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By Will 5 years ago, at the end of August Add your comment below
Posting this in advance of tomorrow’s fun-filled day as I need a lie-in tomorrow morning. McGrath appears to be ok to play – but even if he does, he won’t be 100% fit. Will this impact on his game? Will Tait kill England’s top order, or succumb to the pressure? Will Flintoff dismiss Gilchrist, yet again, cheaply? All this and more! God, I sound like a bloody commercial advert.
Comment away chaps.
Tags: australia, england, test-cricket, the-ashes, trent-bridge |
A lie-in ?? God bless ya , Will. Been on the sick for 10 days and have to go to work tomorrow on my birthday, Boo hoo.
Tait represents a certain danger, but ho ho we will see. Is this once again much ado about nothing? The mind games in this Ashes series are seriously doing my head in. God only knows how Vaughan copes.
Simply cannot wait for that first ball to be bowled … and God help my boss if he calls me into a meeting …
will do my best to stay with you all tomorrow. Bye!
If Mcgrath is fit enough he plays, if not he doesn´t. I don´t understand the advantage of pratting about (mind games). Mcgrath plays and people think he´s only half fit = advantage England, Mcgrath doesn´t play people think his replacement it not as good = advantage England. What type of pycological edge is this, it´s a medical decision.
It has been dubed the most important test in 20 years (Well i think it was 20) And i do rember reading someones article that simply said “Anything could happen”
I really do hope that McGrath plays, the attack would realyy be pushing it without the old warhorse. I really can’t wait for the start off play, it promissis to be an abosoulute belta of a game.
Happy B’Day Wraye 
Have fun at work 
I wonder if Ponting will ever give put Lee and Tait on at the same time. That will be fun to watch…whether they are being mauled or they are breaking a few heads and noses. Just a little sad to see Dizzy go and it looks like for good. We now have four bowlers in this match capable of touching 95mph and if the curator’s remarks (much to Warnie’s irritation) are anything to go by, then this will be an opening day to watch…whoever wins the toss.
Lee and Tait in tandem, lookout! bat well against these two and you will hear Australia deflate, allow them to bully, or get drawn too far into the machismo and England will post a low total. I can’t wait.
Yup its exciting as hell innit? I havent seen Tait, and he sure seems to be tearaway and a bit fear-inducing, but I somehow don’t expect this England lineup to fear him. If he’s anything like Lee was a few years ago (quick but wayward), he might just be in for a bit of stick. Either way- good stuff.
(this series is rocking around the world, by the way- will try and look for the link)
I agree, scary on it’s own won’t take wickets in Test Cricket, but scary and straight just might, there is lots of pressure on Tait and the selectors must have been desperate to blood him in a game such as this.
Tait or not, if Ponting wins the toss again and puts Eng in I think Warne will surely kill him
Copied and pasted from Cricinfo
“Rain is likely to disrupt the final matches of the Ashes series, according to a report in the London-based Times. A prominent meteorologist warned a correspondent from the paper that Trent Bridge could experience heavy autumn showers today, and seasonal storms could influence the last Test too.
Wayne Elliott, who observes weather for the Meteorological Office and follows cricket, said, “we have had three pretty good Test matches. However, this series may well be affected by how late the games are in the summer. With the Oval Test not starting until September 8, that match could be affected by some Atlantic storms, which we can get in the autumn.”
Elliott applied his skills with cricketing knowledge to come up with some advice: “The amount of moisture will influence the amount of spin and swing and there will be varying amounts of humidity over the five days. Today, the sharpness of showers could be a factor. The outfield may become quite wet. If England were to win the toss, I would recommend they put Australia in.”
My feeling is that Tait’s inclusion is more a sign of desperation and lack of confidence in Dizzy and Kaspo than a tactical decision based on his form. I don’t think his bowling has made it impossible for the selectors to ignore him (as in the case of KP).
Some might say this is traditionally how the English selection process has been conducted. Nice to sse the boot’s on the foot at last!
