The Ashes 2009

Bruno · Post by **Bruno** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 10:51 am

TANGODANCER wrote:
Bruno wrote:Ponting made a bad call in declaring so late but he is right about how we descended into unsporting delaying tactics.
Just another year where the Aussies show us the gulf between us and them.
Which er, gulf, are you talking about? Do you mean they have better players or in the clean-cut ,totally sporting way? If it's the latter, you haven't watched many test matches between the two. Intelectual and sporting gulf? No way.Ponting pointing at Swann's ribs with a view to injury is sporting? Test cricket is war, and has been for a long time.

Seen plenty, and the gulf I am talking about is in terms of cricket only.

TANGODANCER · Post by **TANGODANCER** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 10:52 am

Bruno wrote:
TANGODANCER wrote:
Bruno wrote:Ponting made a bad call in declaring so late but he is right about how we descended into unsporting delaying tactics.
Just another year where the Aussies show us the gulf between us and them.
Which er, gulf, are you talking about? Do you mean they have better players or in the clean-cut ,totally sporting way? If it's the latter, you haven't watched many test matches between the two. Intelectual and sporting gulf? No way.Ponting pointing at Swann's ribs with a view to injury is sporting? Test cricket is war, and has been for a long time.
Seen plenty, and the gulf I am talking about is in terms of cricket only.

Fair do's but I hope we can reverse that this year.

Bruno · Post by **Bruno** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 10:54 am

Not being particularly patriotic I just want to see some good cricket.

TANGODANCER · Post by **TANGODANCER** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 10:56 am

Bruno wrote:Not being particularly patriotic I just want to see some good cricket.

Losing to the Aussies just isn't cricket old-chap.

jimbo · Post by **jimbo** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 10:58 am

Bruno wrote:Ponting made a bad call in declaring so late but he is right about how we descended into unsporting delaying tactics.

Just another year where the Aussies show us the gulf between us and them.

The declaration was spot on. Had he declared earlier, the lead would have been less and England would have overhauled it and had a bigger lead assuming they had been bowled out in the same time for the same score as yesterday. Aus would then have had a little more time to get maybe 50 more runs.

As for the 'gamesmanship', I really wasn't a fan. It looked embarrassing and isn't what we need in the first test of this series. It was the complete antithesis of what defined the 2005 series with that Brett Lee/Flintoff moment at Edgbaston. Yes the Aussies have done similar for years and invented sledging, but I feel that they wouldn't go as far as doing that.

Worthy4England · Post by **Worthy4England** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 11:00 am

TANGODANCER wrote:
Bruno wrote:Ponting made a bad call in declaring so late but he is right about how we descended into unsporting delaying tactics.
Just another year where the Aussies show us the gulf between us and them.
Which er, gulf, are you talking about? Do you mean they have better players or in the clean-cut ,totally sporting way? If it's the latter, you haven't watched many test matches between the two. Intelectual and sporting gulf? No way.Ponting pointing at Swann's ribs with a view to injury is sporting? Test cricket is war, and has been for a long time.

Think you're saying the same thing TD, but tail enders who can't bat are fair game and always have been. We could argue as to whether it's "sporting" or not, but I think we probably agree that it's legit (within the laws on bouncers etc.). Certainly if I'd have cracked someone in the ribs, I wouldn't have forgotten that they were hurting and looked to exploit it.

Hoboh · Post by **Hoboh** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 11:04 am

TANGODANCER wrote:
Bruno wrote:Ponting made a bad call in declaring so late but he is right about how we descended into unsporting delaying tactics.
Just another year where the Aussies show us the gulf between us and them.
Which er, gulf, are you talking about? Do you mean they have better players or in the clean-cut ,totally sporting way? If it's the latter, you haven't watched many test matches between the two. Intelectual and sporting gulf? No way.Ponting pointing at Swann's ribs with a view to injury is sporting? Test cricket is war, and has been for a long time.

It wins tests!! nowt wrong with that, I'd love an English bowler who would leave Aussie batsmen with brown streaked "whites" after going for his ribs or head at high velocity.

jimbo · Post by **jimbo** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 11:04 am

Worthy4England wrote:
TANGODANCER wrote:
Bruno wrote:Ponting made a bad call in declaring so late but he is right about how we descended into unsporting delaying tactics.
Just another year where the Aussies show us the gulf between us and them.
Which er, gulf, are you talking about? Do you mean they have better players or in the clean-cut ,totally sporting way? If it's the latter, you haven't watched many test matches between the two. Intelectual and sporting gulf? No way.Ponting pointing at Swann's ribs with a view to injury is sporting? Test cricket is war, and has been for a long time.
Think you're saying the same thing TD, but tail enders who can't bat are fair game and always have been. We could argue as to whether it's "sporting" or not, but I think we probably agree that it's legit (within the laws on bouncers etc.). Certainly if I'd have cracked someone in the ribs, I wouldn't have forgotten that they were hurting and looked to exploit it.

