The Ashes (4 Viewers)

[sunjet]

it doesn't matter now lol

 

[Bookie]

If Hayden was a tad smart you guys would have won [yes, if they played through the bad light, youd have a much better chance]

 

[Jimmy_B]

1, McGrath got injured, and in the 2 tests that he didnt play we lost.

2, Ponting lost the last 3 tosses, and had to bowl first on a good batting wicket in all of them. This resulted in England taking the upper hand in every single first day.

3, English bowlers mastered 'reverse swing' of the ball. We didn't.

4, Too many English players played above their potential, too many aussies below theirs.

5, The untimely demise of Gillespie - leaving us short of a good line bowler.

6, The English weather often stopped any momentum we had.

Something I said earlier:

- injuries happen mate, we can't blame it on them, in ashes gone by englishmen have had horrendous problems, so much so that guys like alex tudor and mullally were called up.

-ponting's captaincy was poor no doubt. he's too used to playing on auto-pilot, couldnt cope when the chips were down. reminded me alot of when steve waugh first went to the windies and was blown away by lara.

-we were outbowled by their seamers definitely, especially simon jones. he can swing and reverse it both ways and bowls in the high 80mph's. he's a superstar

- i'd say england were better prepared, formulated better plans and executed them better. they had marto, gilly,ponting, katich and hayden all but figured out for the whole series. if it wasnt for warney we would have been routed. he was immense.

- shame about dizzy, but with the so called hype of australia being able to field two world class teams, we really should have been able to find a replacement.

- the same english weather saved us from defeat at old trafford and kept us in the series.

all in all, well played england. they deserved their victory. it'll be great to see em in 14 months time when they come down here.

 

[angelduck]

nicely said, ponting's captaincy sucked, but so did the teams preparation - damn coaches! They just didnt rate England as a chance, now they will have learned a very important lesson

I for one am, however, amused by the teams 'sociability' outside of the test matches, drinking with each other after the matches - where was the sledging, the non-clapping act when the other team's batsmen make milestones? the silent treatment?

 

[Sarah]

ok, just having a thought - if langer/hayden hadnt taken 'bad light' that day, would Aus have had a better chance of winning?

It depends. If your're facing fast bowlers, taking the bad light may have been the best option

I for one am, however, amused by the teams 'sociability' outside of the test matches, drinking with each other after the matches - where was the sledging, the non-clapping act when the other team's batsmen make milestones? the silent treatment?

A lot of Aust players play in English county cricket so they've gotten to know players in the English side socially

 

[angelduck]

still, its an international test - like what happpens with SOO - they dont say "nice mate" on the field, or clap when opposition gets a try (im equating that to clapping when opposition gets a milestone eg. half century)

 

[Sarah]

Well perhaps it's more of a respect thing?

The series has been interesting and unpredictable. Maybe when the other side has reach a milestong e.g making a century, 400 test wickets etc, it's an acknowledgment of the achievement.

It's like in tennis, occasionally when there are some really good rallys played, the opponent will acknowledge the point won by the winner

 

[Italian Hotshot]

Look in the Daily Telegraph for the "10 ways to silence cocky Pommy cricket fans!"

 

[davo_]

I for one am, however, amused by the teams 'sociability' outside of the test matches, drinking with each other after the matches - where was the sledging, the non-clapping act when the other team's batsmen make milestones? the silent treatment?

Outside the match is fine- it's a common rule in any sport: "What happens on the field - stays on the field".

 

[Smokey_22]

I remember watching the Kostya Tszou v Ricky Hatton boxing match about 2 months ago, and when Hatton won in the 11th, i remember thinking; 'fucking poms, fuck this, bring on the ashes!'

Now that the ashes are over i cannot believe how much everything about that boxing match and the ashes itself mirror each other.

-The huge 'us against them' buildup.
-The seasoned, undisputed champions v the upandcomers
-The ageing pugilists v the younger punks
-The poms on the front foot virtually all fight.
-The over-the-top pommie crowds.
-A few low-blows
-the champs staying in their shell, biding/wasting their time, out of form.
-A new champion
-good sportsmanship. - at the end

 

[angelduck]

yeah, fine, b friends off the field - BUT NOT ON IT!!

I;m gonna blame that on our loss! Being nice to England! Stupid wankers in the Aussie team, they should have done the traditional shunning of the opposition

 

[Bookie]

Its all in gamesmanship. you're allowed to sledge as much as you want. But just shake their hands afterwards.

 

[angelduck]

Yeah, but there wasnt any sledging, thats the problem

 

[redruM]

If Hayden was a tad smart you guys would have won [yes, if they played through the bad light, youd have a much better chance]

it wasnt hayden's call. it was decided by the coach/ captain earlier.

 

[angelduck]

which is why we blame the last test being lost to them, the rest of them on players in the side being in terrible form AND the captain/coaching staff

 

[Bookie]

Its the batsmans choice, not the captains.

 

[angelduck]

yeah, but they probably would have discussed it b4hand, and if they didnt, they should have. You should always have plans for whatever you might face! (or so my grandma tells me)

 

[Smokey_22]

which is why we blame the last test being lost to them, the rest of them on players in the side being in terrible form AND the captain/coaching staff

we didn't lose the last test.

With the light thing, Langer explained clearly the decision why in the press conference that night.

 

[LaCe]

What is all this talk about sacking Pointing? And what about ppl who are criticising their decision to take the light?!

It is really hard to play when it it is very hard to see, you dont want to be a further 2/3 wickets down.

And pointing's captaincy has been the same, even when they have beaten other teams, it has been the same

 

[bJ_Bhoy 87]

im really struggling to see where there are grounds to sack Punter.

Are we gonna do what the all-blacks do- when we lose a match we sack our leaders?

The test of punters captaincy will be the way that Australia bounces back. continued poor performances should be the ground for his sacking.

And who would take the captaincy anyway? it seemed a joint effort from punter and gilly, replacing him with gilly seems pointless.

There is a school of thought that fast bowlers dont get the nod. Anyway, McGrath is only a year or two before retirement, he would only be temporary. Ditto for Warnie, and if he was selected anyway, there would be outrage about his past discreptancies (for warnie fans out there- i love the bloke, but hes a tool off field)

Clarke and Tait, and even Binger are still too immature for the spot. Katich is only a relative newcomer in the squad, despite his nsw captain credentials.

So we are left with Hayden, Langer and Martyn. Many on this thread are calling for a few of these players sacking from the squad altogether, so would they warrant captaincy?

We only lost 2-1. Throughout the series we never batted first, therefore always on the backfoot. Come next Ashes at home, it should be a different story, maybe a whitewash.

And while im on a rant, Flintoff the best cricketer in the world? Give me a break.