The Ashes (2 Viewers)

[Jimmy_B]

is he called skunkie cuz of his hair? cuz its a fukin weird nickname

maybe he smells.

but seriously, i still reckon we can do this, if we knock the last three quickly. although we can't underestimate the firepower england has in their bowling lineup.

 

[Constip8edSkunk]

gone... luck wasnt favouring us tho(as well as shitty fielding).... ive lost count how many lives pieterson has used up

pontings captaincy have been found wanting in this series.... often too defensive, often lacked plans for each batsman, and basically used 3 bowlers for aeach test...

 

[Jimmy_B]

this comeback has pretty much stalled. gotta give giles a lotta credit. he's looked like a rock and has played well with KP.

 

[tasha1188]

damn those stupid poms...they didnt deserve to win

 

[MuffinMan]

we lost the ashes!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[elizabethy]

y did we lose the ASHES????????????? :axedeath:

 

[Smokey_22]

y did we lose the ASHES????????????? :axedeath:

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:

Watching England succeed/win games of cricket - i mean, its a bit like, er, kissing your sister - it just doesnt feel right

 

[cappen]

and because th selectors didnt pick stu mcgillllllll

 

[tasha1188]

its does wrong for the poms to win...australia never loose...i guess this is a lesson we'll never forget...

 

[rewster]

Now we wont see Warne or McGrath in an Ashes series again

 

[Fast_heinz]

lol...Australians can have such tunnel vision when it comes to sport

Luck wasn't favouring us (Australia)? Poms didn't deserve to win? We lost because we didn't pick MacGill? We lost because Gillespie was out of form? The weather?

England dominated this series. Without Shane Warne, McGrath at Lords and the rain at Old Trafford it would've been 3-0 at least.

Don't forget:
(1) Harmison was out of form most of the series bar Lords.
(2) Simon Jones was woefully underused, before Vaughan recognised his brilliance...then he got injured (2nd innings Trent Bridge and The Oval)
(3) England had 10 players against Australia's 11. Ian Bell doesn't count. Should've had Pietersen and Thorpe.
(4) The weather stopped Australia's momentum? Old Trafford? England should've been 2-1 up by then.
(5) Sloppy fielding was a reason for Australia's demise. Sure. But you can hardly say England took all their chances (Geraint Jones *shudder*, Pietersen's 6 dropped catches - 1 extremely costly one at Lords (Clarke on 23, going on to make 91))
(6) I don't think England players played above their potential or Australians below theirs at all. England still has an extremely vulnerable middle order and Australians were brutally exposed to the swinging ball (sure, I'll be the first to vouch for the brilliance of Australia's batters, but lets face it, they've faced extremely poor bowling 'attacks' in the past)

btw...Pietersen's lives? 1? The Tait and Hayden catches can't be counted as chances (unless you also count Collingwood's pull shot into Katich as a chance ).

And Ponting's captaincy, field settings, plans for batsmen and bowling attacks. You can hardly blame him for these - (1) his 4th bowlers have usually been out of form/inexperienced, which means hes on the back foot immediately
(2) Straussy and Trescothick usually took the attack to Australia and built a solid foundation (which would usually crumble after Bell's dismal failure)
(3) He doesn't choose his bowling attack.
(4) Field settings and individual plans are usually made by the coach, before play. If anything, Buchanan should be under scrutiny, not Ponting (a 'successful' day against Essex, conceding 500 runs )

Well, that's my 2 bob.

 

[tasha1188]

Now we wont see Warne or McGrath in an Ashes series again

yeh we will...coz mcgrath aint retiring till after the next world cup...and the next ashes are next year arent they......i don't want mcgrath to go

 

[Bookie]

Ahhh, phew - England won. Good to see Australia lose a series.

Go Proteas!

 

[Lhyviathan]

damn those stupid poms...they didnt deserve to win

Yes they did. Shut up and graciously accept defeat, like the Aussie team are.

 

[go_swans]

hahahahhaa I think its kinda funny thst they lost. England outplayed us. thats the facts. At least the summer series will be great now we arent invincible!

 

[Supra]

Yes they did. Shut up and graciously accept defeat, like the Aussie team are.

hmm i dont like all the whinging about the poms victory (btw i was supporting England ...damn i was worried when Pieterson was facing Lee before lunch...)

and what go_swans said is entirely true! The gap between Australia and the rest of the world has closed (a little bit...what needs to be done is an international team coming over to Australia and defeating them at home)

The problem i forsee with the world XI is that tehy wont be a unit, unlike the australian team...unless theyre given time to actually play as a team...

 

[tasha1188]

hahahahhaa I think its kinda funny thst they lost. England outplayed us. thats the facts. At least the summer series will be great now we arent invincible!

who are we playing this summer??

 

[blackfriday]

the 'rest of the world' XI which includes flintoff

 

[king_of_boredom]

pieterson. dropped. thrice.

had he been dismissed at earliest, we would have had a solid chance at reclaiming the ashes.


but looking forward, mcgrath and warne have sworn to reclaim the ashes next series. will they live up to what they say? who knows if they'll be around that long.

 

[angelduck]

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