Here we go again, Round 3.
Seems Brett Lee will take his place in the lineup and OMG Glenn McGrath was even bowling at some pace in a warm up with rumor that he "may" take his place in the starting 11.
Perhaps all this talk from the aussies to make the OT pitch as hard, fast and spin UNfriendly as England have been crying for was just a ruse. With Lee and McGrath waiting in the wings, ready to take full advantage it may just have worked.
I am hoping for a 2-1 lead to Australia. 4 day(with McGrath) 5 days (without)
Anyone else with some predictions/opinions??

It's about 8am in the morning over in england, I wonder when McGrath's tests will take place, seeming the game starts in about 2 1/2 hours?! Regardless I think he will sit this game out, it's just not worth making his injuries worse and having to lose him for the 4th and 5th. I think that the bowling lineup will be Lee, Gillespie, Kasper and Warne (yes, again). However i'd be very happy to see Tait or Clarke come in to replace one of or both Gillespie and Kasper.

I'm predicting Australia will win, however if they bat the way they did in the last test England may go 1 up. Look for a fired up Brett Lee and Tait! (wishful thinking on my part.)

Voting for aus to win if any of their top order batsman make decent runs.

Come on Fpot youre losing your touch

last edited by Astroboy at 17:26:12 11/Aug/05

i say australia are about as likely to win as ek's rotor needing a rebuild in the next week LOLOL

good odds LOL

I was actually going to start a new thread, but the second test thread was still on the front page so I thought not to :(

McGrath and Lee passed fit. - Baggygreen
Well well well, isn't that amazing. I just hope McGrath isn't being rushed in to quickly, but i assume the team doctors know what they are doing.
England won the toss and chose to bat first, so i hope they get a barrage of the fastest(Lee) and best(McGrath)on the pitch that was "tailored" to the English specifications.

Let's just hope that McGrath doesn't get any worse, I could see this becoming a disaster for the aussies if he does get injured worse.

f***en gillchrist! droppped a catch :/

also gillespi NEEDS to be dropped, he is useless at the moment, untill he proves his form elsewhere he shouldn't be in the test team

as much as i like dizzy he sure is sending down some genuine meat pies these days

dropped a second catch, then NEXT ball vaughn bowled on a no ball

hehe we are getting the arse end of everything the past few days of play (note this is todays play and the last couple from edgebaston)

i guess 'world cricket' would say about time, it always seems the penny drops in aussies favour

yeah man dropped catches and overstepping are totally not the aussie's fault

...and how many wickets have australia lost on balls where the bowler has stepped over the line?

not looking good atm. 272/2. After tea. can't be far from the close of play. Vaughn is on 154.

I would of been backing australia. But after how s*** they played today (by the sounds of it) They may loose again :(

i could stare at slinky's sig all day.

(it's a man)

I know of atleast 2 wickets flintoff has that should have been called no-balls.

both from the first test.

Well tea seems to have knocked us around a bit.

Yay once again the Aussie top order makes starts and then fail.

They really need to pull there head outta there arses.

I'm betting Ponting is still averaging 20 at the end of the series and is still captain and no mention of him being dropped.

I say we carry him for a good 3 or so years before he retires on his own accord.

Screw hussey and Hodge they're never gonna get into the Aussie team *rolls eyes*

Ponting is a maddog, he just hasn't played so well as captain, unfortunately. When he performs he's fkn nuts. I don't think he should be dropped. 132-5 and gilly just got dropped twice :( this is not good

WTF has happened??
We are playing like an undisciplined under12 toombul side!!!
Someone has to be reminded that this is a TEST match, not a bloody ODI, which is all the aussie team seem to be able to play atm.

watching the replay this morning on fox

man, im getting jack of flintoff smacking our bowlers around

That I can deal with, it's the Aussie batsmen's attitude that gets me. They don't seem to care or just assume someone else will do the job. WTF!!! Dig in and score some runs - SOMEBODY!

I'm betting Ponting is still averaging 20 at the end of the series and is still captain and no mention of him being dropped.

I say we carry him for a good 3 or so years before he retires on his own accord.

Screw hussey and Hodge they're never gonna get into the Aussie team *rolls eyes*

ease up, he's had 3 bad tests - not exactly time to drop the captain with a test average of 57. We saw what Vaughan did and his bad spell lasted alot longer than punters. Hayden clearly wasn't out and Martyn copped a great delivery to get out.

If only Bevan was over here playing county cricket, he would be the perfect blend of experience and form to slot into the side in place of Katich/Clarke.

Dizzy absolutely has to go, no doubt about it - will be interesting to see who they replace him with. I'd gamble with Magill, chuck Watson in for the injured Clarke and give Katich another go. Then again, they could return to THE PLAYER THAT WAS PERFORMING by the name of Kasper!

There was also a batsman that goes by the name of M.Love that was right up there. Maybe he's seen as being too old now, but if he didn't have such an ordinary domestic season I think he'd be in the mix too. As a bonus he also has a history of handling the English conditions well.

