Lets have it.. So how many tests are they going to beat us by this time?.... Is it going to be close or a whitewash?

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I'm just hoping Johnson's radar goes awry this series then we have a good chance

I think it'll be tight, just depends on whether we can handle the pace of the Australian's. Before the NZ series if you'd asked me I'd have said Australia would nick it, but the way we performed in the first test especially has given me the confidence that we may nick it; I'll say a 2-1 win for us.

I actually think we can win the series.

I just wish they weren't playing one of the tests in Cardiff.

Off work, beers in fridge, looking forward to it.

Daft bet for the full series £5 pays £1300

Top bowlers wood/stark
Top batsmen root/smith

A can see Johnson under performing

As for score ill say 2-1 us or 3-0 them

The loss of Harris is a massive blow for them, could have an impact overall.



The more I think about it, the more I feel England will nick it.

I'm cautiously optimistic we won't lose 5-0.

3-1 England.

Just shy of evens for England +1.5 on the handicap. Very decent imo, Definately not whitewash territory this.

Derek Pringle made a good point on talksport the other day in saying that people could well be overestimating the Aussie attack. Johnson's record in England is poor, Hazlewood is untested in these conditions, Starc hasn't really much experience over here (one season with Yorkshire aside) and huge question marks must exist with regards to Lyon after his display against Essex. I think both of Australia's warm up games indicate that they are vulnerable given that three batsmen at lower second division teams took centuries off their attack.

The key word in Pringle's comment though is could and it'll still be a very hard series. I'm confident it will be a tighter affair than what I'd feared back in February.

10 mins to go

Raining.

Great start


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The weather is likely to ensure that won't happen.

Cook didn't sound overly confident when interviewed on radio yesterday. I hope that he is a bit more bullish in his team talks.

Embarrassing opening ceremony.

Just get on with the cricket, we don't need national anthems.

I DID hear "Great Southern Land" by Icehouse though!

Cook just gone, England looked nervous so far. Typical after our bullish attitude against the Kiwis. Time to show some bottle for a change lads.

3 down when does the rain start?

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It looks a poor pitch which will only get harder to bat on, no pace in it all.

They need to stop this bidding process to get Test matches. No way in a million years should Cardiff be hosting the first match of an Ashes series.

They shouldn't but there's plenty of other examples of other Counties produces poor pitches. To be fair after that first 45 minutes it wasn't too bad either.

Ballance was just getting going there and we could have done with another 5 or 6 overs before Lunch.

Barstow for Bell and promote Root to 4 for next week For me.

It's not a minefield or anything it's just so slow which is hardly conducive to good cricket. It might even flatten out completely and be a high scoring game but I'd rather watch a game that lasts three days on a green bowler friendly pitch than a five day game on a slow dead pitch like this.

I just want an England win and Mitch to keep going at 5.5 an over.

i'd quite like an on-pitch meltdown too please

Let's hope we can strike a Ballance and stay Root ed at the crease now

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Happy with day 1 on a whole. Joe root again showing why he's our best player and in the worlds top 2 with smith. Solid knock from ballance which I didn't expect. Stokes quick 50 looked effortless were the positives. Negatives lyth who I don't trust and would play hales, the form of Ian bell which unless it improves sharpish should result in him being dropped for bairstow who's in the form of his life, moving root up to 4. There is another option regarding a certain player who wrote a book but that's not gona happen. Another negative was butlers dismissal. I was quite upset about that. Seemed in control but just gave it away.

A lot has been said about the pitch from the media. I seem to be alone in liking it for numerous reasons. We were smashed allover in aus by Johnson as pitches were perfect for him. We have made this anti Johnson with little bounce and in my eyes this is the way to win the match. Why play to there strengths when they are the worlds best team. Bounce helps them a lot more than us.

343 runs suggests the pitch wasn't that bad anyway!!! It was hardly boring, we scored more runs than I can ever remember on day 1 of the ashes. Run rate is nearly 4 an over, superb stuff.

Really have high hopes for wood today. Quite worried about ali's spin though. Rashid imo would have been the better option but we'll see what happens.

