Official Ashes Series Thread

jimmyc1985 · Post by **jimmyc1985** » Thu Dec 28, 2006 1:54 pm

Clark's been on song since the tour of South Africa! He's been bowling consistently well since he came into the Test team. I like his demeanour too. He makes losing McGrath bearable (i'm not saying he'll replace him, but he'll do a good job of picking up a fair bit of the slack McGrath leaves behind).

Now, where are all those people who wanted him left out of this series in favour of Johnson or Tait

Boyler_Room · Post by **Boyler_Room** » Thu Dec 28, 2006 3:16 pm

Clark just got through Flintoff.

He's in sensational form.

ENG 6/108
Read 3*

Flintoff lbw Clark 25

Clark 12ov 3/23

Boyler_Room · Post by **Boyler_Room** » Thu Dec 28, 2006 3:19 pm

Geez, I think Warne was a bit lucky there with that one. I thought it was just missing off in real time, but Aleem Dar thought it was good enough. The flipper strikes again!

ENG 7/109
Read 4*

Mahmood lbw Warne 0

Warne now has 998 international wickets. Can he crack 1000 here at the MCG? Will he have to wait for Sydney?

Boyler_Room · Post by **Boyler_Room** » Thu Dec 28, 2006 3:28 pm

Oooh... Warne should have had Harmison just then. The Wrong'un clipped the glove then up onto Harmison's shoulder and ballooned to Hayden. Dar says no, off the arm.

lozza89 · Post by **lozza89** » Thu Dec 28, 2006 4:04 pm

Well Warne got him with a beuatiful delivery that hit Harmison on his back foot right in front of the wickets!
999 wickets, please let him get 1000 at the G!!

Boyler_Room · Post by **Boyler_Room** » Thu Dec 28, 2006 4:59 pm

4 - 0

Warne finishes with 999 International wickets thus far.

AUS win by Innings and 99 runs

ENG 161
Read 26*

Hoggard b Lee 9

Strauss 31 (top scorer for ENG)

Lee 4/51
Clark 3/30
Warne 2/46

Warne's farewell match should see him pass 1000 wickets for Australia in International cricket.

DYSON#2 · Post by **DYSON#2** » Thu Dec 28, 2006 5:50 pm

Lee bowled well today

Rossoneri · Post by **Rossoneri** » Thu Dec 28, 2006 6:11 pm

Lee's second spell was a good one, ill give him that.

England are dead set f****** pathetic. On a pitch that is supposed to be better than the one that hayden and Symmo scored over 300 between them, this is the shit they deliver?

The Barmy Army are fantastic, and must have a sense of humour if they travel the world to watch that. Surely they get paid for it.

CameronClayton · Post by **CameronClayton** » Thu Dec 28, 2006 6:27 pm

CameronClayton wrote: Now they will play their best keeper in Chris Read for the last 2 tests, & as everyone said after Monty played in this game, people will be saying 'why hasn't this bloke played all along?'

At least here is another player that the Poms have found & desperately needed. Read kept & batted really well (did better than Gilly in this game I thought) & again most people have wondered where have the Poms been hiding this bloke.

Sorry Rosso, but if you think this bloke is only as good as Geraint Jones, then you need to have another look. Jones is a crap keeper & ordinary bat. The Poms left their best keeper & spinner out of their first 2 games when the heat was really on, & while these 2 blokes wouldn't have saved them if they had played from Day 1, at least they are more competitive when they do play. The Pom selector's should be lined up against the wall.

Gilly had an ordinary game behind the stumps & needs to lift his glove work. Give up the ODI's after the 2007 WC I reckon. He's going to get a lot less chances behind the stumps when McGrath & Warne finish, so he needs to make every post a winner. Dropped chances & missed stumpings weren't too costly in this game, but in the future they will be.

Rossoneri · Post by **Rossoneri** » Thu Dec 28, 2006 6:34 pm

Jones didnt make a mistake so far, just didnt perform with the bat (agree, pretty much his sole reason for being chosen). While read is a decent keeper, he aint as great as people seem to think. They have a long tail and if your keeper cant bat, then your tail is even longer.

Not playing panesar was a dead set joke. They say he cant bat? I reckon he is their best batsman outside the top six. Fielding he isnt all that good but again, better than most others.

BenDoolan · Post by **BenDoolan** » Thu Dec 28, 2006 7:03 pm

DYSON#2 wrote:Lee bowled well today

Yes he did Dyso, and it's not before time. This is the sort of stuff he should be doing regularly, not in the 2nd innings of the 4th Test match of the series, when the series has already been decided. And there's another thing he can drop, and that's his idiotic antics when he gets a wicket. I wouldn't mind that sort of arrogance if he is on top of the world in his profession, but he aint. Running down to fine leg after getting a wicket and leaping around kicking his heels is just a wank. He is about to be in the spot light (Ponting's unrelenting support of his rubbish) and be the No.1 bowler of this Country in 2 Tests from now. We'll see how he travels then.