In the bowling, I think next test was the one they were planning on playing MacGill anyway, so that wouldn't surprise me.

Dig in and score some runs - SOMEBODY!

Don't worry, WARNEY has got your back. Its a sad f***ing day when our tail order batters are saving our ass at the crease.

true that ^

So I guess we might as well pick a team of bowlers if they're going to scoring more runs than the batsmen!

Warney has more runs in this Ashes series than Haydos now, and probably more than ponting as well.

ponting got 60 odd in the first test, everyone has had a start.

Martyn looks to be in the best form, but until that good ball yesterday - keeps getting himself out.

We had 1 guy in our batting line up (excluding Clarke) who didn't get to around 20 before getting out, this is woeful.

Pretty sure pontings 50 came in the 2nd test.

http://foxsports.news.com.au/common/imagedata/0,5001,5036440,00.gif
That guy in the back seems to be enjoying himself

Thing is Spidz, I'm not sure how much of it is form with ponting.

I actually think England are the one team that have figured him out, gotten a plan together and have bowlers good enough to follow through with it.

Flintoff just makes Ponting look stupid most of the time.

I don't really see Ponting bouncing back unless Vaughan does something stupid like not giving Flintoff the ball as soon as Ponting hits the crease.

figured him out?

none of his dismissals have had a common theme and besides the first innings first test he has looked comfortable every time before actually getting out

They had him figured out in the ODIs but in the tests I'm not so sure. He plays a bit differently in the tests but they have had him fairly subdued so far.... who knows...

im getting jack of flintoff smacking our bowlers around

what does this mean? and was the cleanup messy?

nah the 5th ball duck in the 2nd test first innings was horrible, he wasn't so much walking across his crease as jumping around the crease, Flintoff made him look clueless.

Anyone remember the last time we were grateful for a rain stoppage??

Also on an amusing note

Yesterday, when Simon Jones bowled a beamer, Steve Bucknor, the
umpire, was so busy giving the bowler his warning and speaking to
him that he forgot to signal the four byes
Some of you had written in to us asking where the four runs had
disappeared. Well, you now have your answer. Though we spotted it
and scored it correctly, our hands were tied by the lack of a
signal from the umpire.
Now the match officials have got together and decided that the four
runs should go to Australia. This means they only need to get 31
more to avoid the follow-on when play begins.

Warney got 50!

Warney got 67!

this would be a nice time for warney to score his long awaited ton.

also, is harmison injured?

also, is harmison injured?

Permanently, he was born English.

hahah slap

its a sad day when a bowler apears likely to be teh first aussie to scor a ton :(

i read that warney has the most runs ever to have not scored a ton, so i hope he gets it, can't beleive that 99 against the kiwi's :/

Go warney you good thing, I want to see him get his tonne!

Especially since he was out caught in the DEEP off a no ball that wasn't called..

If they had have called it he'd have jogged a single and gotten his 100.

Mike Hussey.

It's cause he's a d*******. =)

Mike Hussey.

& Shaun Tait. Please.

Anyone remember the last time we were grateful for a rain stoppage??

hehe true that. We were talking about it at the pub last night. f***ing dismal. The Aussie batsmen don't seem to understand that the poms can bowl the odd ball that's pretty damn good. You're not facing a Bangladeshi attack, fellas!

Also, Gillespie is absolute s***e (and no, not just in the last 5 innings). 2/192 or whatever his figures were/are is not good enough.

Warney saved Australia from there first follow on since 1988 according to a Baggy green article!

gillespie is one of the better bowlers australia has produced, same with Dennis Lillee and Craig MacDermott. They all have on thing in commmon, they 'were' great bowlers and now they belong on the sidelines. Unfortunately for us, one of them is still out there.

steady on spidz
one bad series isnt the end of the line

he's been ordinary since the end of the pakkie series.

i hope he makes a comeback in the future, but for now he has to go.

Australia just doesn't believe in dropping someone for bad form..

Haydos is the perfect example.

we're so used to being able to carry a few bad players through a series.

put hussey in, put tait in!

drop hayden, drop gillespie

also, your spot on there fade

why Tait? has everyone forgotten about Kasper?

as far as openers go Rogers or Maher would be next in line i would have thought?

don't tink Maher is over there, but Rogers is in fine form with a double hundred against us in the tour match a few weeks back.

nah spidz ur dumb put andrew symonds as opener in place of hayden i saw symonds bat once and he was awesome and what we need is awesomeness

Warney :(

i got jimmy maher out once

hes a babinda boy and used to come up to cairns to play cricket

man, he was a super s***ty sportsman
i remember him chucking the mother of all tanties once after getting out
abusing umpires and knocking down stumps

Doesn't Ponting realise that this wicket is flat yet turning?

Bring on Warne you idiot...

err he did, really early, and left him on for that whole second session?

