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Lordy! It has barely started and yet it is already over.

jdaw1 wrote:Lordy! It has barely started and yet it is already over.

No. This will be a low-scoring match. Batting may get easier but this will not be a carpet for the Aussies.

Blimey, that's the second time the Australians have dropped Root. They seem determined that he will get his 100.

I feel like I want to boo the pitch off the pitch. Too soggy.

LGTrotter wrote:I feel like I want to boo the pitch off the pitch. Too soggy.

Apparently a wise sage disagrees...
I missed the action, mainly because I thought it started tomorrow.

djewesbury wrote:No. This will be a low-scoring match. Batting may get easier but this will not be a carpet for the Aussies.

England 429-9 is a fair recovery from a miserable start. And not yet AO.

Edit: AO at 430.

All told not a bad day for England, and a really good day for the beard that is feared. Still feels like a draw though. But if these Australians don't start pulling their socks up they could be in for an upset...

Owen, are you forgetting the obligatory England batting collapse?

This has an Australia win written all over it. Shorter odds than the Tories in the General Election.

There is no doubt in my mind that Bell and Cook will save the day for Australia.

Where's my PaddyPower App?

Yes, I thought Cook looked a bit jittery, but hopefully it was just first night nerves, he looked in great nick against New Zealand. Bell. FFS as they say in less polite circles than

But I would save your money to put on Australia at Lords. England might win, but it looks like a lot of bowling they are going to have to do. The new ball tomorrow morning will be interesting.

Derek, for once I think you are a little too ebullient in your prediction. The bowling and field setting today have been quite magnificent. The best batsman in the world, Smith, looked nervous and found out and was gone for 33.

We shall see.

Oh will we.

Indeed.

Do you have the ingredients for a humble pie in the freezer or should you buy them tomorrow?

djewesbury wrote:Derek, for once I think you are a little too ebullient in your prediction. The bowling and field setting today have been quite magnificent. The best batsman in the world, Smith, looked nervous and found out and was gone for 33.

I would agree that Smith looked nervous, despite his ranking I am less than convinced by him. I thought Cook must have had some help with the captaincy because it looked good for once. The England bowling was tight and that seems to be the difference between the teams so far. As to batting collapses I do wonder how it will look when Root fails, but the middle lower order look too good for England not to post a score. A good start to the Ashes.

LGTrotter wrote:the middle lower order look too good for England not to post a score

Let's pin that to the wall for the next few weeks and see how things pan out.

DRT wrote:

LGTrotter wrote:the middle lower order look too good for England not to post a score

Let's pin that to the wall for the next few weeks and see how things pan out.

Oh, get thee behind me you miserable beggar!

Of course England might fall flat on their face at almost any juncture, the batting, the bowling, the captain, the fielding or even just a good enough opposition. But what we have seen so far is all rather encouraging.

I know you will be too young to remember it Derek, but there was an Ashes series in 2005 when a load of talented young English players saw off the best side in the world in astonishing style and this Australian side aren't half the team that those boys were. I dare to dream. Goodnight.

Ah, 2005 - I remember it well - my first trip to Porto and the year Scotland won the ICC trophy to qualify for the world cup.

I recall my Argentine boss’s boss saying that “England having a good week — Olympics, and this ash thing”.

Oh my! Well England can afford a bit of a collapse, 120 runs ahead and more than half the test to go. How's that bet looking Derek? Almost as good as the one on Kauto Star for the Gold Cup next year.

England lead by more runs than Australia took in their first innings, and we have 5 wickets of England’s second innings to go. So I think we’re ahead. But not by much.

jdaw1 wrote:I recall my Argentine boss’s boss saying that “England having a good week — Olympics, and this ash thing”.

Not an entirely sensitive / appropriate comment given what else happened that week....!

That was, I think, the following day.

It looks like my prediction has already ganged agley. Australia to lose this test in four days. Who'd have thought?

Counting, chickens, hatching.

flash_uk wrote:What did we learn from the NZ series?

Stokes can stay!
Wood looks like a raw talent that could be refined - not unlike Jimmy in the early days...
Ballance is not good enough
Bell out of sorts
Root is solid
Cook is finding form again just at the right time
Buttler is in good shape
We have a spinner who is not frontline
We have no backup/alternative action spinner
Anderson and Broad are nowhere near their best
We'll have to make do with Lyth to partner Cook as opener


So for the Ashes, we don't have what it takes to threaten them with the ball, our middle order has at best 1 in 3 that will fire. who knows how the openers will survive the Aussie bowling attack.

Revisiting my conclusions of the NZ series after the tests but before the one days, which musings have proved to be on the mark?
Stokes can stay! - still holds
Wood looks like a raw talent that could be refined - not unlike Jimmy in the early days... - still holds
Ballance is not good enough - still holds
Bell out of sorts - a glimmer of hope from his second innings 60
Root is solid - solid as a rock!
Cook is finding form again just at the right time - batting still not on fire, captaincy improving...
Buttler is in good shape - still holds
We have a spinner who is not frontline - still holds, but the lad can also bat...
We have no backup/alternative action spinner - Rashid has emerged
Anderson and Broad are nowhere near their best - they looked a lot better today!
We'll have to make do with Lyth to partner Cook as opener - still holds

The other important aspect to consider is the strength of the Aussie team. They look average. Mitchell Johnson nowhere near his best, Warner and Watson not looking too special.

I would embellish the above by adding;
Lyth; I still don't know but he looks a bit like another Carberry to me.
Broad and Anderson; transformed. Just spot on, especially Anderson, on a pitch that Johnson couldn't get anything out of he looked menacing.
Cook; I'm a little disappointed with the batting, but the catch was terrific and the captaincy was faultless. Imagine! Cooks captaincy faultless!
Moeen; might yet be man of the match and if it weren't for Root a shoo in. Bowled better than I expected, still interested in what Rashid might do to this wobbly Australian side.
Wood is fast becoming my favourite. I just like the look of the bloke.