2010/11 Ashes Series

[Guest howyousawtheworld]

Battered, humiliated....

 

Don't think England should feel sorry for Australia. They never felt sorry for England - they laughed...and now the Barmy Army are laughing!

[mc_squared]

:vuvuzela:

[mc_squared]

:vuvuzela:

[busybeeburns]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/england/9325297.stm

 

 

 

 

[deaths_friend]

this is tragic. the dark ages of australian cricket have returned after nearly a quarter century of domination.

[mc_squared]

this is tragic. the dark ages of australian cricket have returned after nearly a quarter century of domination.

 

[Black Rose]

Come on England, make it a win in the 5th test to make it 3-1.

[busybeeburns]

Me losing captaincy helped win Ashes - Kevin Pietersen

 

 

Me losing captaincy helped win Ashes - Kevin Pietersen

 

 

Kevin Pietersen believes it was for the "good of English cricket" he lost the England captaincy and coach Peter Moores was sacked two years ago. Pietersen says successors Andrew Strauss and Andy Flower "need all the plaudits for an unbelievable 18 months", including a double Ashes win. After England retained the Ashes, the batsman said: "We would not be here today if I had not done what I did. I got rid of the captaincy for the good of English cricket."

 

Victory in the fourth Test in Melbourne saw England retain the urn for the first time in 24 years, and a draw in the final Test in Sydney would bring a series win in Australia for the first time since 1987. "There is no way in this world that we would have succeeded under that regime and won the Ashes again in Australia after 24 years," said Pietersen.

 

"Strauss and Andy Flower need all the plaudits for an unbelievable 18 months and an unbelievable preparation for this team, and they are the right leadership for this team. They are just very good at keeping us level-headed and grounded and solid. [strauss] looks after himself after he has looked after everyone else which is a great quality of a great captain."

 

Asked if Strauss was a better captain than him, Pietersen replied: "Who knows? All I can say is they have done an incredible job, and I am so happy for both of them."

 

Pietersen was critical of Moores in a report to the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) after a tour of India in late 2008 and the ECB reacted by sacking both captain and coach in early 2009, offering the skipper's job to Strauss. "He [strauss] gave me the phone call and said: 'The ECB want me to captain; are you OK with that?'," Pietersen recalled. "I said 'Go for it, Straussy, you're a top man'. I said 'I'm a good mate of yours, go for it, do whatever you need to,' and I've been proved right. It was a good decision by the ECB."

 

Pietersen was England's best batsmen on the 2006-07 tour of Australia but still shared the ignominy of the 5-0 Ashes whitewash. Having not scored a Test century for 18 months prior to this tour, he hit a career-best 227 and was named man of the match in England's first victory of the series in Adelaide. Pietersen has an average of 64.8 from his five innings to date, England's third biggest contributor (324 runs) behind Alastair Cook (577 runs at an average of 115.4) and Jonathan Trott (445 at 111.3). It's the best feeling in my career, nothing beats this," added the 30-year-old, who was also part of the side that won the Ashes at home in 2005 and 2009, although his involvement in the latter was curtailed by injury. As an Englishman, winning in England in 2005 was amazing after it had not been done for a certain amount of years, but people always talked about the fact that when you go to Australia it is a different kettle of fish and the last time we came here we got hammered. This time we have come here knowing the preparation has been right, knowing what to expect from the crowds, from the public in the street, people in hotels and taxi drivers to players out in the middle. We were told to beware of this and we knew what to expect. We always thought we would do a lot better than last time, I was confident of that and that has proved right."

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/9329526.stm

[busybeeburns]

Australia captain, Ricky Ponting, has been ruled out of the final Ashes match with a broken little finger.

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZktmQJBxKag]YouTube - Injury rules Ponting out of Ashes[/ame]

[Guest howyousawtheworld]

 

Me losing captaincy helped win Ashes - Kevin Pietersen

 

 

Kevin Pietersen believes it was for the "good of English cricket" he lost the England captaincy and coach Peter Moores was sacked two years ago. Pietersen says successors Andrew Strauss and Andy Flower "need all the plaudits for an unbelievable 18 months", including a double Ashes win. After England retained the Ashes, the batsman said: "We would not be here today if I had not done what I did. I got rid of the captaincy for the good of English cricket."

 

Victory in the fourth Test in Melbourne saw England retain the urn for the first time in 24 years, and a draw in the final Test in Sydney would bring a series win in Australia for the first time since 1987. "There is no way in this world that we would have succeeded under that regime and won the Ashes again in Australia after 24 years," said Pietersen.

 

"Strauss and Andy Flower need all the plaudits for an unbelievable 18 months and an unbelievable preparation for this team, and they are the right leadership for this team. They are just very good at keeping us level-headed and grounded and solid. [strauss] looks after himself after he has looked after everyone else which is a great quality of a great captain."

