At CLS I've always found if you are just drinking Lager, its a piece of pie. They have a few "Fosters" stalls now where they have four pumps banging out constant pints. The only queing I've done is when I'm with me Dad, who only drinks beer. Then you've got to join the general queue.

I intended just to go for Day 1 but won tickets to the 4th day so going then as well.

Been looking forward to this for ages

Steady away at Lunch apart from another Root failure

Another shit top order display, giving their wickets away to average balls

Tumbling like focking dominoes now...

Only one bad shot really (Bell, what the fuck was he doing 4 balls after tea?) Credit to the Aussies though they've bowled with good discipline on what must be said is a really really slow pitch. Timing the ball is difficult and won't get any easier.

Durham haven't scored more than 260 odd batting first at home in the Championship all season (and have batted first in every match) and have only lost once when Joe Root chased down 330 to win with a brilliant 180.

Tony Hill is a shocking umpire.

That is a fucking awful decision bowling round the wicket it didn't even turn I don't care if it's clipping the bails.

Why did he review that when he was right infront of the stumps? Another painful innings from Bairstow, think its time to try Taylor at the Oval and if he does well then consider using him at Brisbane.

He reviewed it because it was a terrible decision. An off spinner who isn't really turning much is doing well to get an LBW bowling around the wicket unless it's really full. Bairstow had a big stride in as well which brings height into play as well as missing off.

Total guesswork from Hill who is totally out of his depth.

I appreciate all that but if it was guesswork from Hill then it was guesswork from Bairstow. He knew he was infront of the stumps and to review it without consulting your partner is a bit stupid. Not that it'll cost us much in the end.

Any batsman would have reviewed that as it had every chance of missing off or bouncing over.

It was just clipping the top edge of the off bail, it was a no brainer to review!

Our batting has become pathetic gradually over time.

Too many players appeared to seem their places are guaranteed.

We are way Too reliant on our bowlers now.

Some disgraceful shots today. No application whatsoever. And no urgency in equal measures.

In their defence if we bpwl the aussies out equally quickly and cheaply what Does that say for the pitch.

Heard strauss claim no one has Got over 250 in the first innings this summer. If Thats Right there Should not be test crickert There.

Amd as soon as i typed that we score 19 runs in 6 balls. What is it with tail enders.

They dare hit balls!!

Watching that today was quite painful at times especially the final session ( Swann and Anderson aside). Bairstow went 65 minutes without scoring a Run, it felt like more. To be fair the majority of the team were way too defensive. I understand its a slow scoring pitch but a spin bowler took 4 wickets and the ball never span. We were extremely poor today and the ironic cheers at singles near the end when going 20-30 mins without scoring summed up the day.

Anderson was the highlight of the day and he was there 10 minutes out of 6 and a half hours.

To me it seemed a mental thing, a low scoring pitch so lets play as defensive as possible. How many overs out of the 90 went for 1 or less, I'm guessing 35. It was just block block block. We're 2-0 up and can't lose the ashes at least give the paying public something to watch.

See what they do tomorrow

But the ball has to be totally missing the stumps for a decision to get over-rules and Hawkeye doesn't consider many of the factors you've mentioned. It was bang in the middle of the stumps, hardly moved all day and he didn't even speak to Bresnan.

Anyway, it's irrelevant. It's been a bad day, we're doomed and Cook should quit.

I agree about the bairstow wicket (well sort of) but cook should quit???

Yes a bad day, possibly the most boring day of England cricket for a long while and there's been some shockers over the years but cook quit, why??

It was a bit of sarcasm RB!

You should never judge a test match until both teams bat.

The wicket will be just as slow for the Aussies let's see how they do. The scoring rate at Trent Bridge and Lords in the first innings wasn't much better on similar tracks, I think this one looks even harder to time the ball and this season in First class games at CLS suggests 250 is a first innings score that is enough to put yourself in a good position by the end of day two.

By the way have a look back at the comments on this thread after day one of the series at Trent Bridge by some of the same posters, I'm talking to you Dibble

England got bowled out for 215, on a better batting track than this.

