Bell-end

Well, that's why you're at number six Ian, you muppet. Out hooking, under no pressure whatsoever. Very reminiscent of Trent Bridge in 2005 when he heaped pressure on his teammates by hooking to backward square, straight down his throat. In fact how many times has Ian Bell cleared the ropes with that shot? He'd only been in for 2 overs and there was a hundred there for the taking, credit to Matt Prior for taking Bell's runs for himself and passing 2000 career runs. Fair enough, England needed to get the run rate but you're only 4 foot 6, what were you thinking???

Some stats...

Always worth checking the Howstat site for decent cricket stats, and here's a few good ones:

Run Rate

In 2005 England's improved run rate was the difference between the two teams and it is showing again here, England are at 3.54 and Australia at 3.16. It is key to England's plan of playing 4 bowlers that they restrict the opposition run rate, as it builds pressure and creates wickets. This is why Finn was dropped from the current test he is going at 4.32 which breaks the model. Bresnan came in to do a very specific job and went for 1.92, he also picked up the wickets of Hughes and Haddin who were both flashing at the ball with attempted scoring shots. Well done England!

Batting

England have 4 of the top 6 batters in the series so far by average score, only Hussey appears in the top 4 for Australia, and he is having an excellent series. England's tail are letting them down badly with no-one averaging over 20 outside the top 5. Collingwood is having a mare and may well be on his last tour for England, having said that he has the same average as Ponting, maybe it's time for both to go?

Records

Alistair Cook is nearing 5000 career runs and he's still in his fifth year of International cricket, that's a 1000 runs per year, pretty good for a 26 year old. With his latest knock Matt Prior has become England's third best wicket keeper of all time, behind Alec Stewart and Alan Knott. No batsmen on show in the Ashes are rated in the current top 10!

Melbourne Test: The wrap up - An Australian Perspective

Hi Guys,
It is my last post for a little while as I am off down the beach for 5 days. By this stage the Ashes will of been complete unless something drastic happens.

I took my two little boys to MCG yesterday and was a great atmosphere. You do not mind get beaten in cricket however the way Australia go about their cricket has been very consistent throughtout the series. Mentally, they are not prepared to sit through difficult batting conditions. I count'nt at least 3 batsmen that played silly shots to get out.

Strauss won the toss and bowled. The ball fizzed around and it was interesting since you can hear the sound of the willow from the crowd and I do not think I heard the Australias hit the middle of the bat too many times even when defending. So, it was particularly difficult to bat.

England bowled superbly between Anderson, Tremlett, Bresnan in conditions which were similar to England conditons. They pitched the ball up, were able to move the ball and fielded brilliantly. Well done.

I think Phillip Hughes will make it however the shot he went out on is typically of a player who thinks he is invincible on flat pitches. Problem was the pitch was not flat and needs to learn to play in all conditions. Watson was all at sea. Next up was R Ponting who was scratchy at best. Played two nice shots and then played the Tremlett delievery all wrong - once upon a time he would of pulled that delivery since it was quite short. Hussey recieved a nice ball from Anderson and his luck finally run out. M Clarke played ok for a while and looked to be in OK touch until he nicked one. Steve Smith is not a No.6 (he is a No.7 or No.8) and C White should take this position (still cant work out this logic). B Haddin played an aweful undiscipled shot.

Every single Australian that went out looked like they did not care. They played rash, undiscipled shot to outstanding bowling. Yeah sure the conditions suited the bowling however you need to have some more patience in their stroke play. I thought Par was around the 200 run mark.

Onto the English batting. The sun came out as soon as they walked out. They used the heavy roller also to flatten to pitch. Yep, that did the job alright. All of a sudden conditions suited the batsmen. Once again, England opening pair showed great composure on every ball and picked their shot play. Similarly when you heard Strauss and Cook hit the ball whilst defending then it hit the middle of the bat every time. They were in good touch.

The Australian bowling was too short from Johnson, Harris & Hillfeneus. I thought Siddle bowled well however he understand the conditions more since he is Victorian.

In most of the Shefield Shield Games in the last few years at MCG. The team that Bats first generally loses.

Anyway all the momentum and skill with England. It is very overcast today so there will be some wickets I would expect and there will be some showers however it should not stop England for regaining the Ashes. The next 3 days of weather should be very sunny.

Congratulations to England well done.

The fall out for Australia will be heavy however it needs to happen to bring through a bunch of new talented kids (there are plenty around also).

All the best. I am off to the beach.

Luke

automatic sentence checker

Hello Luke the automatic sentence checker on my Mac listed a couple of things that needed clarification:

'I need to buy my tickets today. They are saying there is going to be over 90,000 people there and maybe one of the biggest crowds in the last 50 years at MCG' - did you mean just on day one?