 

Asked if Strauss was a better captain than him, Pietersen replied: "Who knows? All I can say is they have done an incredible job, and I am so happy for both of them."

 

Pietersen was critical of Moores in a report to the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) after a tour of India in late 2008 and the ECB reacted by sacking both captain and coach in early 2009, offering the skipper's job to Strauss. "He [strauss] gave me the phone call and said: 'The ECB want me to captain; are you OK with that?'," Pietersen recalled. "I said 'Go for it, Straussy, you're a top man'. I said 'I'm a good mate of yours, go for it, do whatever you need to,' and I've been proved right. It was a good decision by the ECB."

 

Pietersen was England's best batsmen on the 2006-07 tour of Australia but still shared the ignominy of the 5-0 Ashes whitewash. Having not scored a Test century for 18 months prior to this tour, he hit a career-best 227 and was named man of the match in England's first victory of the series in Adelaide. Pietersen has an average of 64.8 from his five innings to date, England's third biggest contributor (324 runs) behind Alastair Cook (577 runs at an average of 115.4) and Jonathan Trott (445 at 111.3). It's the best feeling in my career, nothing beats this," added the 30-year-old, who was also part of the side that won the Ashes at home in 2005 and 2009, although his involvement in the latter was curtailed by injury. As an Englishman, winning in England in 2005 was amazing after it had not been done for a certain amount of years, but people always talked about the fact that when you go to Australia it is a different kettle of fish and the last time we came here we got hammered. This time we have come here knowing the preparation has been right, knowing what to expect from the crowds, from the public in the street, people in hotels and taxi drivers to players out in the middle. We were told to beware of this and we knew what to expect. We always thought we would do a lot better than last time, I was confident of that and that has proved right."

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/9329526.stm

 

He talks a lot of b/s a lot of the time does KP. He also forgot to mention that he wanted Andy Flower gone as well as Peter Moores.

[busybeeburns]

Ashes: England's Strauss warns Australia skipper Clarke

 

 

Ashes: England's Strauss warns Australia skipper Clarke

 

England captain Andrew Strauss says stand-in Australia skipper Michael Clarke faces a huge challenge in the final Test starting at the Sydney Cricket Ground at 2330 GMT on Sunday.

 

England captain Andrew Strauss warned Australia skipper Michael Clarke he faces a tough task in the final Ashes tarting at 2330 GMT on Sunday.

 

The tourists hold a 2-1 lead and are anxious to secure their first series victory in Australia since 1986/87. Clarke is deputising for Ricky Ponting at Sydney and Strauss said: "Captaining in a Test match is very different to captaining a first-class game.

 

"As I found you have to learn on the job quickly. People sink or swim."

 

Clarke, who has led his country in one-day and Twenty20 matches, is taking charge of a Test match for the first time with his side in disarray after England retained the Ashes in Melbourne with a crushing innings victory.

 

The middle-order batsman also has problems with his form, having made only 148 runs in seven innings in the series so far, 80 of which came in the second innings at Adelaide.

 

"If you've got the double whammy of the side not playing well and you're not playing well, there's almost not enough time in the day to think about your game and what you need to do in the team," Strauss said.

 

"It is tough - but it's always temporary. That's the reality. For good players, personal form is only going to desert you for a short amount of time - and usually you come out the other side, which is reassuring for all of us.

 

"Michael Clarke has long been earmarked as a captain - and by all accounts tactically he is pretty good. I think we're quite conscious of Australia coming back at us pretty hard this week - and if there are any weaknesses we can expose, it's important we do that quickly and early."

 

Clarke's appointment has not been met with widespread approval in Australia but the 29-year-old said: "Everybody is entitled to their opinion. I've had a lot of support as well, from my family and close friends and a lot of people who love the game. England are high on confidence. They've got a lot of good individual players but as we've seen in Perth, when we're at our best we can beat them. I'm confident with the 11 players that take the field - if we're at our best - we'll win the Test match."

 

Australia have already named their side, bringing in left-arm spinner Michael Beer and batsman Usman Khawaja for their Test debuts, while England are expected to name an unchanged side.

 

Ponting, ruled out of the match with a broken finger, will be at the ground this week to offer advice to his deputy and Clarke said: "Ricky being around throughout this Test match is a great thing for all the players, but especially for me. I'm very comfortable with it. He's been a great leader for Australia and has captained all 68 of my Test matches - and I certainly see him coming back and captaining Australia as soon as he's fit."