DYSON#2 · Post by **DYSON#2** » Thu Dec 28, 2006 7:07 pm

rodney marsh beleives read is a talent, and so do i...

his glove work is great and was the only english bowler who had any balls to go up to freddy and suggest options. apparentley he was a very good leader in his youth.... and geriant jones made several mistakes this tour. he dropped a few players and missed a stumping with a very bad take

Rossoneri · Post by **Rossoneri** » Thu Dec 28, 2006 7:18 pm

DYSON#2 wrote:rodney marsh beleives read is a talent, and so do i...

his glove work is great and was the only english bowler who had any balls to go up to freddy and suggest options. apparentley he was a very good leader in his youth.... and geriant jones made several mistakes this tour. he dropped a few players and missed a stumping with a very bad take

If he has that quality then he should be in the team. The need leaders and players with some balls.

I'd argue that Jones only missed one stumping (all be it important) in Perth. hasnt missed much else. Personally, I couldnt give a f*** who they pick, none of them are any good at the moment.

jimmyc1985 · Post by **jimmyc1985** » Thu Dec 28, 2006 7:27 pm

BenDoolan wrote:And there's another thing he can drop, and that's his idiotic antics when he gets a wicket. I wouldn't mind that sort of arrogance if he is on top of the world in his profession, but he aint. Running down to fine leg after getting a wicket and leaping around kicking his heels is just a wank. He is about to be in the spot light (Ponting's unrelenting support of his rubbish) and be the No.1 bowler of this Country in 2 Tests from now. We'll see how he travels then.

Absolutely. Lee's a double-edged sword to me, in that i dislike him no matter how he bowls - on the rare occasions when he bowls well this inexorably leads to idiotic celebrations which i disdain, and when he's bowling poorly i dislike him anyway. He should take a leaf out of S. Clark's book - he bowled Pietersen (the opposition's best batter) with an absolute ball-tearer, celebrated appropriately and GOT THE HELL ON WITH THE GAME. Lee gets the opposition's number 10 batsman out and celebrates like he's taken a Hadlee-esque 9/50!

And even with Warne and McGrath retiring, he sure as hell isn't going to become the number 1 bowler in my eyes - he's already number 2 behind Clark, and when Johnson comes in he'll be number 3.

DYSON#2 · Post by **DYSON#2** » Thu Dec 28, 2006 7:42 pm

and when warne goes i still dont know who the spinner should be to replace him... i dont think it can be MacGill, he is way out of form.
id like a fellow victorian to replace him in white but his bowling needs a good season of work. The was talk of hauritz but he has done crap all (but has increased his chances by going to NSW). I am still unsure on dan cullen aswell... its going to be interesting to see which way they go

temporary stevo · Post by **temporary stevo** » Thu Dec 28, 2006 11:42 pm

DYSON#2 wrote:and when warne goes i still dont know who the spinner should be to replace him...

none of them should. four pace bowlers should be selected.

DYSON#2 · Post by **DYSON#2** » Fri Dec 29, 2006 12:26 am

and no spinner? pffft... sorry stevo but a team needs at least 1 spinner....

play a spinner plus Lee & Clarke and a replacement paceman (tait etc) and also put shane watson in team for Symonds...

Symonds innings was a 1 innings wonder, he wont repeat it again - England bowled pies the whole innings

Gatsid · Post by **Gatsid** » Fri Dec 29, 2006 12:51 am

DYSON#2 wrote:and no spinner? pffft... sorry stevo but a team needs at least 1 spinner....

play a spinner plus Lee & Clarke and a replacement paceman (tait etc) and also put shane watson in team for Symonds...

Symonds innings was a 1 innings wonder, he wont repeat it again - England bowled pies the whole innings

But maybe thats all he needed to get started I mean he exploded after his first good knock in the ODI scene. You got to give the bloke a chance now that he has had a good knock and it's not like he doesn't keep one end quiet with the ball also. As for the spinner I'd think MacGill would get the nod, cullen looks the long term prospect with bailey, I'd say if white were to play cricket it would be as a batsman now that he has practically thrown his bowling away inorder to be a better bat and I don't think hauritz is good enough to warrant a spot.

Rossoneri · Post by **Rossoneri** » Fri Dec 29, 2006 11:25 am

Hey BD or anybody else out there, whene was the last time a test match in Melbourne went into the 5th day with some meaning. I know last year we came back on day 5 for about an hour, same as the last time the poms were out here. But when was the last time it went past 3:00pm without having a day and a half washed out because of rain?

BenDoolan · Post by **BenDoolan** » Fri Dec 29, 2006 6:35 pm

Rossoneri wrote:Hey BD or anybody else out there, whene was the last time a test match in Melbourne went into the 5th day with some meaning. I know last year we came back on day 5 for about an hour, same as the last time the poms were out here. But when was the last time it went past 3:00pm without having a day and a half washed out because of rain?

Gosh, that's a tough one. I remember a game where Australia played New Zealand and we hung on for a draw with Mike Whitney and Craig McDermott at the crease. It came down to the last over, the last ball, and with one wicket remaining, and that was 1987/88 (I think). But I will have to look at the history books for the accurate answer.....