The Ashes 2010

[hucks]

glad to see the back of watson. he doesn't get much praise but hes been really good so far, much better than broad who has managed to accrue terrible figures, he must change his haricut.

I woke up to hear it was 240-8. Thought it was fantastic. Now feel a little disappointed. Great stuff from jimmy, tho

 

[luka]

the tail dont wag! even more so now johnsons gone. bit worried about finn. he was pretty wild today.

 

[benjybars]

this is gonna be the exact reverse of the first test... we'll get a first innings lead of about 230 and then australia will bat solidly for 2 days with 4 centurions..

 

[luka]

im gonna stick my neck out and risk the ire of the gods by saying NO WAY! they have to win this and win convincingly.

 

[crackerjack]

crackerjack does sky have the australian commentary team (warne, bernaud, greig, chappel etc) or does it have its own team? i only ask becasue i have been thinking about passing off some of the pundits insights as my own and obviously if you are wathing the same coverage as me thats not going to be possible.

No, Sky has its own array of former England captains (excl Greig) – Nasser, Athers, Gower, Botham, half of whom are excellent, the other less so, plus God's gift that is David "Bumble" Lloyd.

Feel free to pass off as much as you like, though careful with Warney as he bats for both teams.

 

[luka]

couldnt watch much cos i had a long day at work. kept trying to talk to australains about the ashes but they feigned disinterest or just stared at their bootlaces in shame. i thought they were supposed to enjoy a bit of 'banter?' benjy bee, surely cant be a draw now can it? pieterson is a due a big 'un, i want to see 150 plus from him, lets keep those fuckers in the field for fucking ages till they all get skin cancer and collapse. and well done jimmy anderson, not bad for a pussy eh?

 

[luka]

the only thing that can stop us now is this la nina weather cycle which has meant pretty much constant rain here in sydney over the last couple of months. you wouldn't beleive how much it can rain in this country.

 

[routes]

omg i am actually watching the ashes at last... hope KP goes large, could get entertaining...

 

[luka]

bollinger looks like the sort of mean fat kid that pulls the wings off butterflies.

 

[luka]

pieterson smacking it all over the place! you picked a good time to watch

 

[simon silverdollar]

KP is murdering them! now he's got his hundred i reckon he's going for full on carnage

 

[simon silverdollar]

Doherty is rubbish though. no way should he be a Test bowler.

 

[luka]

he is rubbish, its true. i like having him there. also there is no one else in australia who is much better.
a little better but not much better. what sort of target should england set?

 

[simon silverdollar]

they should bat through to at least 600 i reckon. the wicket is turning so swann should be dangerous on the 4th and 5th days.

 

[luka]

i wonder if any of you have come across peter roebuck? he writes about cricket for the sydney morning herald.
http://www.smh.com.au/sport/cricket/england-exorcise-their-demons-in-adelaide-20101203-18jt0.html

he is a very strange character. he almost made it as an england cricketer but not quite and he clearly knows the game. in his writing no one is a batsman or a bowler, its all willow weilders and leather flingers. he has a totured soul. he got in trouble with the law for getting 2 19 year olds to live with him in his house while he 'coached' them. if they broke his 'house rules' he would cane them across the buttocks.

 

[luka]

yeah swann is due a performance and this situation is tailoerd for him. if he doesn't do it for us here his series will be a disappolintement, particualrly with all the hype around him. 600 sounds reasonable.

 

[simon silverdollar]

he's an infamous character in cricket writing. no one likes him, although he can write (check out the cricinfo comments whenever he writes an article on there). he seems to have a problem with the england team having players who were born outside england. probably a bit of a twat really.

 

[don_quixote]

we're given the opportunity, again, to declare on 551 at adelaide. would they? could they?

 

[luka]

i never thought the day would come where i would feel genuine sympathy for an australian cricket team. when i arrived in sydney it was 4 years ago and the ashes begun about a short time after i landed. its amazing to me how much has changed. i mean, a team with players like adam gilbhrist seems like ancient history... sport really makes it seem like time is going fast and that 4 years ago is a lifetime.

 

[routes]

KP giving alot of credit to Graham Ford (former SA coach) for sorting him out a bit.. wonder how Gooch feels about that.... guess he doesn't mind cos he's getting props for turning Cook around...

i reckon England will bat until lunchish time... i hope they send Broad in for a slog, always helps his bowling if he gets a few... i quite fancy Collingwood to pick up a couple on this pitch..