'Welcome to Melbourne - home of sport attendance. I think the Barmy Army may be a little overwhelmed this week' - Luke, did you mean overwhelmed with excitement?

ps This was the game my wife and I were meant to be at to celebrate our 10th Anniversary until she remembered we have only been married 9 years.

Interesting point...

Just saw this on an Australian web site:

"It is curious that of Australia's top seven, only Ricky Ponting and Hughes are not regulars in the national Twenty20 side, yet of England's, only Kevin Pietersen and Paul Collingwood are."

This is exactly the sort of criticism that used to be leveled at England when they were in selection turmoil, and it used to be lauded as one of Australia's strengths, the fact they played the same team in all forms of the game. So now the tune has changed and you can't play T20 and Test cricket and be successful, and with England T20 champions and in the box seat to retain the Ashes the boot really is on the other foot.

Here's how Aussie fans think they will do in the one day world cup next year

Am I dreaming??

Another great start to a Test by England, and this time we surely wont throw it away like we did in Perth. What an incredible come back by England, they have real "bouncebackability" that's for sure, which must be the sign of a team in good mental state. Winning the toss may be a key factor here but you still have to "deliver your skills" as Stuart Broad would say (and does every 5 minutes on TMS).

An extra Xmas present that's most welcome! All the talk of momentum seems a bit simplistic now, Test cricket is a much more complex game than most others and has a lot of hidden depths. Having just watched the highlights practically every Aussie batsman got out in the same way with the same shot, albeit to balls of the right length in the conditions - it looks like a training video for slip catching or a compilation of swing bowling hits, the only odd one is that I couldn't see much movement on the ball that Ponting got which is a bad sign for him. A great moment in the highlights on Sky was Johnson's return to form with a nice wide one down leg side for four byes - great work Mitch!

Don't Panic!

It looks bad but I have to agree with Andrew Strauss, this is not time for panic. England always have one disaster in the series and we need to pray that this was it, I would remind you of our innings defeat in the test at Headingly in 2009, after which we went on to win. In 2005 we lost badly at Lords before then taking 2 of the last 4, and arguably should have been 3 if we'd managed to force a win at Old Trafford.

Of course last time we were in Australia we managed to back up our one disaster test with 4 more, so it will be interesting that's for sure.

After 3 Tests - Player versus Player - Batting

It is difficult to anlayse after 3 tests since it has been a see-saw battle so far.

So here we go on the batting front.
Openers
Strauss v Watson = Even
Cooke v Hughes/Katich = Cooke (you could argue if Cooke v Watson then England would win this one also as Strauss is better than Hughes/Katich)
Total England 1 1/2, Australia 1/2

Middle Order
Ponting v Trott = Trott
Clarke v Peterson = Peterson (just)
Collingwood v Hussey = Hussey
Bell v North/Smith = Bell
Haddin v Prior = Hadden
Total England 3, Australia 2

Lower Order
Swan v Johnson = Johnson
Harris v Anderson/Broad = Anderson/Broad
Siddle v Tremlett/Anderson = Siddle
Hilfeneaus v Finn = Hilfers
Total Australia 3, England 1

Total Australia 5 1/2 England 5 1/2

Any comments?

Good morning England........Series is now 1-1

You will wake up to see Australia demolished your last 5 wickets within about the first hr of play.

England, hang your heads. Pathetic, insipid and scared performance. Can't believe this is the same confident side we saw in Adelaide.

Congratulations Australia. Suberb bowling. They stuck at it with great line and length for both innings. Harris, Hillfeneus, Johnson and Siddle were terrific and should again prove to be difficult to stop. Harris has not hit top gear as yet......

The main differences in the bowling departments were that Australia are quicker and bowled fuller than England. This was very key in the outcomes.

It is about bloody time we bowled to Trott wide of off stump also. He is particularly vunerable (it doesnt help that we have dropped him 4 times also). I don't think Strauss is any more comfortable than Ponting either, so a big score is around the corner for him also. He has feathered two down leg side so far and played a ball he should not of played. Collingwood looks awefully out of form also.

Michael Hussey has been an absolute champion as has Shane Watson during the series so far.

Englands lower order looks extremely fragile and something they need to think about a little more. No runs from Prior, Swan, Anderson & co and some cause for some concern.

Ian Bell had something to prove today. It was his 'day in the sun' today, however he got ' severe sunburnt' when put under pressure. Mr Bell you still have a bit to prove son.........

Again congratulations Australia. Let's keep the momentum going for Melbourne.........

Batting Yips are Back!