By bowling short at Swann, you're exposing a technical floor in the opponent and seeking to get him out - no different from us targetting Hughes with the short ball, or putting a short leg in for Ponting early on for his lunge. What we did was not part of the game, and not on.

Tombwfc · Post by **Tombwfc** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 11:34 am

Meh, it's a competitive sport and you go out there to win the series, not win friends. The idea that the Aussies wouldn't have done it, or that we're the first team to ever try it, is ludicrous to me.

And yeah, it'll be Onions for Monty and maybe Harmison for Broad if he's still injured. I might be tempted to go that way anyway even if he's not.

Verbal · Post by **Verbal** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 11:52 am

In other cricket news

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/8145070.stm

teehehehehe

Athers · Post by **Athers** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 12:03 pm

Ponting the same bloke who grounded a catch then informed the umpire it was a clean catch.

Worthy4England · Post by **Worthy4England** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 12:15 pm

jimbo wrote:
Worthy4England wrote:
TANGODANCER wrote:
Bruno wrote:Ponting made a bad call in declaring so late but he is right about how we descended into unsporting delaying tactics.
Just another year where the Aussies show us the gulf between us and them.
Which er, gulf, are you talking about? Do you mean they have better players or in the clean-cut ,totally sporting way? If it's the latter, you haven't watched many test matches between the two. Intelectual and sporting gulf? No way.Ponting pointing at Swann's ribs with a view to injury is sporting? Test cricket is war, and has been for a long time.
Think you're saying the same thing TD, but tail enders who can't bat are fair game and always have been. We could argue as to whether it's "sporting" or not, but I think we probably agree that it's legit (within the laws on bouncers etc.). Certainly if I'd have cracked someone in the ribs, I wouldn't have forgotten that they were hurting and looked to exploit it.
By bowling short at Swann, you're exposing a technical floor in the opponent and seeking to get him out - no different from us targetting Hughes with the short ball, or putting a short leg in for Ponting early on for his lunge. What we did was not part of the game, and not on.

Neither is sledging - officially, but c'est la vie.

TANGODANCER · Post by **TANGODANCER** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 12:18 pm

Why, Bob Willis and Fred Trueman wouldn't have hurt a fly.

Hoboh · Post by **Hoboh** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 12:23 pm

TANGODANCER wrote:Why, Bob Willis and Fred Trueman wouldn't have hurt a fly.

Trueman would have killed if he could find the right ball then said if being a tail ender "what a waste of a good ball"

Tombwfc · Post by **Tombwfc** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 8:01 pm

Harmison recalled to the squad, Flintoff may be crocked again.

In other news - don't ask me why I was reading the Telegraph, but what a massive bellend the journo who wrote this must be.......

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricke ... oblem.html

Staggering.

TANGODANCER · Post by **TANGODANCER** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 8:06 pm

Tombwfc wrote:Harmison recalled to the squad, Flintoff may be crocked again.

In other news - don't ask me why I was reading the Telegraph, but what a massive bellend the journo who wrote this must be.......

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricke ... oblem.html

Staggering.

Yep, naughty Kevin throwing his wicket away a couple of times, only having made 97. How selfish.

Tombwfc · Post by **Tombwfc** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 8:14 pm

Incidentally, through about a day and a half of berating KP for having the audacity to play a shit shot, Sky showed some interesting stats - a comparison between KP now and Ponting at the same stage of his career. Needless to say, Pietersen's figures made Ponting's look like Chris Martin's (the "walking wicket" from New Zealand, not the Coldplay frontman).

Still, we wouldn't be English if we didn't build people up just to knock them down.

Tombwfc · Post by **Tombwfc** » Wed Jul 15, 2009 10:43 am

Fred is apparently going to announce that he's retiring from Test cricket after the Ashes.

Bruno · Post by **Bruno** » Wed Jul 15, 2009 11:34 am

Bad timing this, it's only going to boost the Aussies. He should have waited til after the Ashes methinks......

David Lee's Hair · Post by **David Lee's Hair** » Wed Jul 15, 2009 11:56 am

Bruno wrote:Bad timing this, it's only going to boost the Aussies. He should have waited til after the Ashes methinks......

Seconded. No idea why you'd announce it now, unless the knee has completely gone again and he's out of the series entirely

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