The Ashes, Second Test Lord's

First topic message reminder :

Harris and Khwaja in.
Aus's bowling depth is so good that they can drop who was rated to be their top fast bowler without blinking an eyelid.

even with there last wicket average we will still be 140 ahead

The Aussies have had some pretty clutch last wicket partnerships, but I think they'd need something extra special here

What odds on another century last wicket partnership?

If I was Lehmann, Id play tapes of the 2011 South Africa Newlands test.. There Australia scored about 320 first innings, to which we responded with a mighty 96... then destroyed them for 47... Strange things happen in cricket. Its not completely over yet!

If Australia can see 30 from Pattinson and 20 from Harris, they will have saved some face. But we'll still destroy them.

The sad thing is, England probably already have enough.

Aussies probably preparing some Bangladesh style roads for the winter.

im marginally in favour of us batting again, but if we can take 9 for 110 on this pitch in the belting sun, theres no reason we cant finish them tomorrow. forecast is for cloudier conditions also

Duty281 wrote:

Scrumpy wrote:

Duty281 wrote:

Scrumpy wrote:

Duty281 wrote:

Scrumpy wrote:Well done Capt Cook, field 1st ffs!

What a joke!

Ah, the first knee-jerker. Didn't take long.

Not a knee jerk, its a fact that our top order batsman struggle to set a decent 1st innings score these days.

Why on earth would you want England to field first on such a good pitch? That would be idiocy.

Because we have better bowlers than Aus and I'm sure we could heap the preassure on them by bowling them out for under 200.

Putting Root in at 2 is gifting Aus a early wicket everytime.

You're not going to be bowling Bangladesh out for under 200 on this pitch, lad, let alone Australia.

Take it back Duty!

The pitch is a belter, the sun is out, its day 2 and we already look to have a 200 run lead.

Bat them into oblivion.

GSC wrote:The pitch is a belter, the sun is out, its day 2 and we already look to have a 200 run lead.

Bat them into oblivion.

 

GSC wrote:The sad thing is, England probably already have enough.

Aussies probably preparing some Bangladesh style roads for the winter.

Probably the only hope they have.

Scrumpy wrote:

Duty281 wrote:

Scrumpy wrote:

Duty281 wrote:

Scrumpy wrote:

Duty281 wrote:

Scrumpy wrote:Well done Capt Cook, field 1st ffs!

What a joke!

Ah, the first knee-jerker. Didn't take long.

Not a knee jerk, its a fact that our top order batsman struggle to set a decent 1st innings score these days.

Why on earth would you want England to field first on such a good pitch? That would be idiocy.

Because we have better bowlers than Aus and I'm sure we could heap the preassure on them by bowling them out for under 200.

Putting Root in at 2 is gifting Aus a early wicket everytime.

You're not going to be bowling Bangladesh out for under 200 on this pitch, lad, let alone Australia.

Take it back Duty!

I shall take it back, once we've bowled them out for below 200. I still remember Australia's 1st innings last time!

Well, sadly I've got to go now.

If Australia are still batting by the time I get back...something will have gone disastrously wrong...

yeah, might aswell review it

Bat them out of the game, stick them back sometime between tomorrow evening and lunch on day 4 needing 500+ to win.

They just reviewed that for a laugh ...

Even the Aussies wouldn't have wasted one on that !

Much like Broads review, that was a why not review

Harris carrying on the tradition of good batting at eleven. Up to 10 so he has out scored a few of them already  

This partnership's becoming a little threatening.

alfie wrote:Even the Aussies wouldn't have wasted one on that !

I think today is proof that they can't tell a plumb decision from a 50/50 one

Twenty added now...second best stand of the innings  

Swann dropped an easy c & b then ...never drop them off your own bowling Swannee !

Hoggy_Bear wrote:This partnership's becoming a little threatening.

Sounds Funny..Just one word for this Aussies team..Pathetic...

Swann drops it. 100 run partnership coming up.

128 all out! Now just bat and bat. Grind them into the dirt, just like we did with India!

This Aussie team is a shambles. The Lara-Clarke comparison is probably spot on, though. You gotta feel for great players who get lumped in with such!