So, a record run chase ahead for the win.. or just survive 90 odd overs for a draw.What do you thinks going to happen?
I would be happy enough for a draw(along with the aussie team i think) after the disaster that has been this test so far.
I just don't think australia can play TEST cricket at the moment, the kind that let's you bat for 2 days to get a solid grounding for your bowlers to work on and that is EXACTLY the type of batting that will be needed tomorrow.

the way australia is playing currently
go for the draw

England to win. Not even the tailenders can save this one. :(

This will probably show the determination of the Aussies and dictate how the last two tests will go. If the Aussies can get their heads down and learn how to bat again then they can carry that through to the next test and put together a good innings. Obviously if they fall apart here then it's all but series over.

I expect Australia to fall apart.

Also my recommendation is drop Gilly for Kasper and drop Hayden, put Katich up to opener and bring in Hodge or Hussey to strengthen the middle order.

Yeah Katich to opener is something I thought about but we'll see. I think the reluctance to drop Hayden comes from the fact he was probably one of the top 5 batsmen in the world for several years and dominated in a way few test openers have in recent times. If he's dropped again then it's game over and they want to give him every chance possible to regain form first.

I'd like to think 18 months is every chance....

While you don't start giving people chances after their first bad innings, I agree that it has been a while now. The real pressure has only been on for 6-8 months if that so I think they might give him one more Aussie summer to do something. (I'm not saying that's the right thing to do but we'll see what the selectors do.)

gg langer :(

Scary.

Bucknor has lost the plot... and we look like losing the game :(

It's still in the balance but that was one hell of an ordinary decision and you wonder how anybody with even a fraction of normal vision capacity could give it out.

Gilchrist won't be able to hold out here...

...and like the prophet Messiah.....

What's needed here is a partnership like Langer and Gilchrist put on in Hobert in 99 I think it was? Both scored centuries when we looked as good as gone. But, I'm fantasising now...

crunch - could it be punter and pup?!?!?!

punter is looking good, not great but good and clarke looks in good nic...

century Ricky!

as long as we don't get into a position where we think there is a chance, i think we can bat it out. If we get close, we mioght chase it and get out.

Win, lose or draw, no-one can deny that Australia has to take a serious look at the "deadwood" that the team is carrying.
I think we have seen the last test with JN Gillespie on the scorecard. The safe option for his replacement would be Kasprowicz and as we know, the selectors usually go with the tried and true.
The other concern M Hayden, well i think he will get one more test to do something. Perhaps Brad Hodge could be a suitable high order replacement??

Draw ftw

great game tho

very lucky to escape witha draw

yep astro top game

draw your kidding wish I watched it now.

England only have themselves to blame.

They should of gone out and made 1 run. They still would have got australia all out for under the run mark even though ponting knocked 150+

I'm glad I stayed up to watch the end of the match! So pleased that the Aussies got away with a draw, hopefully a few changes to the side will win us the next two. Ponting had a great knock as well!

robbed by the day of rain...

another 15 overs and those 50 runs were ours!

turn the batting order on it's head, and you'd have a crack top order

last edited by Paveway-3 at 11:39:31 16/Aug/05

Thank f***.

It was close, but thanks to Ponting the scoring was quick. I didn't watch till the end but I guess it would have made England go more defensive for some of the last session than they wanted to be.

I'm betting Ponting is still averaging 20 at the end of the series and is still captain and no mention of him being dropped.

I say we carry him for a good 3 or so years before he retires on his own accord.

Australia 2nd innings (target: 423 runs) R M B 4 6
*RT Ponting c GO Jones b Harmison 156 391 275 16 1

The guy single handledly got 1/3 of the entire runs needed to win.

last edited by typo at 15:29:28 16/Aug/05

Hindsight is awesome, but going on form I would have bet him getting out quickly also.

another 15 overs and those 50 runs were ours!

Yeah but another 5 overs and lee probably would have lost it. And they were ours.

Lee was lucky not to get out lbw

Martyn more unlucky to be given out LBW!

Martyn more unlucky to be given out LBW!

this is a good point. it was clearly not out an if hed stayed in he probably would have gotten out anyway but it could have totally changed the game.

Martyn looked a lot more relaxed out there than most others and though the swing was troubling him, he was able to do just enough to deal with it (unlike Hayden and Katich). I think he would have been one of the hardest batsmen to remove so England might have gotten very lucky there. But you can never know what would have happened so you've just got to hope it all evens itself out in the end.

i thought the dizzy LBW was pretty ordinary also.

Bell wasn't out in the english first innings either though.

Just watched the SBS highlights package and I thought the Dizzy LBW was ok.

I wish I'd stayed up to watch the last session and a half live. I could feel the tension in the highlights even though I knew the result. Seeing it live in the early hours of the morning would have been intense! (Especially after the finish to the last test.)

Thank f***.

Pontings 156 brings his series average to like 30.

When McGrath gets out he will still be averaging mroe than ponting.

id rather ponting comes in and saves the day when its BADLY needed and plays s*** the rest of the time :P

Pontings 156 brings his series average to like 30.

I beg to differ

haha, Warnie's initials are SK
:P