4th Ashes Test Durham

First topic message reminder :

They're all at it again on Friday. Just as England are likely to chuck in a bad performance when everyone expects them to win (Leeds 09, Perth 2010/11, Manchester 2013) they usually bounce back next Test (Lord's and Oval 09, Melbourne 2010/11).
I'm taking England to win one of the last two Tests to ensure a series victory. Onions, it seems, will come in and that could be a good move. Still think this is not a very strong Australia team. It's just that they were an average team playing poorly in the first two Test while at Manchester they were an average team playing well.
Before Manchester, we were asking if Australia could improve/get back into the series. Well they certainly achieved the former if not the latter. Now we could ask - Can England start firing on all cylinders ?

A gritty if fortuitous innings comes to an end.

Harris, Lyon and Bird present a slightly longer tail

Who said hot spot doesn't work

"keep them under 300 will be a decent mornings work"

No they would be well ahead. that 60 lead would put them in a very commanding position.

We have to limit them way below that

At last Rogers is out!

Faint edge behind to Prior. Umpire says not out but Cook reviews...

Decision overturned by DRS and the dogged resistance of the Aussie opener is finally over. Out for 110. What an innings. Fantastic catch by Matty Prior too.

Swann has his second wicket of the day and Australia are 233-7.

Perhaps England won't need the new ball and Australia won't have as much of a lead as we feared yesterday.

Hmm. Two now for Swann...Rogers gone at last ...not the prettiest of innings , but vital for Australia .

Do you take the new ball or not ?

Apparently yes...

Tragedy for Australia. But a superb delivery and more than that brilliantly picked up by Prior. Rogers...A brilliant inning. Congrats for 61st FC century.

New ball is available now. Australia will maximum go till 260.

mystiroakey wrote:"keep them under 300 will be a decent mornings work"

No they would be well ahead. that 60 lead would put them in a very commanding position.

We have to limit them way below that

Oh I agree 300 would be a good result for Australia , roakey , though maybe not decisive. I was just being realistic about the likely events...

Slightly more ambitious after seeing Rogers fall though  

Well i suppose we lost the lead before so you are right in respect that from that point on 300 would be the par situation..

But l I just cant see any more decent partnerships in this test match.. We need to bowl like our life depends on it.. If they get away and get a 60 lead we could be 4 wickets down before we reach there score!

so far going to the script as I thought it will...lead between 20 to 70 runs

I have a horrible fear...on this pitch Eng will collapse to 150 in 2nd inning

And they aren't quite through to the rabbits yet...Siddle can bat and Harris is not useless , though the England bowlers should fancy their chances with a new ball.
Think I might have let Swann bowl another couple first though...

Taking the new ball made no sense to me..

swan and bres caused big issues..

Not sure I agree this pitch has suddenly become a minefield. Didn't look much wrong last night , and a few balls with the new ball have shown nothing alarming in the way of bounce or movement.

Will defer judgement , but I see no reason to assume a team will be skittled on this. If Australia don't get too far ahead , I think England might be OK with the advantage of bowling last.

These last three wickets may be very important.

Could do with another Stuart Broad 3-wicket burst here to polish the tail off.

Personally I think it was a minefield from day one Alfie

alfie wrote:Not sure I agree this pitch has suddenly become a minefield.  Didn't look much wrong last night , and a few balls with the new ball have shown nothing alarming in the way of bounce or movement.

Will defer judgement , but I see no reason to assume a team will be skittled on this.  If Australia don't get too far ahead , I think England might be OK with the advantage of bowling last.

These last three wickets may be very important.

Morning Alfie and all - agree with Alfie's post above and partcularly the last sentence. A lead nudging 100 would put Australia in a very strong position. If we can limit our deficit to around 30, I think England would be more than satisfied and feel right back in it. I fancy Swann to do some damage in the fourth innings - I too would have kept him on for a few more this morning.

But what's this? Jimmy Anderson strikes, getting Siddle for 5.

Jimmy gets his first wicket and Australia are down to 245-8.

Shouldn't be long to go now.

Siddle gone ! Fine catch Cook :clap

Wicket for Jimmy at last.

And with that - a wicket! Now for the last 2 quickly and cheaply ....

Yes Jimmy seems to have Siddle's number in this series...got him what , four times now ?
Which is handy as Siddle batted pretty well in India , and would have been hoping for a few tail end runs on this trip.

Imagine Harris might look to play some shots now ...Lyon can block a bit but you'd think a new ball attack will be hard work for him.

Taking the new ball so soon with swann doing the damage seemed a wierd decision but seems to have worked.

Rogers has been Aussies saviour this time. If his out was given out then they would have been in dire trouble. He is the only player to bat well and even he rode his luck tons yesterday.