Very different from the Agar and Haddin last wickets stands...but it again proving oddly hard to get this last wicket (though of course Swan should have done it just then )
Don't think England have changed the way they bowl , but Swann may be tiring

...and as I type a good catch by KP gives Swann a deserved fifer  

Lead by 233 ...

Anyone pick that this morning  

Duty281 wrote:

Scrumpy wrote:

Duty281 wrote:

Scrumpy wrote:

Duty281 wrote:

Scrumpy wrote:

Duty281 wrote:

Scrumpy wrote:Well done Capt Cook, field 1st ffs!

What a joke!

Ah, the first knee-jerker. Didn't take long.

Not a knee jerk, its a fact that our top order batsman struggle to set a decent 1st innings score these days.

Why on earth would you want England to field first on such a good pitch? That would be idiocy.

Because we have better bowlers than Aus and I'm sure we could heap the preassure on them by bowling them out for under 200.

Putting Root in at 2 is gifting Aus a early wicket everytime.

You're not going to be bowling Bangladesh out for under 200 on this pitch, lad, let alone Australia.

Take it back Duty!

I shall take it back, once we've bowled them out for below 200. I still remember Australia's 1st innings last time!

I take it back, sir. Maybe I should have said, you shouldn't be getting out for under 200 on this pitch!

alfie wrote:...
Lead by 233 ...

Anyone pick that this morning  

Was going to ask after our innings what people would take as an acceptable first innings deficit for England (i'd have accepted us being about 50 behind). Still think it's a 400+ wicket , as other than for about 10 overs with the new ball there's not too much help for the seamers, but England were hampered by the poor start and Aus just batted like absolute lemons.

I thought Australia were in the ascendancy?  

This is as pressure free opening bat as Root is going to get. Should make some runs really fingers crossed.

Big innings for Root this.  

Good chance for Root/KP to get going with the bat in this series now

Good pitch, suns out, demoralised attack. If you can't cash in now...

Well I did think it was a 400 wicket. Though that was based mainly on how easily Trott and Bell...and even Bairstow , were playing in the middle of the day yesterday.
There is something for the new ball bowlers , but you would think it looks fairly easy against the pace men after the early overs. Though Anderson got reverse going...

Swann and Smith have shown spinners can get wickets on it , and I'd expect batting against spin to get trickier as the game goes on.

Nobody should get bowled out for 128 on it !

I missed the end of that.

good bowling by the sounds of it.

I think 400 might have been par but did feel we wouldn't know until both had batted.

Root still looking shaky.  Come on young man.  Take the life presented to you.

Root should have been out there.

Lucky Joe Root ! Haddin and Clarke watch a straightforward catch go between them ...keeper at fault there.

Root will be thankful : he doesn't need another failure. But he must tighten up now and make them pay...

Root needs at least a half-century here to lessen the pressure. Fortunately, the conditions and the match situation couldn't be any kinder to him.

I'm not sure where this would rank among the worst days in Australian Test Cricket history, but it has to be up there.

Not as bad as Boxing Day 2010!

Good luck Lehmann. How do you turn this around for Old Trafford which appears to be a spinners paradise?

Sweet, got on the beeb live text again

I read a Warnie article on the telegraph website where he said Aussie had the momentum going into this.

I think it shows how quickly that can change.  In the first hour they really did.

Cook drags on, game on!

Well not quite.

cook continues to struggle.

he's not found form at all in this series.

England will want to get to 200 at least you'd think.  this match could be over in 3 days or else.

Back...

Glad to see we didn't let the Aussie tail wag too long.

Congrats to Swanny on his 5-for. Thoroughly deserved.

trebellbobaggins wrote:cook continues to struggle.

he's not found form at all in this series.

England will want to get to 200 at least you'd think.  this match could be over in 3 days or else.

I think anything from 150-200 will present an insurmountable target for Australia. Should be well capable, even with Cook getting out cheaply again. Seems the Aussie bowlers have worked him out.

yes at the moment.  he'll be back.

big score next test!

Oh bugger! Trott gone for a duck. Eng 22-2.

Maybe I should just go away again...