Rain could be a factor today although England batting for the draw not helped by Broad's dismissal.
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darwin553 said:Rain could be a factor today although England batting for the draw not helped by Broad's dismissal.
darwin553 said:lol england
movingtarget said:Play nice ! Hard to see England turning it around at Perth and if they draw they have to win the final two tests to retain the Ashes. All in all, a huge task for a team out of form.
darwin553 said:Sorry just pretty excited to be in the position we are after predictions pre-English leg of the series of 10-0 whitewashes etc.
Alphabet said:This was always going to happen. There were signs of it in England.
Cyivel said:The fightback starts tomorrow
I reckon 4-1, it will be like the good old days where we win the last test when it's completely meaningless.
Alphabet said:This was always going to happen. There were signs of it in England. Australia held first innings leads in every match except Lords- fairly sizable first innings leads, too. First test: 65 runs. Third test: 159 runs. Fourth test: 32 runs. Fifth test: 115 runs.
England were able to bounce back every single time in the second innings, but that sort of thing is a) emotionally and physically very draining and b) dependent on the other team screwing up; and therefore is very, very unsustainable. That England were able to come back and win 2 tests as well as save a further 2, despite being up the creek at the half way point, indicated that Australia were not far away at all, and also indicated that on home turf, things would go differently. I did predict a series win at some point, although I never thought the Ashes would be regained by Perth and a whitewash potentially coming. Because of the toll that having to come from behind all the time exacted on England, they really don't have it in them anymore to fight against adversity. The squad has aged about 20 years over the past 6 months. They need a long, long break; or failing that, they need to draft in 5 or 6 new players. Trott, Tremlett, Swann, and Anderson might never play test cricket again. Matt Prior shouldn't, either.
This^^^darwin553 said:Not of the whitewash we are potentially seeing. I had high hopes for Australia to win 3-1 perhaps but this is embarrassing for England given the quality of the core players of their side.
I think one thing I have underestimated about the Aussie attack and its impact on the English is that their batsmen can never really feel like they are underway because our pacemen are just so relentless and at them all the time. It would be demoralizing for them.
Another aspect of Australian cricket that we need to speak volumes about is just how much Lehmann has turned around our fortunes. He's managed to bring a team of really individuals and make them into a consistent performing team as a whole.
Alphabet said:I like Stokes, he's a bit Andrew Flintoff. Carberry looks like he belongs at test level, as well. I'd bin Prior and Tremlett forever, Swann, KP, Bresnan and Anderson for a couple of months and build a team around the following; if I were Andy Flower:
Cook
Carberry
Root
Bell
xxx
Stokes
Bairstow (wk)
xxx
Broad
Finn
Panesar
Bring back Swann, KP, Bresnan, and Anderson after they've had a good break away from the pressures of international cricket (only if they look like they've turned things around in county cricket); and Trott, whenever he's recovered.
movingtarget said:Not the end that Swann would have wanted but if his mind is not in the right place he is doing the right thing, stepping down. Great career and a great competitor but has not performed in Australia. Two elbow injuries probably have not helped. Let's see if Panesar has something to offer in the last two tests.