4th Ashes Test Durham

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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 ?

VTR wrote:New ball pretty much wasted here. Alarming run rate so far. Desperately need a wicket from somewhere!

Wouldn't say wasted. They beat the bat often enough , just couldn't quite nail one. You might say luck was with the batsmen.

That phase is over now though. Time to bore them out from one end and let Swann attack.

Game over here. Couldn't afford them to get off to this start. Plain sailing from hereon in.

Easy boys, remember they were 80 odd for nothing at Trent Bridge, plenty of time left in this

They didn't have David 'Thug Lyfe' Warner at TB, we're doomed

This is garbage so far. All the bowlers have bowled like drains - are they expecting just to put it there and take wickets?

The game is open for Aus now, 300 was a good target and would win most matches, but this bowling is diabolical.

Olly wrote:Easy boys, remember they were 80 odd for nothing at Trent Bridge, plenty of time left in this

Agree if we get our act together quickly. Have to work our way back into this now and hope for something like 120-3.

Fists of Fury wrote:Game over here. Couldn't afford them to get off to this start. Plain sailing from hereon in.

Certainly a great start for them. And scoring off Swann from the off is putting pressure back on England , so right now Cook will be worrying more than Clarke.

But a wicket or two might change things quite dramatically. So I wouldn't be giving up yet.

I find it odd how often our bowlers have seemed to struggle this summer.

80-0, too easy

there is a LOT of cricket left...and game is far from over.

Eng seamers have bowled rubbish length to Warner....and Aussies have been postive against Swann

Oh dear, oh dear.

Just when I thought England had done the necessary by setting Australia near-as-dammit 300 to win.

Now its looking nowhere near enough. Rogers and Warner looking unassailable. England's bowling attack absolute powder-puff.

Only rain can save England now...

England just need to stick in there, they've bowled OK and can consider themselves unlucky to have not got a wicket yet. Long way to go yet, and England still favourites.

Hmm I had a bet that England would win the series 3-1 so not sure how I want this to go down....

You don't want rain!!

Warner is batting like Dhawan...dancing down the pitch to spinners to the poitch and getting spin out of the equation.

swann will be half as effective if more batsman can dance down to him like Warner did now

Australia 92 without loss. Rogers and Warner are taking this away from England. England need a couple of wickets, and need them soon.

We are going to lose this aren't we, maybe even today at this rate. Hopefully a wake up call from the complacent rubbish most of the team have served up in the last 2 Tests, and maybe some team changes.

I have a lots of small( about 8 )....... 3 to 5 dollar bets riding on Aus win yielding anywhere between 3.5 to 6 times returns.

Will they pay be back the losses of first 3 tests.....fingers crossed

Duty281 wrote:England just need to stick in there, they've bowled OK and can consider themselves unlucky to have not got a wicket yet. Long way to go yet, and England still favourites.

Not favourites now , Duty.

Long way still , yes. But the two most likely bowlers for this surface are on now , and frankly they don't look like taking a wicket.

Still could be a clatter. But they need the first one , and it is hard to see where it is coming from.

Think they need it fairly soon , or the game is up.

VTR wrote:We are going to lose this aren't we, maybe even today at this rate. Hopefully a wake up call from the complacent rubbish most of the team have served up in the last 2 Tests, and maybe some team changes.  

I don't think there's enough time left today for Australia to rack up another 200 runs, but I wouldn't be surprised if they wrap the win up before lunch tomorrow.

Completely inexplicable, this. Is the pitch actually getting easier to bat on? Have Durham's ground staff used some kind of reverse pitch preparation process?

200 to go. Surely even Australia can knock off 200 with all their wickets intact?

  less than 200 needed and all wickets in hand.....

Hundred partnership between Warner and Rogers. Australia are bossing this contest at the moment.

We ain't gonna go down without a fight...

dyrewolfe wrote:

VTR wrote:We are going to lose this aren't we, maybe even today at this rate. Hopefully a wake up call from the complacent rubbish most of the team have served up in the last 2 Tests, and maybe some team changes.  

I don't think there's enough time left today for Australia to rack up another 200 runs, but I wouldn't be surprised if they wrap the win up before lunch tomorrow.

Completely inexplicable, this. Is the pitch actually getting easier to bat on? Have Durham's ground staff used some kind of reverse pitch preparation process?

Pitch has never been a minefield. Lot of batsmen have perished through impatience ; and some to the occasional wicked ball - trouble is in this innings those nasty deliveries have beaten the bat , but not got the wicket.
And the attacking approach of Warner means the target is being run down quite quickly.

If one comes out , the next couple might well follow , and then the game would be back on. But I sense England are fast losing heart.


Got Rogers at last though ! Swann strikes...

That's a big wicket, but the biggest of them all is Clarke. England need a few quick wickets now to but some nerves in the Aussie dressing room.

Wicket at last. Too late given how bad the bowling has been so far?

what an utter pasting.

finding damage with the ball England can't and smashing Englands weak out of form joke selections.

and the man who could have done something not even looked at.

time for changes in the England set-up, absolute pasting here and the start of a long run of hammerings as Warne has said.

VTR wrote:Wicket at last. Too late given how bad the bowling has been so far?

Not TOO late yet, as there have been wickets falling in clusters throughout this match. Need to knock a couple over quickly though to get some pressure back on to the Aussies.

dummy_half wrote:

VTR wrote:Wicket at last. Too late given how bad the bowling has been so far?

Not TOO late yet, as there have been wickets falling in clusters throughout this match. Need to knock a couple over quickly though to get some pressure back on to the Aussies.

True that but we need someone to back up Swann. If its just Swann vs. Australia as it is now then we wont apply enough pressure. Seen mentions of TB on text commentaries, big difference to that is Anderson is completely out of gas now.

Nice one Swanny!

He finally gets the breakthrough, getting Rogers caught on 49.

Unlucky to go just 1 shy of his half century, but Australia are still very much in the driving seat at 109-1.

why does it look so easy for them and so hard for England?  difference in batting ability and better bowlers i'd have to guess.

englands winter will hurt.  i'm glad I can't (not) see it anymore to be honest. it was so frustrating that we lost that solidity so quickly.  I fear for a pretty long period rebuilding now.

Great session for Australia.

England need to take two or three wickets in the hour after tea , I reckon. Then we'd have a game.

It isn't over yet , as the Australian tail is not as strong as usual in this match. But with Clarke still to come - and Haddin later on - the odds are in the visitors favour.

trebellbobaggins wrote:why does it look so easy for them and so hard for England?  difference in batting ability and better bowlers i'd have to guess.

englands winter will hurt.  i'm glad I can't (not) see it anymore to be honest. it was so frustrating that we lost that solidity so quickly.  I fear for a pretty long period rebuilding now.

I'm not sure its so much difference in ability as complacency which has set in, now we've retained the Ashes.

You can't help but get the feeling some of our players already feel its a case of "job done".

Our players have plenty of ability. The problem is getting them to perform consistently.

If Bell had been out for 0 in all his innings this series, England would be in serious, serious trouble.

Bowling has been very, very poor today, completely undisciplined and not helped by poor captaincy and a lack of patience. Aus have played well and will deserve their win that I expect them to get unless something dramatically changes.

I can't see the batting, selections or bowling balance in the side to stop and aussie 2-2 now.

and down under will be nasty.  I think the aussies feeling that this side can be back to years of hammering England looks spot on to me.


more bowling depth, much better batting and an in form Captain who seems to make better decisions at the moment.

I haven't been watching lads.

Has it been seaming the way it was earlier?

Another one down. Khawaja just missed a straight one.

Decent wicket swann

whilst Mr Cholmondley-Warner, destroyer of worlds (and noses) is out there then Aussie have it wrapped up.

Khawaja fooled by a straight one from Swann who picks up his second wicket. He departs for just 21 and Australia are 147-2.

Still too much batting for the visitors to be unduly worried yet. Another 2-3 wickets needed in quick succession for England to really be in with a shout.


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