Another great performance by England's (and Australia's) bowlers let down by the batting, how many times have we said over the last few years. It does show how hard it is to win abroad, which does mean that our performance in the first two tests maybe didn't get the praise it deserved. In classic Australian conditions and with the Aussies finding the answer to their spin problems, ie dont bother, they bowled really well as a unit. If asked I suspect England would have taken 569/20 as Australia's total before the game and would have expected to get the runs needed. With two days to go the draw is now not an option, Australia will be expecting to win easily, probably by lunchtime tomorrow. The only positive glimmer for England is that Bell would probably be the batsman you'd want in at the moment. Arise Sir Ian, this is your moment to be a legend!

Looking ahead, Collingwood is looking like a walking wicket, but his fielding and support bowling will keep him in the team but surely Bell must go above him in the order? Hussey has gone from not being selected to being Man of the Series for Australia, it will be interesting to see who comes back in as a spinner for Australia and who gets dropped for the next test. On the bowling front Tremmlet has secured himself a berth for the rest of the series. As Swanny is struggling to get wickets maybe he can weigh in with some runs tomorrow.

congrats where they are due

Well, well, well.... typical Englanders getting ahead of themselves (myself included). Just when I think we can't undo the good work done, we do. How often I have spoken with others about the Australian ability to turn a match or a series in one session of cricket. I don't for a minute think this game is over (and I would take a draw as we stand) but Johnson (who looked like a farmer chucking potatoes 2 weeks ago) grasped his opportunities well and bowled like a diamond...It hurts, but this must be better for everyone - a good tight contest and a juicy bit of cricket over the next few weeks...a cracking response from Australia. Dead and buried my arse........

Normal service has been resumed...

As ever England are only ever 1 innings away from returning to their inconsistent selves, we used to have one of these 'bad day at the office' moments every couple of tests, we got it down to once a series in recent years. Against Australia this could be a fatal day in the series, needs some big hearts to get out of this one.

Ponting holing out to Collingwood again. Genius. Ponting should have been leaving the new ball for a few overs at least. His head is gone. One foot on the trap door.............

Cricket Heaven!

Well, it just gets better and better, 2 years ago England would have been 30/2 at the end of the day and making a game of it but being 0 down gives us the psychological edge going into day 2 on what looks like a batting paradise with boundaries going all round the ground.

I don't know about anyone else but I've never felt so bullish about tomorrow which is of course where it usually all goes wrong for England! I cant wait!

Clint McKay......I am pushing this boat once again

You may remember my Blog from a few weeks ago. Again Clint McKay bowled tight and got wickets against England.

Not sure what the selectors are thinking however a reminder call for them once again.

Victoria have won the last 2 of the last 3 Shefield Sheild sides however yet only 1 test player in the side (Peter Siddle). Clint Mckay should be added to the squad, as should C White (leadership qualities are tremendous). They should also look at David Hussey also.

Unless you play for NSW you do not seem to get a look into the Australia test side.......

Any comments........?

One Nil to the Engerland!

I dont think we've beat anyone that comprehensively since we played Bangladesh earlier in the year, incredible stuff. There were some amazing moments in the match but the intensity with which England played was by far the most outstanding element. If Pietersen had held the diving catch at Gully to get the final wicket he would have been carried off the pitch shoulder high, but as it was, every player weighed in to the victory which was richly deserved.

Australia are in such disarray that it makes you wonder if it's worth them making changes for the next game at all, they'll need to replace Katich but there is not a better player waiting in the wings to play at opener, lets face it if they had a decent opener they wouldn't be be playing Watson or Katich there in the first place.

No point changing the captain, might as well let Ricky take one for the team, he deserves a bit of retribution for having let Warney and McGrath win all those matches for him. You could blood a new batsman in place of North or Clarke but that's just arranging the deckchairs on the Titanic. The position of spinner seems to be up for grabs, they could not bother and just play their 4 best seamers.

It's a massive shame for Broad as I think he was gearing up for a match winning performance in one of the upcoming tests. The great thing for England is that their batting is firing so they dont need to pick a replacement on anything other their bowling which makes it an even contest for those in the frame. I like all three of the contenders; Bresnan was immense in Bangladesh last winter, Shahzad has tons of promise and Tremlett is physically imposing. I think we'll leave that one to the experts.

The only other change may be to put Bell up one at 5 which is probably his rightful place in the team considering the form he's in.

Congratulations England - Too good......

Only weather could have saved Australia......
Completely outplayed by England. Congratulations.
Time to move onto Perth. Australia are down and out. The fragility of their middle & lower order was shown again, the accuracy of the bowling. Australias fielding is not up to scratch either.

