Ashes 2006 / 2007

[geeko]

2 to break it and 3 to equal it the commo said

[Shaggy]

Unlucky Gilly.

[Shaggy]

While we could look for excuses like injuries and big players like Flintoff short of full fitness, we've been beaten by some ****ing sterling performances from the Aussies. All the batters have contributed, as have the bowlers. We've had two batsmen turn up, and have had to carry the likes of Giles, Geraint ****ing Jones, Anderson, Mahmood and Cook. Depressing but sometimes you've just gotta hold your hands up.

[Shaggy]

Key differences from last year to this:

Hussey for Simon Katich. No explanation needed.

Stuart Clark for Gillespie. Ditto.

A different Michael Clarke.

England missing Vaughan, notably his captaincy.

No Simon Jones.

Flintoff out of practice, form and lacking fitness.

Harmison out of form.

Strauss out of form.

And although he's been hit and miss lately, Cook for Tresco has weakened us further.

[kopdan]

flmao

Strauss

[Shaggy]

Unbelievable.

[Shaggy]

Hawkeye confirms what I screamed at the time..."TOO ****ING HIGH".

That was never out. Clutching at straws, mind...

[geeko]

its amazing when you truly appreciate the skill this games requires,

[Red Chilli]

Don't forget Geraint Jones, too **** for Australia.

Yeah but lets be honest, he's too **** for England in most people's eyes.

The fact is Australia and England have both picked players born in other countries at pretty much any sport so Beachy is a bit of a hypocrite to start reeling off names.Typical Aussies though, ungracious in defeat and in victory.

[Red Chilli]

Flintoff's captaincy as been boardering on schoolboy stuff. That is my only problem with the selectors.
As we know, the selectors don't pick the team, that's down to Fletcher and Flintoff aided by the "committee".
This goes beyond team selection though. Allowing Troy Cooley(bowling coach 2005) to defect to Australia (2006) was an absolute travesty by the ECB. That was our first mistake.
The itinery for this tour has been an absolute shambles. There is no way we should have played the champions trophy so close to this series and there is no way we should have trotted off back to England for a few days before flying to Australia. We should have sent the kids to the champions trophy, it's not like we have a competitive one-day team anyway and our players should have been playing warm-up matches in Australia at least 3 weeks earlier than they were. This is partly the ECB's fault and partly the whinging player's fault who were homesick :whatever:
Picking Jones and Giles over Read and Panesar has been the crowning turd in the water pipe.
Yes we've been unlucky with injuries: Vaughan, SJones, Trescothick, Flintoff and a lot of our players have missed a lot of cricket through injuries pre tour Harmisson, Flintoff, Giles, Anderson ; but we have to accept there has been a lot of shoddy planning and downright bizarre decisions in the last 15 months.

Congratulations to Australia, I hope they do win it 5-0 because they deserve it the way they have played and competed.

[Beachy]

Typical Aussies though, ungracious in defeat and in victory.

FLMAO

What bollocks.

All I do is have a little joke and all of a sudden I'm a hypocrite and the whole country is ungracious in victory

[spud_gun]

[QUOTE=Red Chilli;200808]
This goes beyond team selection though. Allowing Troy Cooley(bowling coach 2005) to defect to Australia (2006) was an absolute travesty by the ECB. That was our first mistake./QUOTE]

He hardly defected. He's Australian and he was simply returning to the country of his birth. If he defected anywhere it was to England.

[Red Chilli]

FLMAO

What bollocks.

All I do is have a little joke and all of a sudden I'm a hypocrite and the whole country is ungracious in victory

well if the cap fits....

[Red Chilli]

He hardly defected. He's Australian and he was simply returning to the country of his birth. If he defected anywhere it was to England.

He defected in terms of his career though. My point is the ECB ought to have offered him a good enough contract to keep him, instead they underestimated his influence and picked "Kevin Shine" :whatever:

[animal magic]

Flintoff's captaincy as been boardering on schoolboy stuff. That is my only problem with the selectors.
As we know, the selectors don't pick the team, that's down to Fletcher and Flintoff aided by the "committee".
This goes beyond team selection though. Allowing Troy Cooley(bowling coach 2005) to defect to Australia (2006) was an absolute travesty by the ECB. That was our first mistake.
The itinery for this tour has been an absolute shambles. There is no way we should have played the champions trophy so close to this series and there is no way we should have trotted off back to England for a few days before flying to Australia. We should have sent the kids to the champions trophy, it's not like we have a competitive one-day team anyway and our players should have been playing warm-up matches in Australia at least 3 weeks earlier than they were. This is partly the ECB's fault and partly the whinging player's fault who were homesick :whatever:
Picking Jones and Giles over Read and Panesar has been the crowning turd in the water pipe.
Yes we've been unlucky with injuries: Vaughan, SJones, Trescothick, Flintoff and a lot of our players have missed a lot of cricket through injuries pre tour Harmisson, Flintoff, Giles, Anderson ; but we have to accept there has been a lot of shoddy planning and downright bizarre decisions in the last 15 months.

Congratulations to Australia, I hope they do win it 5-0 because they deserve it the way they have played and competed.

well said