Here Today... Gone To Hell!

So The Ashes are about to start all over again, England will be looking to defend the little urn for the first time in 17 years!   ;D

The series will be played over 5 tests starting on Thursday 0:00 GMT in Brisbane and ending on the 30th January in Melbourne, should be awesome. 

England will have a tough job defending them successfully, Australia look an awesome side still, despite most of the side being near to collecting their pensions  :hihi:   And England having lost their most experienced player in Marcus Trescothick, who returned home last week suffering from a stress related illness.

Having said that we've done OK in the warm up games, bowlers are taking wickets and the batsmen have had time in the middle, and this has to be the best side we've sent Down Under for a good 15 years!

The England side is looking like been:

Strauss
Cook
Bell
Pieterson
Collingwood
Flintoff (c)
Jones (wk)
Hoggard
Harmison
Anderson
Panesar

Although Giles may play instead of Panesar and bat 8 to lengthen the tail, although I pray he doesn't as Monty is so much better as a bowler than Giles. The other selection question for England is who would keep wicket, which they answered last week when they confirmed Jones would be wearing the gloves. I'd prefer Read, he is a far superior gloveman and proved his batting has improved in the summer making a 50 against Pakistan!

I'm looking forward to this immensely, be doing an all nighter on Wednesday, anyone else gunna watch?

Hell yeah! Love The Ashes. Especially when they are Down Under cus i can watch more and its summat to watch when i finish work!

Come on England!

What do you predict then? We gunna retain?

http://ashes.fantasy-manager.co.uk/default.aspx

Ashes fantasy manger, can win some awesome prizes if anyone is interested

I think we'll lose but i think it will be close.

I can see a 2-1 or 3-2

I'm English but I think we are going to get thoroughly beaten this time. Hope I'm wrong.

We're getting absoloutley battered, I think we have to forget this test and just concentrate on the next one, there's no way back in this test  :no:

Go Ponting!!!
The Poms got an absolute thrashin today.
Mcgrath Is the best bowler ever. 6 for 50 something i think. What a champ!!!


 :peace:

I'm English but i want Australia to win.   I couldn't stand the cricket-mania and communal back slapping after we won the ashes. :rant:

Why?

It's the only way he/she will feel like a winner.

No, its just a game.   They blow it out of proportion.  :yes:

Yeah it is just a game but its like the biggest game of the season. even tho the Aussies are playin great them poms dont seem to be giving it all theyve got. even the pre ashes games against South Australia and the Priministers XI England didnt play to their usual standard.


 :peace:

Duncan Fletcher is having a fuckin laugh, he isn't picking Panesar for the 2nd test, that is a fucking disgrace as far as iI'm concerned. How can he constantly pick Ashley fucking Giles, he averages over 40 with the ball FFS. If you want someone to contribute with the bat why not pick Joyce who is a proper batsmen and use Pieterson as a 2nd spinner if needed. The Adelaide pitch will take spin so the fat Zimbabwean fuck leaves out the best fucking spinner Eng have produced in 30 years so his fat fuckin mate Giles can play. I'm fucking angry right now

Fletcher should not be allowed to make selections on tour, why is it still not the job of the selection panel.  :rant:

Totally agreed mate, if they want someone in for runs, PICK ANOTHER FUCKING BATSMEN!!!!

I spoke way to soon. Poms are kickin major arse in the second test.
Test em for steroids  :hihi:


 :peace:

I assume you mean England are doing well? Thats a racist slur tbh and if i was saying: ''England are battering the Paki's'' last summer people would have some thing to say about it. And aren't Aussies the POMs as they#'re the prisoners?

Are you one of those sooks? No one has ever complained about the word POM before. And what is wrong with Paki? Its just shorter. Like Aussie is short for Australian and Jap is short for japanese. I cant see any of that as racist.


 :peace:

... And Chinky is short for China man.

Looks like we kicked em back in our 1st dig ...  ;D ;D
A draw seems inevitable ...
No way you pommis bastards are pulling it off again!  :P
Australia for the win!

Too Right. How bout Gilly nearly killin that bloke. LOL.


 :peace:

How is Giles still ion the team? Fletcher wants his head sorting

Love Paul Collingwood, only player to come out of the 2nd innings with any pride, that blokes got similar mental toughness to most of the Aussie side, more than can be said for the likes of Flintoff, who isn't impressing me this series

Once again I spoke to soon. Who would think that after scoring nearly 600 runs in the first innings that the pommies would die in the arse like they did. Hows Warnies effort, what a champ.


 :peace:

Seriously we are so bad at times it hurt. we lost 9 wickets for 60ish runs.

I honestly reckon a local cricket team could get close to that on that wicket.

With the exception of Collingwood and Bell the rest don't seem to play with disipline. its great when it works but when it doesn't we are there for the taking.

its a shame coz there is no way back now IMO

Unbelievable collapse, it looked so promising after the first innings batting as well.  :no:

Am I right in thinknig that you pick batsmen to score runs and bowlers to take wickets?

What do you call an English cricketer with a hundred runs to his name?

A bowler

 ;D ;D

and no wickets

Another good day for England, we need to make sure we keep up the pressure tmora with atleast 350 on the board, if not 400.

Monty, legend...5-92

shame he couldn't play in the 1st 2 tests

From bbc's online commentary at the start of his innings.  :hihi:

"My goodness me. Adam Gilchrist appears hopelessly out of touch,"

At the start of the innings he was, but he hit his way back into form

Guess I wasn't.  :no: