The Ashes.......

[amateur51]

'Sir' Ian Botham predicted a 5-0 whitewash in England's favour at the start of the tour and now admits to feeling very embarrassed by the England team's performance. No mention of his silly prediction, mind.

[hedgehog]

Congratulations to the England Women's Team!

[DracoM]

I fear that the ODIs seem NOT to be going the same way. And yes, great stuff from the women.

Q: who actually made the selection of the England ODI team? On almost every level it looked like Flower-dictated: 'some of these guys didn't cut it in the Tests, so let's give them a run in the short form.'

Hence a clearly way below par Bresnan, a hopelessly confused, technique-fragmented Root, a whipped dog Rankin who bowled like a mesmerised telegraph pole, all led by a shell-shocked captain too scared to do anything but constantly stare up at the crowd-side screens to see repeated and repeated just what a mess he was making of almost everything the England side did - field-placings, bowling changes, embarrassing batting, and HE was at the epi-centre of the whole out of control whirligig.

Alistair Cook at the moment looks in need of a refresher course in how to tie his own boots, so clueless does he look. He's a good bloke, a damned fine cricketer, but on THIS and previous showings over the winter, he just is NOT a leader, an inventive and imaginative captain, and this whole Oz debacle has in global glare mercilessly revealed his shortcomings. Think Smith, Dhoni, McCullum, Clarke and you see what I mean. Cook has not been a county captain hardened and shaped by adversity and the need to show opportunism, and astute man-management skills on the road.

It also makes Andrew Strauss look a heck of a lot better as captain than he may have been credited with before. Joni Mitchell and parking lots springs to mind. .

Timid and counter-productive, surely, since now the ODI group feel demoralised as well as the Test group!

[amateur51]

It seems to me that the selectors are afraid, as they almodt always have been, of selecting someone wjho is a proven captain material. They ruined Atherton as a player by making him captain and ditto Hussein, Strauss and now Cook. Vaughan was a natural but when was the last time England had a captain who was not a specialist batsman?

I know that Stuart Broad is not the most diplomatic soul in the world but I'd been prepared to give him a try, and Prior too once his form is restored.They're both almost too keen to win, experienced, and they know how to motivate their team-mates.

[amateur51]

Congratulations to the England Women's Team!

A stonking win but they had to fight to get there. That win apparently puts Australia on the back foot for the rest of this oddly constructed series, which is why it was such a crucial win. Well done those women

[gurnemanz]

Really good win, but the women are not competing for the the Ashes. The Aussies will be keeping them for at least the next seventeen months.

[french frank]

the women are not competing for the the Ashes

No, not the the Ashes, but the Women's Ashes.

[muzzer]

I just tuned in over breakfast for the final game in the pyjama contest and of course the tour itself. I lasted 5 minutes. The commentator sounded like something off Seaside Special. What makes these people think that whenever referring to a player they have to use his full name? Anyway, an ignominious end to the tour from hell. How the mighty etc etc.

[teamsaint]

Great game cricket.

anybody fancy the Aussies to get over 400 to win?

[eighthobstruction]

....Is it safe to say Hooray for a couple of hours....

....Not so sure about Swann tho'....I could get very fed up of his repetative banter....

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Great game cricket.

anybody fancy the Aussies to get over 400 to win?

My Australian in-laws are staying with us at present. We talk about everything except cricket.

[antongould]

Great game cricket.

anybody fancy the Aussies to get over 400 to win?

Never write off Australia....... but hopefully ......

[teamsaint]

Never write off Australia....... but hopefully ......

Apropos of nothing in particular, I would love to have a bowl on a test match quality pitch.
Mind you, for us club bowlers used to a bit of green, slope, cracks etc, I imagine it would be bloody hard work !!

can't see any team getting 400 batting last with the variable bounce.......crosses everything.....puts on lucky socks.....

[antongould]

Apropos of nothing in particular, I would love to have a bowl on a test match quality pitch.
Mind you, for us club bowlers used to a bit of green, slope, cracks etc, I imagine it would be bloody hard work !!

can't see any team getting 400 batting last with the variable bounce.......crosses everything.....puts on lucky socks.....

But you have bowled on every Public School wicket south of the Watford Gap - must be much the much the same surely?

[teamsaint]

But you have bowled on every Public School wicket south of the Watford Gap - must be much the much the same surely?

'spose....


Incidentally , my club used to hire the Hampshire indoor nets at the county Ground.

Which were fine.

When my son started playing , and the club trained at a local prep school, to say that the school facilities put those of the county to shame would be a major understatement.
I don't suppose county facilities are so meagre at the Ageas bowl though.