Expect Steve Smith to come in for Xavier Doherty to sure up the lower order ( and to lesser extent his bowling) and one of the batters (take your pick).

Time to move onto Perth.......

Stick em back in...

I know they won't do it but wouldn't it be great if Strauss declared now. Ian Bell looks in great nick and the whole batting order looks to be enjoying themselves but as Jim said below we have got to push for a win here and that needs time in the middle for our bowlers. If the pitch is deteriorating and there is a chance of rain then we have get started and take some wickets.

Just a quick note on the sessions won and lost, I'm scoring this as England winning every session so far, which is some kind of achievement in my book. The only debatable one is the first session of the first day which ended 90/3 which should make it exactly a half but by the nature of the way the wickets fell and considering who they were I'm still giving it to England, it was a brilliant start.

Weather report....

Hey. Attached is a link of the weather report for Adelaide. I think England will need to go for it this morning and then declare as it does not look too good.

http://www.weather.com/outlook/travel/businesstraveler/tenday/ASXX0001?site=www.espncricinfo.com&cm_ite=wx-10Day&par=cricinfo&cm_pla=citypg&cm_cat=scores&cm_ven=cricinfo&promo=0

When I arrived in Melbourne last week I shocked to see everything so green and the rain continues to poor across the country. It is quite bizarre weather for this time of year.

Australia I thought bowled much better yesterday than the first test however they were outclassed completely in the end. We seem to want to run Trott into form also as we have now dropped him 4 times in two test matches. All in all I am happy with the pace attack however Doherty struggled a bit yesterday.

So there continues to be many chances for Australian domestic players to come in including:

• Copeland (young fast bowler)
• C White (should be in the side anyway since is a natural leader)
• Uzeman
• P Hughes
• S Marsh
• Hauritz (bowling well again)

If Australia get out of this test then they are very bloody lucky...........

I hear that they are praying for rain in Adelaide. That used to be us.......

'nowt won yet though.

Wake Up Call

There are many wonderful ways to wake up in the morning: a gentle kiss from your other half; the sound of sizzling bacon drifting up from the kitchen; the fresh smell of the ocean and a shaft of summer sunshine breaking through the curtains.

We can now add to these hearing the news of Ponting going for a golden duck and the Aussies being well on their way out for 245!

Marvelous!

Then to add a cherry to the top of this fairy cake, or some extra gravy to the meat pie if you like, this morning's news of a steady English performance with the bat!

Marvelous, marvelous!

Strauss falling for the third ball is an annoying lump of gristle in the gravy smothered meat pie... but I'll choose to ignore it on this occasion.

"Good morning Mr Ponting, this is the wake up call you requested."

I wonder if Ricky has any plans after January? Roll on day 3!

Pinch me...

Is this really happening? Not only did we bat superbly in the last test but we've now just put on one of the best fielding and bowling displays of recent memory. Just excellent from England, that's all there is to it.

As I thought Australia definitely need something in the batting department, if they make a change there for the next test then England would have forced them to change their team in consecutive matches (excluding changes for injuries) which must be a first. Everyone got wickets and with 2 run outs Ricky Ponting must be sweating.

I heard Hussey speaking afterwards and it was similar to Watson after day 4 in Brisbane, he was saying all the right stuff, being positive and talking the team up but even he just didn't seem convinced. Day 2 will decide the destination of the Ashes, if England follow that display with some good batting then it's all over for the series. If they falter then it's all back on!

Good recovery from Australia........

OK. There is a bit in the pitch from what I could see however nice recovery from Australia to end up close to 3/100. Watson is particular looked very strong which is a good sign.

In terms of the bowlers:

• Jimmy Anderson - absolutely sensational bowling again. Good movement to get both Ponting & Clarke this morning.
• Stuart Broad - started well in troubling the batsmen, however then again bowled too short. He needs to sort his shit out on line & length
• Graeme Swan - bowled OK however does not yet to be troubling Australia too much.
• Steven Finn - bowled poorly and too short and was hit all over the place.

I still maintain England are a bowler short. If you compare Australia's top 5 to Englands top 5 bowlers then see below as the 5th bowler even things up somewhat.

Head to head - Bowling Attack
Anderson v Bollinger - Anderson (just)
Siddle v Broad - Siddle (generally I would say Broad though)
Swan v Doherty - Swan
Finn v Harris - Not sure yet (I expect Harris to be good though)
Collingwood v Watson - Watson

So in summary that is 2 1/2 each, however you would expect the 5th bowlers not to bowl as much. So England maybe shade them....just.

Australia 3/11

All I can say is what a disaster........

Time to overhaul the batting attack now.

There is a bit in the pitch though. Jimmy Anderson deserves his good bowling.

Cheers,
Luke