Guaranteed he’ll take 10 wickets now I’ve said that…
what do we want ? England to bat or bowl first ? I read somewhere that since the arrival of the new stands at Trent Bridge the likelihood of decent swing has been accentuated. That implies that this is not a weather conditions-dependent phenomenon, rather something that will be in the offing regardless of the weather. If Vaughan wins the toss, I would like to see him take the game once again to Australia by electing to bat first.
he was alway going to get a go for Australia one day, he’s a good young bowler, and seeing as Dizzy has been poor then it makes sense he’s playing. There’s no major desperation i can see, just the bowler most likely to the most damage chosen. Although, i do admit that the Australian’s weren’t hoping that they’d have to have him this series.
Now they’ve announced that McGrath’s out. Things really aren’t going Australia’s way right now..
Good evening people!
I’m really excited!!! only half hour to go. Our coverage is just starting now.
This test has been dubed the most important match in 20 years (atleast i think its was 20)
well if thats the case then its the most important test of my life
Comon Aussie Comon
Oh yeah and happy B’day Wraye!! Have fun at work
theyve lost the toss. england bats. hmmm. it should swing but lets see. no mcgrath you see…..
whoa
Good evening people!!
Thats not a good start to this very important test!!!
Oh yeah and Happy B’day Wraye!!! Have fun at work
Losing McGrath is a real blow. No one to put the clamps on now.
Good evening fellas!
Mcgrath plays Aussie win
Mcgrath doesn´t play Aussie lose
Mcgrath half injuried draw
and its good of Vaughan to bat first. Atleast he didn’t return Ponting’s favour !
I don’t like your theroy chris 
I´m nervous and tense already
They are down in the dust now. It can’t get worse for them. Beefy says ‘Always kick an Aussie when he’s down’…and i say ‘Kick as Aussie even when he’s dead’
Why give Kasper the new ball? Oh please… let the kid loose!
Why not open with Tait? Shows more intent!
Good morning everyone. Reasonable toss for England to win – and no McGrath, which is very disappointing for the neutrals among us. Shame Tait didn’t get the new-ball, but his nerves must be sky-high: mine certainly are…
australia new ball bowlers seems more diciplined than they were at edbaston & old trafford, but its a question of how long they are going to keep the pressure?.
Lee is bowling like a stock bowler.
I’m off to work. Talk to you all later
Morning everyone (morning Richie) – I agree with everyone – chuck the kid the ball. Don’t like all these no balls from Kasper
Ahh – here he is
Here are some interesting stats; England have never lost to Australia after scoring more then 200 in first innings of a match at Trent bridge. And the only time a team has lost after scoring 400 in the first innings was England against South Africa in 1951 when they made 419/5dec.
I recon anywhere between 400 and 450 is a winning score. Ok, 420 so the Aussies know they have history against then if they want to beat England
Nothing like a wild fast bowler to get the runs flowing.
Surprised that the Aussies are still sticking to 4 bowlers only. Someone need to remind them that they need 20 wickets to win and without pigeon, its near impossible unless Tait has a dream start.
We have a fat leg-spinner though.
But hell, I’d fancy myself for at least 40 on this featherbed. Lots of hard work ahead.
ok. I thought he would be much faster and look more menacing. (i know, early days)
(and I expected this ripping bowling action and all…..)
Scott, not if you are an Aussie facing the English Attack.
I am surprised that the Aussies are not getting any swing on this ground. Maybe they have been concentrating on ‘reverse swing’
The Aussies are sticking to what has worked so well for them over the years, they don´t seem to have realised or have been unable to do anything about the changing circumstances of this series. This is exactly why they continue to struggle.
whats with the friggin no balls??? 12 in just over an hour!
I agree Akr, I know it’s a slow wicket but I was expecting something a bit nippier.
Australia really have to sort these no-balls out. 13 already this morning!
chris, I agree. Aus seem to be backing their ‘plan A’ too much. Also backing their performers a bit too much in troubled times. Its like the Ind series. It took them two series to figure out how to do things differently.
And i know it’s not that important, but what a horrible, horrible action Tait has.
the umpires better be warming up their right arms before the australians bowl, otherwise they’ll join Glenn with an injury. How annoying are these no-balls???
Wonder how long before the Aussies decide to start opening their attack with Warne? It used to happen in India back in the 70’s you know…
both Batsmen batting at a runrate of around 3, but the overall runrate is 4.3!
Basics…
That’s the way, Shane hit for 6 in his first over!
Second over, my mistake
The batting is good but the bowling is a shambles
You’d hate to go out like that wouldn’t you!
Well that was lucky…
Warne produces miracles
Warne sounds almost desperate in his geeing up of the team. If England fill their boots here I think even he may be on the verge of mental disintegration.
No, Strauss got himself out.
U just knew that was going to happen! so pissed off.
Well that about sums up the morning…
How hard can it be to get your run-up right??
and Lee does it again, bowling Tresco with a no ball! Then the next one smacked for 4!
and Lee does it again, bowling Tresco with a no ball! Then the next one smacked for 4! Great cricket.
The Aussies frankly don´t deserve any luck
Hoggard had that problem and Troy Cooley had measured his run up out incorrectly. Has the same happened with Aus this mornmng?
oops. Sorry. Don’t know how that double whammy happened.
I love it! Does anyone remember the Barmy Army signalling no-balls in unison to Brett Lee at Sydney in 02/03?
I guess pretty hard if you are an Aussie…
sean if it was that simple surely they would take the time to measure it again? or even just grab the bloody thing and take it back a few inches. whats the big deal with getting so close to the line anway?
Dunno Harry – I was annoyed at the number of no balls England were bowling but this morning is ridiculous. It’s pathetic; you plan meticulously and then can’t even run up properly.
Australia are beating themselves at the moment. On this pitch England should be looking for 600.
Of course the rate at which they are scoring, there is every likelihood of losing quick wickets as well. Are England smart enough to realise that a quickfire 400 (like in Edgbaston) at 5 an over is not as good as a slightly slower 550 at say 3.5 an over?
I remember in 1989 Geoff Marsh and Mark Taylor batted thru for 300 odd; obviously England aren’t going to do that but the pitch seems pretty toothless, and I agree, 600 would be lovely.
How precious are these guys that need a run up measured for them? In my day, you counted your steps. How stupid must these guys be that if they bowl a couple of no balls – TAKE A STEP BACK. This is unacceptable. They are paid big money, and a lot of money is invested in cricket in Australia and supposedly the best bowlers in the country, can’t run up and put their foot down, behind a line. One session in, and England’s dominance has increased from the last Test already. Ricky Ponting is not saying enough. Thank God for Shane Warne!
Well said Sean! “They can’t run up properly” There is all this talk about actions, and how to reverse swing and what’s going to happen next, and these guys can’t run in and land there foot behind a line on the ground. (Can you tell I’m a little annoyed.)
2 for 120 on this track at lunch could almost be even, now huge advantage England.
A little annoyed – I’d be bloody livid if the roles were reversed.
I’m with you, Stu. That was pathetic. Can it get any worse for the Australians??!
Ok, don’t answer that ….
The Aussie(except Warne as always) have been rubbish this morning. No penetration, basic mistakes and looking lost. What´s going on?
I can only say that I hope it does get worse for the Aussies. I remember being at Edgbaston in 1985 when England last won a home Ashes series, and I was 9 years old. We are desperate for those Ashes and more importantly, for a change, the England team look desperate for them too. I have absolutely no sympathy after the years of torment we’ve had to endure.
Rain?
OK – I’m seriously annoyed – I want some answers..
Rain has saved you Darryl
Looking to start at 1300gmt (2pm BST) provided no further rain.
Has the rain stopped??…What’s going on at Trent Bridge?
If you have realplayer you can listen to the excellent Test Match Special coverage by connecting to this stream. According to them the rain is back again.
Dunno about Trent Bridge but just outside Canterbury we’ve got hailstones. Expect a restart about 1315 GMT (2.15pm local time)
Looks fine out there now. Probably be another delay later in the day, but weather looks like it’ll improve throughout the Test. Who needs five days Test cricket these days anyway?
I hope all these new cricket fans are enjoying this fundermental part of the game, f…ing rain!
Will, if you’re out there, can you please go across and ask someone why the hell do they need to schedule a tea-break after just 30 mins of play ? I mean, can’t we do with an early tea, and have just a regular drinks interval then ?
I’ve got tickets for Monday, so a bit of rain is very welcome at this stage!
Blimey, Matt, how much did that cost you?
Hedre come the teams, btw.
