Off Topic The Official Ashes 2013 Thread

@SkySportsNews: Kevin Pietersen ruled out for rest of second Ashes Test with calf strain #SSNHD

 

Root for president!!! What a lad.

My dad asked me how many of these Aussies would make it into the England team. I said 2 (3 if KP is injured), Siddle for Bresnan (Siddle slightly less average as a test match bowler) and Watson (who I think is an incredible player) for Bairstow. Clarke would come in for KP if the latter was injured.

The rest are cack. Their spin bowler is a joke for this level, even if he did score a lucky 98.

 

Not going to be a miss, bearing in mind he's had both his innings already.

 

England will not declare until Root gets 200

 

The real question is whether Australia will bother attempting to get them out. I think towards the end they were consciously trying to save their attack bowlers and let England get runs to accelerate to personal milestones, hoping it would distract from the overall goal. Less time for them to bat.

 

What's the betting that rain/thunderstorms stop play and it ends a draw?

 

The gods are with us, re-the "drop" off Bell...

I can only assume Newcastle's willing sacrifice of a top 10 spot and Derby day dignity has paid dividends after-all

Hopefully Man City are as cricket-loving as us with the next series not far away...

 

Rack up another 70 runs this morning and put them in for an hour before lunch.....and see what they are made of. I can see the Aussie innings going one of two ways - either they lose early wickets and collapse like a pack of cards for 79 all out or someone gets in but they still struggle to 209 all out. The Aussies are in so much disarray, I expect their total to be somewhere between these two figures.

In order to win this Test match, Australia need to smash the record for the highest run-chase in the history of first-class cricket.....and that is before we add to our overnight lead.

England lead by 566.....lol, doesn't that sound good? And we've done it with four of our recognised batsmen struggling....Cook, Trott, Pietersen and Prior.

God knows what we'll do to the Aussies if all our players hit form.

 

Watson lbw. Predictable.

 

2 down Rogers gone. This won't last the day.

 

3 down. Missed stumping by Prior for 4.

 

I did predict a big big England win. I didn't expect such a massacre.

 

umpires have had a total nightmare, especially the third one

 

I think the only thing worse than the umpires poorness has been the aussies complete inability to bat. Boof has his work cut out trying to mould this lot into a competitive team

 

2-0 Lets destroy them

 

Absolutely, they are in disarray and there for the taking.

 

I genuinely can't believe this is the best they have to offer. There has to be 6/7 better Australians out there to come in for the lemons in this side? Get Warne in now and he'll probably drag the team up a notch.

It's 30 degrees outside and we're cruising the Ashes... I don't know who made the error, or what that error was, but let's keep it this way please. I don't even care if the toilets and drainage systems start going the other way!!!

 

The Aussies don't have prayer mats.

 

They're isn't. Unfortunately that golden period they had led to an extended period of complacency. It has set them back years. The West Indies did the same thing to a certain extent but the difference is The Aussies will eventually rise back up to challenging for No.1. The Windies had other issues too such as they were pretty much a one nation sport at the time of their greatness. Now basketball, athletics, football all appeal and the islands are no longer united but riddled with political battles. Many turn to other sports because of what they see as a bias in terms of picking players from certain islands. Of course many say there is a bias towards NSW players in Aussie cricket, but the bottom line is cricket remains a premier sport in Austrailia and everyone still wants to be McGrath, Warne or one of the Waugh brothers. They'll rise again but I can't see it being in the next 10 years.

 

5-0, me thinks after this last match.