 

Meanwhile ,England opener Alastair Cook says the side are determined to win the series and not get carried away by the euphoria of retaining the urn for the first time in 24 years in Melbourne. "We would leave with a tinge of disappointment if we did not complete the job," Cook told BBC Radio 5 live's Sportsweek programme. "It has gone very well and we are desperately keen to keep this form up. We came out here and the goal was to win the series.

 

"It is great that we retained the Ashes and walking around the MCG knowing we were bringing the Ashes back was a great moment and one that the lads were saying was the highlight of their career.

 

"But we have got to keep our feet on the ground and not believe the hype until we complete the job."

 

England may have won their two Tests on this tour by an innings but Cook is well aware of the threat Australia possess with the defeat in Perth still fresh in the memory. "You have got to be careful of the wounded animal," he said. "We know how hard Australia will come at us on that first morning in Sydney. We have to keep delivering our skills at the highest level like we have been doing.

 

"We knew how hard this series was going to be. Up to Perth we played such good cricket in all the games that we almost amazed ourselves with how well it had gone. We knew there would be a setback along the way. We didn't foresee it to be quite as horrific as that game when we didn't play very well. But the character we showed as a side, from that moment we said what we have got to do for Melbourne and the way we implemented it in the week and delivered our skills under that pressure was fantastic."

 

Cook has been one of the star performers for England on this tour, hitting 577 runs in his six innings so far, including scores of 235 not out in Brisbane and 148 in Adelaide. It marks a reversal in fortune for the 26-year-old, whose place in the Ashes line-up was under intense scrutiny following a disappointing English season.

 

He scored 106 runs in eight innings over the summer before a knock of 110 against Pakistan in August helped him seal a place in the squad. Before the Test series began, former Australia captain Ian Chappell said the decision to select Cook for the Ashes was "a hell of a gamble".

 

"It's amazing how quickly this game changes," said Cook. "Only four/five months ago everyone was saying that I shouldn't be an opener for the Ashes series. That's what has given me the most satisfaction, the fact that I was described by a lot of the Australians as the weak link and probably a lot of our media as well and to prove people wrong is always nice. I said at the beginning of the tour that I felt I had a point to prove and hope I have made my point and proved that I am a good player. But it would be lovely to finish this tour off with some more runs and another good England performance. That is what is driving us as a side and hopefully what we then achieve at Sydney, we can enjoy the plaudits afterwards."

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/england/9332358.stm

[busybeeburns]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLrHyv39tZY]YouTube - England look to secure Ashes series win in Sydney[/ame]

[busybeeburns]

Cricket coverage delayed due to the darts over-running! They have 4 normal Sky Sports channels to choose from! :whatever:

 

The UK is not happy http://search.twitter.com/search?q=darts+cricket

[mc_squared]

Cricket coverage delayed due to the darts over-running! They have 4 normal Sky Sports channels to choose from! :whatever:

 

The UK is not happy http://search.twitter.com/search?q=darts+cricket

 

The Aussies could be four wickets down by the time they start showing it................ :rolleyes:

[busybeeburns]

they'd better not miss the showing of the coin toss, there'd be a national outrage!

[busybeeburns]

The Aussies could be four wickets down by the time they start showing it................ :rolleyes:

Aussies have won the toss and are batting, you might be right! :D

[Black Rose]

Heads will roll!

 

Or Spin ;)

[busybeeburns]

Tim Bresnan celebrates the wicket of Shane Watson

 

England on top in rain-hit Sydney

 

Australia slid from 105-1 to 134-4 as England ended day one of the final Ashes Test on top in rainy Sydney.

 

Tim Bresnan was the most successful bowler, taking 2-47 as England made the most of overhead cloud cover and a pitch offering some seam movement.

 

Rain took the players off for 90 minutes in the middle of the day and England picked up two late wickets before a second and final stoppage.

 

Michael Clarke made just four in his first Test as Australia's captain.

 

His fortunes contrasted with those of debutant Usman Khawaja, the 24-year-old left-hander displaying plenty of confidence before coming unstuck late on and top-edging a sweep off Graeme Swann to depart for 37.

 

Khawaja was caught by Jonathan Trott at square-leg, and that was the last act of a day which had seen Shane Watson (45) make yet another start without registering a major score, while Phillip Hughes (31) compiled his best score in eight Test innings against England.

 

Hughes fell to Chris Tremlett, while James Anderson got through 20 overs and was unlucky not to pick up at least one wicket of his own.

 

In his first Test as captain with Ricky Ponting out injured, Clarke arrived early for the coin toss, and looked a little nervous. He could be granted the role on a permanent basis later this year if Australia pull off a win in Sydney, and thus stop England winning the series.

 

After undisciplined performances from the top order in previous Tests - and whether or not galvanised to change tactics by Clarke - Watson and Hughes addressed the new ball with caution. Even so, the first hour was a difficult period for the batting side.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/england/9332358.stm

[mc_squared]

The rout has already begun!:rolleyes:

[Black Rose]

Am i right in thinking that for the first time this series the starting bating team has made it to the 2nd day?

[Guest howyousawtheworld]

England taking the Aussie wickets like a child taking sweets from the pick n mix counter now.

 

189-8 now.

[busybeeburns]

loved Collingwood's ball to Hussey!

[busybeeburns]

Cook builds England reply at SCG

 

 

Cook builds England reply at SCG

 

England ended an absorbing second day of the final Ashes Test on 167-3 in reply to Australia's 280 all out, with Alastair Cook still there on 61.

 

Cook thought he was out on 46, lofting a catch to mid-on off Michael Beer.

 

But umpire Billy Bowden checked with the TV official as he suspected a possible no-ball, and to the disbelief of Aussie fans Cook was reprieved.

 

Australia, who began the day on 134-4, were indebted to Mitchell Johnson, who hit 53 in a lower-order recovery.

 

Johnson also picked up the wickets of Jonathan Trott, who registered his first duck in Test cricket, and Kevin Pietersen (36). Andrew Strauss had earlier smashed 60 from only 58 balls in an aggressive start to England's reply.

 

Cook's dramatic escape allowed him to become the second youngest batsman, behind Sachin Tendulkar, to notch 5,000 Test runs. And his haul for the series, currently at 638, is already five runs better than Michael Vaughan's 2002-03 aggregate.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/england/9335356.stm

[busybeeburns]

It was not the first time we have seen this expression from Pietersen

 

Ashes: Jonathan Agnew column

 

What a fascinating Test match - a good, old-fashioned, see-saw game in Sydney, the first time we have really seen anything like this in the series.

 

Australia will probably feel they had the better of day three, especially following the enterprising 76-run ninth-wicket stand between Mitchell Johnson and Ben Hilfenhaus as well as the late wicket of Kevin Pietersen, but England had their opportunities and missed them.

 

At 189-8, England really should have had Australia all out for 220 or less. In no way should the hosts have been allowed to score 280, a total which could be so crucial in what is likely to be a low-scoring game.

 

Australia were there for the taking. England know what Johnson can do with the bat, he's a dangerous hitter when he's on a roll.

 

But I don't understand the theory of pushing men back on the boundary when you are in such a dominant position. I don't like the tactic because as a bowler, it really is confusing and you start to question your own abilities, despite what the scorecard is telling you.

 

There was a point just after lunch when I thought England had lost a grip on the situation with Johnson and Hilfenhaus at the crease. A thick outside edge off Hilfenhaus's bat flew past gully's hand off James Anderson's bowling. However, the fielder didn't look right.

 

England usually have two players who field in the gully, Kevin Pietersen or Anderson. Anderson was bowling, but it wasn't Pietersen standing there, it was Tim Bresnan. What was he doing there?

 

I also think Strauss got his tactics wrong after lunch when he opened with Bresnan at the wrong end. Let me explain.

 

The Paddington End is the more dangerous end for the seamers, offering more movement and bounce, while the Randwick End doesn't; it's more suited for the spinners.

 

However, Strauss chose to bowl Bresnan from the Paddington End while the threatening Chris Tremlett bowled from the Randwick End.

 

Bresnan leaked 15 runs from the first two overs of his afternoon session spell before he eventually removed Johnson, but by then England had lost their morning momentum.

 

England like to stick rigidly to their plans, but at 189-8 with an unpredictable pitch, why do you make batting easier for the number eight? Why treat Johnson any differently from the top-order batsmen who have struggled?

 

It's not so much about giving away the singles to get the number 10 on strike but more the change of mentality from everyone in the field.

 

It's difficult to tell what a good score on this surface is - although Strauss made it look positively flat with a superb run-a-ball innings.

 

It was only a fantastic delivery from Hilfenhaus which ended his innings. A total of 350 is possible, but England will need Alastair Cook to drop anchor, something he is more than capable of doing after surpassing a number of impressive records on day three.

 

As ever, Pietersen's dismissal will divide opinions. After stressing his insistence he had become a more responsible batsman following his superb double century in Adelaide, he once again fell to a high-risk stroke at a crucial stage of the game.

 

But that's KP. I have spoken about this particular subject on numerous occasions - and I doubt this will be the last time.

 

It's not too dissimilar to watching David Gower in his pomp, when he edged a needless push outside off stump to the slips. It's more the frustration of being denied the pleasure of watching one of the best batsmen on the planet in full flow.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/england/9336332.stm

[mc_squared]

One can only assume KP wanted to keep things interesting and give the Aussies a chance!:rolleyes: