Happy days ....

England right in the driving seat.

One good batting display away from securing the Ashes now. I strongly doubt Australia will have the stomach for a fight if go into their second innings needing a big score just to make us bat again.

Here's hoping for another good day's cricket.

Bad Bad start - Colly let England down again 98-5...

Johnson's performance was outstanding.
One question I would ask though...............does anyone think he chucks the odd ball

Yes I noticed that the other day his action is very suspect same as that Sri Lankan bowler who plays in the IPL forgot his name.

its malinga

This is the quality of stuff that keeps ya going, class Compo

Some people obviously haven't a clue what they are on about...!

We've surely got to swap Colly and Bell for the second innings?

I would hope Bell would be put further up the order. The first session tomorrow is going to be crucial. We can't afford to be chasing more than 325 really and with the way we played in the 1st innings that would be a massive struggle. South Africa chased down over 400 at Perth a few years ago to win a test - lets hope we have the ability and mental toughness to do the same....

Jonny of course we do it was one bad innings we showed in the first test that our batsman can stay the course and hold out play. I think if we have a good morning with the ball tonight we will win.

Concurrence with that chap. 3 wickets for less than 70 in the first session and it's anybody's game.

Recent history at Perth has shown that chasing high totals batting last isn't a problem.

England have shown already they can post high scores but having said that I would like them to get the Aussies out before they have a lead of more than 300.

He's about as far away from being a chucker that's it's possible to be, he's slings the ball. You can bowl side arm from an almost 90 degree angle as long as your arm is straight.

We'll knock off anything under 400, Collingwood with a ton from number 5

Great spell of bowling from Johnson, no two ways about it.

England are not beaten yet though. It will obviously be a lot harder for them now but the three wickets they have taken mean it is still very much game on. The key, as ever in this situation, will be early wickets. Even then a target of 350 needn't be impossible to achieve. Johnson might bowl rubbish in the second innings. It's not like it hasn't happened before.

Thanks for that...........I knew you wouldn't let me down

While we are on the subject of Cricket, a question for you watchers and players of the game. Why do batsmen insist on trying to play a defensive stroke with the bat, when the ball is quite clearly several feet above the wicket, why don't they just get out of the way of the ball! Or is it just me that finds myself shouting at the screen every time I see this happen.

When someone is bowling at 90mph you have very little time to react. Even if the batsman picks the length early there is still a chance that the ball might stay low. Also batsmen will anticipate the length and line of a ball to be around the corridor of uncertainty so a shorter ball can catch the batsman off guard...

I'm sure PJ will have more to add....

I can appreciate that the ball is moving very quickly, but I still can't see why they are holding the bat in front of their face, they're not going to protect their wicket from a ball keeping low.

Are we talking head high bouncers or a ball that's coming at you just above waist height?

Unless the ball can obviously be left i.e. a very high bouncer or a ball that is too wide most batsmen will attempt to play the ball. As Jonny said its probably the safer thing to do, although on a good pitch you shouldn't really have to worry about shooters, unlike in our league! Plus you'd be surprised how many singles you can pick up by slightly adjusting the defensive stroke to angle the ball away. Simply shouldering arms to the ball removes the possiblity of any runs.

The worst thing you can do is get caught in two minds. You see a lot of batsmen getting out to deliveries that have climbed on them quickly and they clearly have been caught between attempting to leave the ball and playing at it resulting in them gloving or nicking it.

Head height bouncers, or thereabouts. Playing at them, with no obvious signs of any control, is surely just playing into the fielding sides hands, literally, and there is no risk of their wicket being hit.

Unless something spectacular happens I can't see how we can win this Test which is very frsutrating given how much better we are.

Great time for them to have problems positioning the sunscreen. This will unsettle them and we'll get a wicket very soon












(I hope)

I'd reply properly if I knew what the fuck you were on about!

I am never ever wrong. Ever.

I also fancy Brad Haddin to fail this innings.

(this one could come back to haunt me mind)

Glad I stayed awake for Watson not to make his 100!

Get in.

Have to stay up till at least lunch now.

Thought we'd got Smith then.

Twice.

He looks very dodgy though, I can't see him sticking round for too long.

This review system is bollocks though. If we're appealing for the catch then surely we shouldn't be able to appeal LBW too? Makes a bit of a mockery of it IMO.

It's hard to explain how a game can be exciting at 4am on Saturday, and may end as a draw at 10am om Monday!!

Two for the price of one!!

Bugger can we not get Hussey out for less than 50.

A simple explanation of the rules of Cricket for you Mr M

The Rules of Cricket You have two sides, one out in the field and one in. Each man that's in the side that's in goes out, and when he's out he comes in and the next man goes in until he's out. When they are all out, the side that's out comes in and the side thats been in goes out and tries to get those coming in, out. Sometimes you get men still in and not out. When a man goes out to go in, the men who are out try to get him out, and when he is out he goes in and the next man in goes out and goes in. There are two men called umpires who stay out all the time and they decide when the men who are in are out. When both sides have been in and all the men have out, and both sides have been out twice after all the men have been in, including those who are not out, that is the end of the game!

I'm not so sure about Quantum Physics.

They've got away with it again.


Right time for bed, got to be up in a few hours, to drive to Sheffield and back!

Funny thing to do why?

To pick my son up from Uni

Game set and match now to Australia. Very disappointing second innings from England so far.

At least the 4th test should attract a healthy amount of interest now.

Yeah I've been keeping up with the match in South Africa. You'd expect the Proteas to win given the situation they are in now.

Disappointing but inevitable conclusion to the third test in Perth. I'm still convinced that England will win the series because I firmly believe they are the better team. Hence I don't think wholesale changes should be made at all. However I think the idea of bringing Bresnan in for Collingwood is a good one. It would give us an extra bowler to test the Aussie batsmen who, regardless of this result, are still there for the taking. He can also bat to a respectable level.

Simple explanation for you Mutley

A guy chucks a ball & another guy stops it with a bat,then everyone stands about for a bit till they do it again.
After a couple of hours they all stop for a cup of tea & a slice of cake
Later on it rains so they call it a draw

Fuck me, that's exciting compared to Billy Fooking Bragg!!!

There needs to be a couple of changes - Paul Colly and Matt Prior haven't pulled their weight. There is also a bit too much pressure on Finn. Hopefully in the next test we will bat first and put 400pplus on the board to sway momentum again...

I'm not sure I would change it. Strauss will like having Collingwood around for his all round game (it was only a few days ago that The Times were saying that catch might have been the one that won us the Ashes), Prior has had three bad knocks but I wouldn't say that constitutes 'not pulling their weight' as his work behind the stumps has been excellent as usual and before the series he has been one of the best wicket keeper batsmen in donkeys. Finn is the leading wicket taker in the whole series and we have bowled superbly as a unit all series. I think it'd be pretty unfair (and silly) to drop Finn just because the batsmen failed so badly in Perth.

At a push I would maybe bring in Morgan for Collingwood but I can't see it happening and don't think we need any knee jerk reactions over what happened at the weekend.

No it isnt

HTH