I was listening to the BBC commentary and couldnt tear myself away. Havent listened to commentary since the 80’s. This was sensational stuff!!!

Another great, unecessarily close, test match. Real on the edge of the seat stuff, but with around 4 million people watching on channel 4 and numerous more going to the ‘Cricket in the park’ event and listening to the BBC commentary you could argue that the real winner today was cricket, could it possibly overtake football as the main sport in the UK?!

was scoring a Cup semi-final in Germany with the radio on next to me. The weirdest feeling! All the other players not neede on the field gathered around the scoreboard/scorers table to follow both matches at the same time. My team Bonn lost to Dortmund, but we hung around the car park and the captain gave us all a stiff drink - much needed - as we listened to those last runs and wickets. We simply just could not go home til the game was over!

These Tests have been so gripping and reflect the best in the game - though perhaps Ponting calling us English f** cheats reflects the pressure. We forgive him. All the nations of the world will be watching the Oval. Oh God, only have 10 days to grow back some fingernails!

Poor show by Aggers comparing Warney to a torturer… he’s simply the greatest spin bowler the game has ever seen ((i) erects barrage to deflect subcontinental missiles

4th Test - Day Four

Katich and Clarke played it slow and steady this morning, but Clarke has just been dismissed by a gentle swinging ball from Hoggard. Australia will go to lunch at 270 for 5 (a lead of 11 runs), and they’ll need

the monday after the night before, a lot of harping in Australia about bad decisions etc, although no real quibble with the result.
The follow on? surely never again? England gave Warne and co a sniff, all power to them for snuffing out the sniff! Calm heads Trescothick, Hoggard, Flintoff, Giles got England home, Vaughn’s stoic leadership doesn’t always transfer to the crease.
Lee was a true Boys own hero, and Warne was mesmeric although i think he clammed up at the death.
On the umpiring,technology is crucifying these guys, sure Alim Daar did have a poor game, but Buckner was good! Australia have been beneficiaries of umpiring judgement’s all through their ascendancy, no complaints were heard,all dominant teams get the rub! Ponting and Katich deserved to be fined, and Lee may have been lucky for his unacceptable LBW appeal carry on over Hoggard.
And we move on… what chance Collingwood will replace the injured Jones, or will the towering Tremlett be given the nod,it’s valour ‘v’caution. Who would replace a doubtful Mcgrath? Magill? Watson? i think they will persevere with the top six but will have to tinker with bowling balance.
And predictions, probably more of the same, although who could possibly gauge the physical and psychological toll this series is having on individual and team alike. For what it is worth I predict the Oval will be a Captains Test!!!!!!!!!!!

greates spinner. innocnet, and you expect missiles from the subcontinent? If only that were possible. he is the greatest friggin spinner, and if there were better, I am sorry to have been born at a different time, for he is special in my eyes.

congrats, then all ye Englishmen! I could not bring myself to move to the computer and comment last night- though I really though GJones had LOST it!
This is beyond mots’s wildest dreams, no? The Oval. Whatever it is, its gonna one hck of an emotional ride.

Pretty mean spirited Craig. The greatest series ever,i certainly can’t make that judgement, the pressure has been on since ball one and that would explain dropped catches, bad captaincy and umpiring misjudgement.
Too little credit is being given to the poms, they are a brave cricket team whose star is definitely rising.

As Bing says “youv’e got to accentuate the positive,……..don’t mess with Mr in-between”

That’s Crosby not Lee.

I agree that the English bowling has been very good. Watching Flintoff toying with some of our batsman has been something to watch.

Some of the stuff that Kaspa, Tait and Lee dished up in the first innings was pretty ordinary stuff. I bet the selectors are wishing they had picked Bracken with all this swing bowling getting wickets at the moment (that was hard for me to say, because I am a Queenslander!!).

But the fielding has been rubbish from both sides. I was always taught as a kid that the keepers lead the way in the field and they definitely are showing the way in this series!! Makes Ian Healy’s work seem outstanding now (that’s better from a Queenslander!!).

Craig: What has made this series so great has been the fact that the pressure on both teams has meant that mistakes (and moments of brilliance) have swung the impetus back and forth more times than I can remember.

I don’t really see how you can say it hasn’t been great cricket. Would you really rather the top 5 in each team never scored below 50, that the bowlers never bowled a no-ball and where not one catch was dropped? 5 draws at the end of the series? I personally believe that the humanisation of this series has been what’s made it great.

The umpiring? Well, when are decisions not disputed. I don’t think it’s been any worse than most series. The captaining? Yes, both captain’s have made mistakes but I also think that there has been some very inventive leadership. Vaughan’s creativity and flexibility has been great to see, and is certainly the best captain England has had since Brearley.

You have 2 teams desperate to win. The Aussies who can’t bear the thought of losing the Ashes and a series which may signal a new era. And England, a young team, who are fighting with everything they have to finally beat a side seen as unbeatable.

If this is poor cricket then I hope it continues!

Well of course I’m biassed, but I’d like the critics of Vaughan’s captaincy to provide instances. (Can’t remember the C4 team dumping on him too much - was going to say even Boycott till I remembered they’re both Tykes, even if Vaughan is from Sheffield :))

As to England’s team for the Oval - do you know I’d forgotten all about Paul Collingwood - the obvious pick given we’re 2-1 up with one to play.

I am talking about the standard of fielding in this series - it has been atrocious. The catching has been terrible starting with both wicket keepers (on the whole that is, Strauss’s catch not withstanding). The ground fielding apart from Clarke and Pietersen has been bumbling. Just take a look at the throws from the outfield, way over the top or bouncing just in front of the keeper. You would give kids a gobful for some of the stuff I have seen.

The captaincy from both teams has been dithering and defensive - someone hits a four so both of them put fielders out on the boundary straight away. Lee was batting in the first innings, England are ahead by 260 and Vaughan puts everyone on the boundary. And the less said about Pontings field setting for Flintoff when he had every man on the boundary the better.

England’s bowlers have been very very good, and more power to them. Add Warney in to the mix and they have been the quality that I expect of the two top teams. But the batting from both sides hasn’t been up to scratch - no team would get over 200 an innings if they could catch!!

And for Rod to say that England’s batting is significantly better is to completely disregard the last 3 years of test cricket!!!

You can’t say that the bowling has been great but the batting not up to par - that is what good bowling does to batsmen, almost by definition! If everyone was racking up centuries, you would be saying the bowling was below par.

And for Rod to say that England’s batting is significantly better is to completely disregard the last 3 years of test cricket!!!

Sorry, Craig. I’m not talking about the last three years. I’m talking about the batting in this series! (well, perhaps the last twelve months)

Australia are a long way behind on any current objective measure and falling further behind every match. In the current series the English hold the two top places in the batting averages, and three out of the top 5.

Talking about the “last three years” is like talking about the end of the period when the great West Indies teams gave way to the Australians. Yes, on paper at that time those marvellous WI teams retrospectively came out in front, but we all knew there was a changing of the guard going on. The same applies now. England are clearly emerging as the new dominant nation in world cricket.

Australia will now go through the painful regrouping process that happened for WI, helped a bit, no doubt, by the fact that we are far richer and far more populous than WI. The immediate challengers to England, though, will almost certainly come from the India / Pakistan sub continent, rather than Australia.

It will take quite some time before my living place, Australia, recognises that its smugness hinders, rather than helps, its cricketing cause! Over the last twelve months I have heard Aussie after Aussie saying that they actually hope that Australia LOSES this series because they are fed up with the petty nonsense from our cricketing “heroes” ! When even Australians are responding like this it is surely time that those involved take a good hard look at themselves! Until they do, I suspect they will continue to move backwards rather than forwards.

If Ponting’s latest silliness is anything to go by I might actually being overly generous to Australain cricket! His outbursts certainly don’t sound like the stuff you expect from someone who knows there is a problem and is serious about coming to grips with it!

Cheers

Rod

England should choose 9 batsman (including Collingwood) and have S. Jones (if fit), Flintoff, Giles and Collingwood doing the bowling! Thatd be a draw in the making!

Certainly the greatest series by far during my lifetime (all 28 years of it). The Ind-Aus 2001 was exciting, but I for one prefer this series to the Ind-NZL-Zim tri-series anyday.
When does England play India next?