Couldn't believe it when got back to hotel & saw Aussies dismissed for 60. Great day for England & Aussies embarrassed, this could be over in 2days & 3 at most, the urn is coming home, broad & root brilliant!
Well done to Broad and the team. Great performance with great catching. We are yet to learn the skill of leaving a ball! We cannot handle the swinging ball! Watching Joe Root play the ball is an example to any cricketer - fabulous batsman... We are not the side that we thought we were! Congrats on regaining the urn.
That was indeed a great day and one of the best days of test cricket I've ever been to, shared it with 90,000 others too Last nights viewing was compelling - sat up watching til stumps at 3.30am, could be a bit slow at work today
Make no mistake, Joe Rooted the Aussie cricket team. I'm think some of the main differences are ......................... * English players like Root are on the rise and have the confidence. * The mainstay for the us Aussies is Clarke and he continues to be sadly out of form. * Expected Smith to aim up but hasn't........... very disappointing to say the least. * Not a lot of expectation for the other batsmen............... Warner never has been a fighter / plodder, he is more of a showman when things are going well. * Difference between the two sets of bowlers is that England have a experienced quality player in Broad, we chose to leave Siddle out which the pitch and conditions suited to a tee. * To expose our lack of depth in the bowling department, we opened the innings with Starc, for crying out aloud ............ it showed. Broad bowled a great length and in the right spot. Starc bowl off target, never kept the pressure on, hence the Poms could settle whereas we couldn't, the Pommy bowlers kept the pressure on us relentlessly ............... a very well done to them. Summary - It never ceases to amaze me that over, say, a five year period cycle, teams can and do change with the ones on top reversing their form with the ones at the at the bottom and visa versa. It all makes for interesting times and is healthy for the sport. Well done guys. Aussie
Smith is a world beater in Aussie conditions - fast pitches with true bounce, but when the ball moved around, his lack of technique is exposed. He plays with hard hands at wide balls, which is why he gets out caught. Root has a very sound technique. He instinctively judges length so he is equally proficient off the front or back foot. Both have all the shots, but Root is a man for all seasons. Smith needs to learn to play in different conditions.
As it stands at the moment the Aussies only need to make another 117 runs to make England bat again, the only problem for them is that they only have 5 wickets in hand......still hard to believe that we are only in the 2nd day of a 5 day match, maybe there is something in this proposed reduction from 5 to 4 days tests.......
Just three more wickets for a stunning Ashes success, the Aussies are looking a busted flush, no leadership from Clarke and too many getting out to headless chicken type shots. Even with passengers such as Lyth we've been too good, especially the seamers who have all contributed...
What is happening with Test cricket? Hugely enjoyable to see the Aussies stuffed, but I really would prefer the tension of tight games like in 2005, rather than slaughter after slaughter. Lot of comment about the inability of modern touring teams to adjust to local conditions. We already know we are likely to be stuffed in upcoming games in the Gulf and probably South Africa. Those old style tours including 6 weeks of warm up games made a lot of sense, but of course not good for TV and the instant gratification requirements of today.
I know where you're coming from Stan but even this season some of the Aussies were given county contracts during the early part of the season so there is no real excuse for them not being used to English conditions, they should be able to play the moving ball. A lot of the problem with the Aussies is that they are so ingrained into 1 day mode that they have forgotten how to grind out a result, they feel they have to play at every ball rather than leave it through to the keeper, there is a certain bravado in their make up that being circumspect in the way they approach the game is a huge no no. There really is no excuse for getting rolled over twice inside 3 days, but there again we will no doubt be on the receiving end when we go over there next what with their trampoline wickets. I think we should enjoy it whilst we can.
Ok, it's a new day with three wickets left ..... Easy, we bat for the next 3 days to draw this test. Next, we win the last test match to draw the series ....and l might add, to retain the Ashes. Don't know what all the excitment is about with you lot, just another game, really.
Don't get too cocky, mate. I've just arranged for Chief Crazy Horse to perform a traditional rain dance at the first drinks break. I kid you not, this game has 'draw' written all over it.
The crowd seem very subdued. I suppose they would have wanted to have seen a day's cricket for their ticket money, which is fair enough. As Stan said earlier, the days of edge of the seat, tight finishes on day 4 or 5 seem to be a thing of the past.
Well done, England! Never expected this, but I started believing in miracles when OBZ slotted home at Wembley. Aussie team magnanimous in defeat - big up to them.
Well and truly spanked them. From where we were after the Windies games to hammering the Aussies has been a truly momentus effort. Clearly getting rid of the over-cautious Moores was the key to this re-invention of the England team, so well done Bayliss and particularly Farbrace who started us off attacking the Kiwis ahead of this series. Enjoy the moment, South Africa will be a much more serious test...