Here we go – Tait has the ball swinging
And Kasper is still bowling no balls
Hello all. My boss is stuck in Russia and is there any audio feed of the game. He tried the BBC Radio, but couldnt access it.
£10 a ticket
When I’m in power, I’m going to ban rain during Test matches.
Rally against the Will dictatorship!
When are we going to have sliding roofs at Cricket grounds, they really would revolutionise the game.
Well we got one in Aus chris. I doubt some of the Sub continent grounds being able to afford them though.
I say we introduce Bill Gates to the game, hope be begins to love it and shouts us all a roof!
Harry, give us more details about this roof in Oz. Where, how much cash and does it effect the game i.e. the way the ball swings, the way the grass grows etc
Bugger – well bowled Tait
Well chris i don’t know much about the affect it has on the swing or how much it costs or what have you, but they have only ever played O.D.Iz there and the ground is mostly just used for Aussie rules football. It is called the telstra dome if u wanted to look it up
I was there only a few weeks ago for the geelong st kilda match, the roof was closed and it provides a really good atmosphere…
My sentiments exactly, Sean.
That was a cracking delivery. What a first Test wicket. Bloody rain!
http://www.austadiums.com/stadiums/stadiums.php?id=120 there is a link for it with pics of the roof closed and opened. But seriously i think one day all cricket grounds should have a roof, it is just so frustrating with rain delays.
Important passage of play here. Wicket has juiced up and Tait’s got his tail up. Bell and Vaughan need to dig in for a while, but they should put away the plentiful bad balls for four (hopefully!)
See comment number 98
Arrrgh! Bell’s gone. 146-3 looks a bit ominous for England.
Tait! Who needs McGrath? At least you English can’t say this bloke is too old!
I like the fact that he’s workedf the wicket out and adjusted his length accordingly. Let’s see Lee do the same. Well, not fron an England point of view.
This is a very typical position for a number 5 lets see what Pietersen can do in a “normal” position.
Did you check out the ground chris? What you think of it?
damn i missed tait’s wickets….aarrgh.
I like this Tait bloke..looks as though he could be even quicker, too…
I was at Telstra Dome for the 3 ODI’s that Australia played against South Africa in August 2000. Too cold at that time of year for cricket but the indoor roof is all good.
The MCG remains a far better place for cricket in Melbourne though.
Still, I wonder that the ECB have never used the Millenium stadium. Is it not big enough?
Yes indeed, Will – Tate looks the business to me.
The Millenium Stadium isn’t a cricket ground and was never designed with cricket in mind. Over here cricket grounds are totally separate from other sports.
The Super series ODIs are at The Telstra Dome, right?
I think so, if my memory serves me correctly.
Telstra Dome looks like a fine stadium but what would it be like playing test cricket under the closed roof?
better than no cricket at all, and you can have the roof open if its fine weather…only problem is it takes bout 30 mins to close so you would need to be looking at the forcast.
Oh for fucks sake now Kasper has dropped a sharp chance. On top of all the no balls my urge to start a ‘Death to Kasper’ campaign is growing.
It´s got to be the future. Imagine cricket without rain.
him and gillespie. CA must be thinking hard and warily about the future- no, scott?
and now hayden’s dropped that. easy by his standards. off kasper, too
Hayden gets in on the act! Let’s hope Vaughan goes on to get his first double-century.
More basic errors from the Aussies, it´s like watching Zimbabwe.
no mate. yo have to watch zim to know what they’re like…!
double ton matt? trifle early, dont you think….?
well, last time he was dropped (and bowled off a no-ball) he put on another hundred or so, didn’t he?
Guys, you think the Selectors of the Super-series will have a re-think and get Vaughan in the Test squad ahead of Tendulkar.
A big Tendulkar fan myself and would love to see him play but he has been out of action for 4-5 months and Vaughan’s not doing too badly against the Aussies…
ah wel. if that bodes well…:)
just thought you might be putting the spook on him (the mozz, right?)
well saurabh i’d say vaughan has been extremely lucky with the good scores he’s had, and hasn’t looked really really good. He’s doing ok right now but he was dropped…and he was bowled off a no ball, if the aussies were on their game he wouldnt have had a good innings yet…ya would have to be stupid not to have tendulkar simply because it’s tendulkar. World Wide fans will want him there, it will add even more interest.
like I said, Tendulkar hasn’t played for a while. That’s the only concern I have about him…
i know what you mean, and i’d think about it as well, but it is tendulkar. Question, is gilchrist allowed to catch the ball in 1 of his ears?