Way too much emphasis on Johnson, he had a 6 month purple patch on hard wickets in Australia in South Africa whatever wickets are produced in this series he's not going have the same impact over here. He has a moderate record over here and certainly shouldn't be feared. Cardiff is naturally a slow lowish wicket whatever they do anyway. Shaving all of the grass off it is negative ploy. Much has been hyped about this Australian team but they aren't the team of 15 years ago, nowhere near that we shouldn't be fearing them so we need to produce wicket where we can take 20 wickets. Jimmy Anderson in England is one of the best bowlers in the World let them worry about him. I could understand why we produced slow dry pitches 2 years ago it made sense as we had Swann we don't now.

As for the score suggesting it is not a poor pitch it is a poor pitch because the balance between bat is not correct. If a new ball is not carrying in the first over of the match and genuine edges from seamers bowling at 85mph + are getting nowhere near slip it is poor cricket wicket and a terrible Test pitch. The most criticised wicket in recent years in England was Trent Bridge last year when we played India when millions of runs were scored but like this it was flat, low and dead.

Now that's what i call a good fucking seeing-to.

There's a long way to go of course but I'll certainly take Australia being 120 for 9 after they won the toss and elected to bat first

I bet the Aussie bowlers can't wait to get stuck into our top order

We might make 136 look a decent score we way we batted last test

Good day for our bowlers. Lyth still looking a bit nervy out there.

We should be close to their score by the close tonight.

When Aus were 90-8 Glenn McGrath tweeted that he thought that was enough and they should declare lol

Sums up the English mentality that post, last week England were hopeless, spineless and pathetic for getting rolled in 37 overs, today the Aussies are all out quicker and the assumption is we'll do worse! They batted badly, it's amazing the flaws that can be exposed when you produce a proper cricket wicket. We have just as good a bowling attack if not better in English conditions. Play to your strengths.

This thread is quiet!

Good and bad day for England. We're going 2-1 up but if Anderson's injury is what it looked like it's an injury you can do nothing for other than rest. If a intercostal muscle is torn he isn't bowling for months = Ashes over.

Anderson is now confirmed as out of the Trent Bridge test.

we're doomed, give em the urn now, i blame parnaby, fuck off humphreys, scooty out etc etc zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Surely can't throw this one away can we?

Another nice knock from Bell. Nice bit of fortune for Clarke to drop him before he'd got going mind.

Australia have certainly had their chances in this match but they simply haven't taken any of them.

2-1 here we come

Time to do rain dances I reckon.

Ill take two draws right now

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The way both top and middle orders bat and the 'consistency' they have shown in the series so far I reckon it would take a deluge of Biblical proportions to create two draws!

Easy this bowling malarkey isn't it?

What a Catch!!!!!

My 3-1 looking VERY good. Should have put a tenner on it.....

The most amazing start I have ever seen. I need a shit but daren't go incase I miss a wicket.

Seam attack again performing at high standards and no Jimmy!!

Been off work since before the ashes started so watched every ball bowled so far but that innings there was the best bowling I have seen in my life. 8-15 of 9.3 overs. Breathtaking stuff from broad.

As they have stuck with him the only thing to cap this off would be a lyth 100.

Seen nothing like that session in my life. Absolutely amazed at what Iv watched this morning. Stokes catch is probably the best catch Iv ever seen aswell and that's no exaggeration

Been on nights and just waking up, have I missed anything?

I'll rephrase that to Adam lyth to score 61 and out score there entire team.

The 40 min lunch session can show you everything. Can't belive they didn't laat 20 overs. Unbelievable

Fastest a team has been bowled out batting first in the history of Test match cricket.

I can't believe how bad this lot are against the moving ball, I can't believe they thought they had any chance of winning over here with this batting. Steve Smith best batsman in the World? Do me a favour, maybe if everyone played with a Kookaburra ball on pitches as flat as and as docile as Lords. He wouldn't even get in the Aussie team of 10-15 years ago.

Are they any good against a still ball?