I fully agree with you regarding scores on that pitch, I text my Australian brother in law beforehand and said 250-300 is the norm. He responded by saying in all fairness to Durham they don't have 11 internationals playing for them. Can't really argue with that.

I also agree that you can't judge until both teams bat but I'd bet a hell of alot of money none if there batsmen go 65 mins without a run. That was seriously bad. Prior was at the other end playing the same and that just isn't his game. I found myself looking forward to broad coming in which just isn't right. Anderson and swanns little cameos saved the day, sub 200 would have been a very poor score.

As for the pitch, if you take cooks wicket away what did it do?? I think we gave the pitch way too much respect and never really got going, especially against the spin that never span.

Bell will be criticised but at least he went after him, its a 55mph slow none turning ball at the end of the day.

Yes pj. I Agree.

Yes may bpwl them put for similar or less. Tjat doesnt excuses yet another poor batting display by our supposedly superior battimg side.

We are Afterall supposed to be much better than the aussies.

How many times in this series have we you now said we have Just Had a bad day?.

And now it seems the aussies are Better than we all Thought. Incl you.

Or has those series shown that we are Just as poor as them.

Yesterday was lazy batting ar Its worst. Some playing no shots then playing stupid ones and others playing like frightened rabbits in the headlights of an oncoming lorry. Bairstow.

Like i said this lot have no competition for places. And it shows at times.

The problem is Flower has ordered these hard dry pitches that expose the Aussies weakness of a lack of spinner and it will help our bowlers reverse swing the ball but these are pitches our batsmen traditionally struggle on. More like sub continent pitches than what our batters are used to. This pitch is really sluggish, Michael Clarke changed the field after four overs and put in a short extra cover which shows he recognised how slow the pitch is. Prior wasn't just blocking he was driving and square driving but the ball just kept dribbling to fielders. Cook he to battle for his runs as he's struggling for form.

Let's see how quickly they score, it will difficult to top 3 an over unless we bowl badly.

Doctoring wickets to suit us to win this series is all well and good but it could backfire with most of our batters going to Australia lacking runs and confidence.

I agree completely. But Its Weird how many times we have Had to make defensive comments like Lets see how They bat before we comment.

And if They score more we blame our bowlers

Our bowlers have no total to defend yet again.

Didn't they have about 927 to defend at Lords!?

Yes. Thats once in 4 tests. In a series we were supposed to win 5 0.

According to some.

Even though that was unrealistic.

The aussies despite being 2 0 down can consider themselves to be in a good place.

They appear to be on the up but i think Its more down to our lack of application and ruthlessnwss.

Well, they've set off looking every bit as frail as us with the bat. Enter Michael Clarke...

Hmm, see Root is struggling to open the batting, and Bairstow still hasn't had a score...though he is not alone
I would like for the next test to see Compton in and Root at 6, with Tremlett given a go for Bresnan.

Would like to see us play 5 bowlers at some stage but our batting does not look strong enough to support that currently

Anderson looks tired as well but is class and will come good again soon.

Onions should have played today, bresnan was given alot of the ball but wasnt doing it. He should have played and cook and flower got this 1 very wrong.

Cook turning to trott before lunch before Swann made no sense at all, nobody could believe it. Very strange decision

We were again 2nd best today which is starting to come very repetitive and worrying.

The early Rodgers not out decision knocked me sick and we massively paid the price for it, umpires decision was out, drs says umpires decision but he stays because we appealed for a catch and not lbw. Momentum shifted from that moment onwards

Nah man. We Just Had another bad day. Thats 7 on the trot.

Like shane warne said. If the boot Had Been on the orher foot the aussies would have trampled us into the Dirt.

We lack the will to Keep on winning. Weplay like we have done enough.

There again Its understandable as There are many english cricket fans secretly or not so secretly wanted the aussies to win the last match to Keep it exciting.

And There were many of them.

No wonder the players lack the killer instinct.

Its an english disease.

Root fails again, Compton was dropped for much much less, get root down the order and lets have Compton back
Of course some of us were saying this from the start !