Hello again everyone. Now i’m refreshed after a little cat nap. I dozed off durring one of the rain breaks. Missed Taits wickets
I actully have tickets to two of the Super Series ODI’s in october!!! And i was at a couple of the South Africa games a few years ago. There was one where you could hear the rain on the roof outside and the play went on uniterupted I think the only speical rule made was, it was six if you could hit the roof
I think I’ve worked out why Ponting has the nickname Puinter – bringing himself on is some punt. Not a bad call in these conditions though.
I´d get Vaughn in as Captain and opener and drop Smith
He used to be in T.V adds for a betting place. Like for horeses didn’t he??
He’s a big fan of the grey hounds, that’s where it originally came from. Owns a couple himself i’ve heard
still likes the horses though, it’s why him and mark waugh are such good mates
So whats the go. They are playing extra overs tonight i am guessing???
’til 6.30pm BST and possibly til 7pm
Any reason why Warne is not bowling?
honestly ponts time for the double change, bring on Warne and Tait. at least take yourself off
Just saw on the telly that Vaughan has only been out once between 70 and 99, with 14 hundreds. And to add to the Vaughan debate, it’s very rare that someone gets a chanceless hundred, but you have to capitalise on the chances you’re given.
Have you guys in Oz not got jobs to go to? How many of you have been up all night!
The kiss of death. Can you believe it!
its a funny old game matt…
Looks like the Aussies bowling woes are over
aw matt. there you go.
So that’s why he’s called punter!
anyway, which of you chaps has been up all night Down Under? I’ve had this on all day whilst working.
Saurahb – I think Warne’s not bowling because the ball is quite wet – makes it very hard for any spinner to grip.
Well i have to go to school tomorrow. So thats not as important as the cricket…..is it?
no it is NOT, elliott!
It must have dried out a bit – here he is
Here comes the rain………..
I’ve also been watching all day (all summer…)despite being at work. I’ve got the streaming via Willow.tv. Every time my boss comes past I have to quickly switch to something looking like work.
Taxes are so high here in Sweden I consider the 15 or so days I’ve done bugger all this summer as compensation.
Bad light is good news for us for once. Every time a team goes off for bad light now, it reminds me of Durban last winter.
I’d have thought that’s the lot for the day, wouldn’t you Will?
Looks like a pretty even day 229 for 4. Could be fun watching these two big boys bat tomorrow morning.
pretty even, yes. i’d say a session each.
have a feeling the rain’s gonna spoil this some more……:(
According to the weather forecast it should get warmer as the game goes on, but the cloud cover will stay – no rain forecast. Roll on Monday (well, roll it on if England aren’t going to lose, anyway) – can’t wait to get up to Trent Bridge, it’s a fantastic ground!
Well good night everyone!
Looking forward to a rainless day tomorrow.
and that’s it for today then. But at least if the weather holds out, we’ll get an extra 30 minutes tomorrow.
Was murder in the office today so had a real hard time trying to listen to the commentary and no chance to chat with you guys. Thought Tait my be a danger (right in there at post Nr1) but the way the Aussies are playing right now, it’s anyone’s guess. Well done to Tait tho for a job well done, dammit. Still if Oz really had bowled better and held onto those catches, England would have been much worse off than they are now.
Pray it stays dry tomorrow.
Really sorry I haven’t been around much – will try and tune in more tomorrow. A good day for both sides, I think. England shade it, purely in terms of having runs on the board, as Benaud pointed out. But one quick wicket in the morning, and Australia could knock England over quickly. Equally, 3 hours of Fred and KP and it’s goodnight Australia. See you tomorrow.
[...] As for the 18 no balls sent down in that first session … crazy. Really, really bad cricket. Stu is pretty annoyed about it, and so am I. Brett Lee took yet another wicket with one of them (Trescothick played one on to his stumps). How many runs will it cost Lee this time??? [...]
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