I reckon I brought them good luck. I finally cancelled my sky sports for good last night. I can't watch them anymore. I've watched less than a couple of hours in 17 days of cricket.total waste of money for me.

KP_fan wrote:so far going to the script as I thought it will...lead between 20 to 70 runs

I have a horrible fear...on this pitch Eng will collapse to 150 in 2nd inning

Inning? Are we playing baseball.

I reckon Aussie will do it at the bottom of the 7th myself.

...and after seeing those two shots from Harris I would have a cover sweeper out for him.
Not one of those everybody out - give-him-a single fields , mind : but that is his best run scoring chance so would pay to cut it off.

Aus have scored about 70% of there runs from edges..!!

mystiroakey wrote:Aus have scored about 70% of there runs from edges..!!

Pretty much rogers first 60 runs was getting away with them

Wierd old game this.

Some luck for Lyon...and a four-touitous boundary

But out now !

These late lucky boshes are giving Aussie a useful lead against an England who are so badly out of form. If KP is right and they are out for 150 then Aussie already only need 130.

Jimmy strikes again! Lyon lbw for 4 and Australia are 258-9.

1 wicket to go and the visitors' lead is just 20. If England can restrict the lead to 30 or less that will be a job well done.

If England can post a target of 250 or so, I think that will be pretty challenging for the Aussies batting last.

dyrewolfe wrote:Jimmy strikes again! Lyon lbw for 4 and Australia are 258-9.

1 wicket to go and the visitors' lead is just 20. If England can restrict the lead to 30 or less that will be a job well done.

If England can post a target of 250 or so, I think that will be pretty challenging for the Aussies batting last.

a job well done from last nights position but a poor job to have batted so poorly that this low score is a lead though.

mystiroakey wrote:Aus have scored about 70% of there runs from edges..!!

There was indeed a case for the old fashioned third man yesterday ! Rogers would not have managed a hundred if they had cut out that run source...

Position is rather out of fashion these days...though of course you only have nine fielders.

300 will be the target. but i cant see us getting there unless we actually bat. I don't want to see root with his recent 10 of 100 balls type innings!!

Australia 258-9. England would hope they could restrict the lead under 30. The bowlers ones again doing a fine job after the batsmen gave away the advantage, but this time the batting really will have to come to the party.

trebellbobaggins wrote:These late lucky boshes are giving Aussie a useful lead against an England who are so badly out of form.  If KP is right and they are out for 150 then Aussie already only need 130.

Ah ...maybe , trebs.

But if conditions are such that England can be shot out for 150 , then 130 batting last will not be easy  

Don't believe this is a 150 pitch though.

Certainly Harris is having no trouble playing strokes on it..

"Certainly Harris is having no trouble playing strokes on it"

If we play strokes we win. If we don't we lose.

Three fours in a row ! Harris slaughtering Stuart Broad...

Must be the new boots.

Then England really need to hang their heads. A bowler handles it better than any of their batsmen Alfie.

So again England's bowlers getting stuffed by tail Enders.

And again Aussie getting a match winning lead because of it.

England have deep deep problems.

Ryan Harris on the attack. The lead has gone pass 30.

mystiroakey wrote:"Certainly Harris is having no trouble playing strokes on it"

If we play strokes we win. If we don't we lose.

Agreed. Can't go all strokeless.

Within sensible limits , of course. But they have to look to score.

Still got to get this last wicket...

Why didn't Lyon not review it

betw365 is giving equal odds on Aus and Eng now.

Bookies rarely lie and do not allow emotions to cloud them

KP_fan wrote:Why didn't Lyon not review it

But he did. Not review it , I mean.

Harris has now scored more than Warner, Khawaja, Clarke and Smith combined...

England need this last wicket sharpish as the Aussies lead passes the 30 run mark.

Oh Aussies last pair making England look stupid again.

What a joke they are,

Congrats Aussie. To good.

Keeping the Aussies under 300 this morning would represent a good mornings work by England, and hopefully we can bat properly second time round

Ok not bad then. 270 all out. the umpire has made a couple of shockers today but DRS has cleared them up well!

From where they were for 9 thoug Olly it represents a dire lack of killer instinct again.

That looks out !

Only Tony Hill could fail to give it...Harris was ready to walk  

Good five for Broad  

Tony Hill is continuing to have about the most appalling series I have ever seen from a supposedly top umpire.

Broad gets 5 and Australia are bowled out for 270. A good morning for the England bowlers, the batsmen will have to really step up and bat properly for ones. Neither staying strokeless nor becoming reckless, they have to find a balanced approach to batting and build an innings.

Tony Hill

The worst umpire in the game today?