Fairly sure I saw earlier that Root is the 5th highest run scorer thus far in the series. Admittedly that comes from his one huge innings but at what point would you have dropped him? Before the series when he hadn't had a chance or off the back of an important and impressive 178?

Just ignore the window licker.

Jonny 'village Bairstow gifts his wicket away again ! About the best he has played this summer, which sums it up

Yorkshire mafia here, bairstow and bresnan dropping next game with root moved to 6 is the way forward

Just clocked the username. Might be time for that ignore button.

I would not drop root, I would let him develop further down the order

Bairstow played well today, the full crowd gave him he ovation he deserved. Bell was outstanding... Again. I thought pieterson was gona be the centurion today but bell was the man. He was sublime to every ball, no faults and aggression was immense. A joy to watch.

Applauding Rodgers 100 yday was painful but that today I clapped louder than ever. Brilliant. We have a huge chance of winning this game and series now

Don't you just love test cricket? We're 200+ up, five wickets standing, a batsman on an unbeaten ton, two days to go, a wicket that'll break up, and the best attack, arguably, in the world.

Fuck, we've got no chance.........

Weird thing is they won 2 days hands down. We win 1 and look huge favourites to win the game!!

Adg weres your bullshit now!!!

Day three is often the pivotal day of a Test Match and I think today was, Bowling the Aussies out in just over an hour when they started the day with Rogers and Haddin at the crease was the thing we had to do.

Bell is in superb form, the thing is he's scored hundreds on three pretty difficult wickets for stroke play. Scoring runs when it matters. It's worth remembering to those who are lacking patience with Root (who got a great ball today) and Bairstow (who played well, and scored useful runs in the context of the match) that the person in the 2005 Ashes in the position they are being questioned that he wasn't good enough, and should be dropped..... was Ian Bell.

Yet again. Thank god for ian bell.

And even the experts have Had enough of this batting line up being 30 or 40 for 3.

We look lile winning this now and going 3 up. Yet Its generally agreed, amongst the experts, if not on here that we have batted poorly.

Doesmt it Just show tje aussies are actually quite shite.

On saying that i wouldnt change the batsman but i would Give a few of tjem a good kicking.

We need a good batting track at the oval to semd the aussie bowlers home depressed. Nor on the up.

By that rationale where was the patience for Compton ! ? I know he is older but he basically had 2 poor tests where he looked becalmed- the same as root has been for 3 out of 4 tests

Compton opening and root at 6 looks a lot more solid . The fact bairstow a 28 is being seen as success just shows how low the bar is for him right now !

Bairstow should basically go to Australia as the reserve wicket keeper, bresnan a reserve if we ever want to play 5 bowlers

Bell is a machine. He attacked form the 1st ball today, geniune batsmen who looked completely competent. The partnership with pieterson saved the day, we looked Fukd b4 that. Watching the runs tick by was very pleasing.

Can't wait for tomorrow. Only sad thing is it looks like I have to buy a day 5

You say that yet in the last few years we've heard....

Thank god for bell
Thank god for Swann
Thank god for cook
Thank god for pieterson
Thank god for trott
Thank god for broad
Thank god for prior
Thank god for Anderson
And in the 2nd test it was thank god for root so if we're being honest were a team and not a 1 man army.

Still clutch at straws though

Looking forward to tomorrow - Hopefully England will smash it about for a session and a half. Prior is due some runs surely and some cameo's from Broad and Bresnan would be good.

Even if Bairstow did get dropped I can't see them going back to Compton. It's not even how many runs he got it was how he got them, a very limited player.

Next to be picked are Taylor and Carberry, can't see Compton playing another test.

In the context of the match Bairstow played well today, his stand with Bell was crucial and he played positively.

just seems strange how some people are dropped straight away when others are given chance after chance.

Root and Bairstow are in the team because they're good cricketers with the potential to be in the England set up for many years to come. Compton is a good first class cricketer but realistically is quite limited with regards to international cricket and would only ever act as a stop gap for younger, more talented players like Root and Bairstow. If you can't get that around your head then you really don't know much.