Ashes 2006 / 2007

[Red Chilli]

It's too painfull to discuss h:

It's all a bit pointless really, didn't even listen or watch any of it. Must be a bit of a disappointment for Sky too.

[Beachy]

I don't see how it could possibly be seen as disappointing

[red_in_oz]

I don't see how it could possibly be seen as disappointing

I guess it's good for you guys to wipe the floor with uas you retain the Ashes.

But we don't a repeat of 1989-2005 when people ended up discussing making the Ashes a 3 Test series as it had lost it's lustre.

I just hope a few more of the current Australian team retire before 2009 so we can have another competitive series.

Also, the whole cricket world needs to improve so that one nation at least can win a Test series in Australia.

People alwats refer to how hard it is to win in the sub-continent. Baloney! Winning in Australia is the ultimate achievement.

Apologies, Australia, that we could not give you a competitive series. A 5-0 whitewash is looking most likely.

[ningnangnong]

Andrew Symonds.

Brought up his first test century with a six.

That takes guts.

[Neil Young]

Bowling plans leak angers England

England's embarrassment was increased on day two of the fourth Test after their bowling plans for each Australian batsmen were leaked to the media.

The plans are prepared by team analyst Mark Garaway before each match and pinned up in the dressing room.

But a copy turned up in the hands of ABC Radio and was read out on air as England tried to break a stand between Matthew Hayden and Andrew Symonds.

They put on 279 to help Australia into a 213-run lead at close of play.

ABC claim the plans were e-mailed to them by a source, but England believe they must have been taken from their team room at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

"We don't know at this stage whether the document was taken from the dressing room or from another part of the ground.

"We're talking to the ICC security manager and we're also talking to Cricket Australia, who are as disappointed about this as we are," England media spokesman Andrew Walpole.

England seam bowler Matthew Hoggard described the leak as "very disappointing".

"We have detailed plans of how we want to get each batsman out. We've got them on an A4 piece of paper.

"It's laminated and we've got colour co-ordination and unfortunately someone has take a copy of it and handed it to the Australians.

"You would have thought the security in international cricket was tighter than that, but unfortunately it's been leaked," he said.

The document advised England's bowlers to keep Hayden tied down with dot balls and to position a catcher on the edge of the pitch - but neither strategy was effective during his innings of 153.

It also suggested that Symonds was susceptible to short-pitched bowling, but despite being tested out with an occasional bouncer, he was never once tempted to play the hook shot and was unbeaten on 154 at close of play.

England's plans were, however, spot on as far as home skipper Ricky Ponting was concerned as he pulled a catch to Alastair Cook just in front of square, exactly where Garaway had picked out a potential weakness.

ABC commentator Jim Maxwell insisted they had done nothing wrong in bringing the plans to the public's attention.

"I don't think it was particularly mischievous to read it out - I can't see how any harm has been done. If this gets out into the open it's not earth-shattering news, is it?

"As we said at the time, whatever the tactics were, they weren't working," he said.

And former England skipper Mike Gatting, however, played down the significance of the issue.

"It is nice to have plans in case you need to refresh your memory, but bowlers know what they have to do. They go through it in their minds," he told BBC Five Live.

"It's all in the brain. People are making too much of it."

Hayden was equally dismissive, saying: "Generally you have to bowl the ball at the top of off stump. The best bowlers of all time have exploited that option.

"Glenn McGrath is relentless with his lines and lengths - it's not rocket science."


Link


It's shocking. I had no idea England had any bowling plans.

[spud_gun]

It's shocking. I had no idea England had any bowling plans.

[Shaggy]

Went to bed last night buzzing with the Aussies 111-5 and I expected to come down in the morning to see us batting.

Fat ****ing chance.

Another thoroughly dispiriting affair. I feel sorry for the poor cnuts who've gone over there.

[Red Chilli]

I feel sorry for the poor cnuts who've gone over there.

Must be horrible to spend Christmas in baking hot temperatures watching cricket and drinking loads of alcohol.
I'm struggling to live with myself in these single figure temperatures, pushing my way through town past all the shoppers, tollerating relatives I never speak to any other time of year, pissing about in the ****ty traffic, never seeing daylight because I'm at work for the 6 hours a day we get.

Yeah, those poor cnuts in Australia

[Shaggy]

Must be horrible to spend Christmas in baking hot temperatures watching cricket and drinking loads of alcohol.
I'm struggling to live with myself in these single figure temperatures, pushing my way through town past all the shoppers, tollerating relatives I never speak to any other time of year, pissing about in the ****ty traffic, never seeing daylight because I'm at work for the 6 hours a day we get.

Yeah, those poor cnuts in Australia

Knew someone'd say summat like that.

I feel sorry for 'em regardless, purely in a cricketing sense you understand.

[Red Chilli]

Of course, but I'd be happy if I was watching Zimbabwe versus Australia at the moment, in preference to winter here. There's not even any decent snow, just this miserable **** weather.
Always been an ambition of mine to go there at Christamas and watch the boxing day and Sydney tests. I think I'll do it in 4 years

[spud_gun]

Of course, but I'd be happy if I was watching Zimbabwe versus Australia at the moment

Even if they were playing in Harare

[Harv]

gee, its quiet in here

over in three days by the look of it

[kopdan]

yep

shambles.

Major questions need answering.

England need to rethink how they play test cricket in future. Have to adopt the Oz method of treating it like a 3 day match. Bowl them out then score quickly.

[hertsred]

Can we take back their OBEs or MBEs or whatever they were. What a pathetic performance.

[Sydney Vicious]

****ing joke, pathetic display. Let's face it, they were lucky last year against Australia who underperformed HUGELY!

I'm actually laughing by bollocks off at all the stupid cnuts who thought they deserved all their praise last year. I mean, The Ashes is just a series of friendlies with no-one else involved to win a piece of crap. So England manage to win the thing for the 1st time in nearly 20 years and everyone starts some sort of party? Open top bus for failing to be a losing bunch of cnuts since '86 or whenever? Puhlease! The equivalent would be to celebrate not being relegated.

As for the Sports Personality Team Award, ****ing outrage. This joke bunch of cricketers playing a bunch of friendlies against a side who beat the best teams in Europe FFS.

Anyhow, cricket is a ****e sport, England are ****e at every sport... and I find that really funny