like the inclusion of Jones over Read - Fletcher has his favourites and that is no way to pick an international cricket team.

Less concerned with the batting - i think both strouse and bell will have a good series.

Aussie batting will again depend on Ponting perhaps too much but Martyn will probably do alright as he can't have the same run of bad luck that he did last time. Mcgrath is past it so its only Lee and Warne that we have to worry about! Just checked the ages of the Aussie team, going to be injuries and lots of them for a team this old! (No youngsters coming through then?)

Final prediction -

England all the way (honest!)

you forgot Tait

Didn't forget - just glossed over as not worth a mention - stress fracture of the back coming any time soon with that action - besides he's all over the place!

time will tell

[lampard10]

this is just not cricket!!!

totally disgusted!

Where the hill does she come from though? Not fat enough to be English and definately not ugly enough to be Australian.

honest!

[Old Croc]

52 hours to go - time for people to give us there real predictions - forget the bravardo!

OK i predict 0:5

Just checked the ages of the Aussie team, going to be injuries and lots of them for a team this old! (No youngsters coming through then?)

you forgot Tait

Didn't forget - just glossed over as not worth a mention - stress fracture of the back coming any time soon with that action - besides he's all over the place!

time will tell

You also forgot Michael Johnson. I think he's a player of the future and ready to debut in this series as soon as someone breaks down!

What's the thoughts on specialist substitute fielders such as the guy England flew in last time?

The one who famously ran out Ponting and set him off against Fletcher. The barmy army are threatening/promising to pay for the guys ticket to Oz so he can be used again.

The Australians are sayin they will use one this time as neither Tait nor Johnson are great in the field. They will however, use a local, not fly someone in from interstate!

[Sunderland]

I dont even like cricket but i will be cheering on the aussies to smash the poms and bring the ashes home for another 20 years. I think the poms better go and look at it again because you only got 100 days left.

Yeah yeah ... cricket is a weird game too!