The cricket...

[Jaded]

And we fought to a glorious draw! Huzzah!

[matthew]

I think you mean the combined Rain dance of the English dressing room has been successful. The Glorious British Summer has reverted to type enabling us to escape the clutches of a well performing Aussie team, who finally batted properly this test and put pressure on our fragile batting lineup.

[Clare]

I bloody love the British weather 

[Hot Flatus]

Well, its a moot point. Australia didn't get the chance to enforce the follow-on. If they had they would still have had to bowl England out in 60 overs

Quite good for Australia. First time they haven't lost since February 10th

[Deano]

I thought Australia batted for too long yesterday, and too slowly, given they had to win.

[Jaded]

Yes. Too cautious from Clark.

[andyoxon]

A slightly underwhelming retention, but oh well. 

[ferret]

I think you mean the combined Rain dance of the English dressing room has been successful. The Glorious British Summer has reverted to type enabling us to escape the clutches of a well performing Aussie team, who finally batted properly this test and put pressure on our fragile batting lineup.

my support for england was bought into question the other day when I dared to mention mediocre opening english batsmen, my comment still stands, the next 2 tests will be interesting, Australia still have to prove they're better than us and we have to prove we would have won anyway. 

[Peter]

England don't have to prove ANYTHING.  That's what's so wonderful about it!

[Wowbagger]

There was a piece in the Graun today about the merits of close matches/series compared to the one-sided. There is a great attraction to the close game for its excitement point of view (1981 must have been about the best for that), but it's also great when your team is in the driving seat.

In Brearley's first Ashes series as captain (1977 IIRC) England outplayed Australia in all departments and it was an absolute delight. There was one particular incident which just showed that England were alert for every possible opportunity and the Aussies were not and that was when Derek Randall ran out Rick McCosker, who was a bit slow to return to his crease when backing up. Randall was a demon cover point and the batsman (can't remember who) defended, the ball went to Randall fairly quickly and he had thrown down the non-striker's stumps before he could get back into his crease.

England supporters, indeed, world cricket, has had to put up with so much Australian domination for so long I think that we can be excused for enjoying their discomfiture, even though England's higher-order batsmen aren't performing as well as we'd like.

[ferret]

I hardly think winning the ashes by default removes the need for us to prove that we are as good as we say, if it wasn't for the intervention of the weather we would have lost today. there are still many of our players not firing on all 4 cylinders.

[Jaded]

We haven't won them, we have retained them.

[Peter]

I hardly think winning the ashes by default removes the need for us to prove that we are as good as we say, if it wasn't for the intervention of the weather we would have lost today. there are still many of our players not firing on all 4 cylinders.

Actually it's 2-0 at the moment.  There's no NEED for anything, it would just be nice!  Actually, I think Root would have got a slowish hundred, Bell would have scored quicker and been out and then Prior would have been sent in early to score a rip-roaring 150 to give us the victory and leave the Aussies crying into what passes for their beer.  Where is your sense of romance?!!!!

[matthew]

I thought Australia batted for too long yesterday, and too slowly, given they had to win.

Clarke's postmatch interview included the statement that they had planned to bat a further couple of overs on Sunday and declare to give them 25 overs bowling at the top order. Given the mess England got into yesterday they could easily have been 3 down over night and in a real mire if the weather held today. The failure of the light on Sunday put a spanner in the calculations.

Conversely if they had pulled out earlier and the light held Engalnd could have been 100 for 1 at the close chasing 275 and then the Aussies would have been up against it yesterday, particularly if the weather held. I doubt Clarke would have wanted to go down in Aussie cricketing history as the captain who declared twice in an Ashes match and LOST.

Bad weather (light and rain) will always be a potential factor in cricket by they are inherently uncertain and making declarations on the  assumption that the weather will take away time is as likely to come back and bite you as be the inspired captaincy.

[ferret]

put like that Peter you are quite right but I do believe that cap'n Cook even said in one of his interviews yesterday that now England have retained the ashes, they now need to go on and win them. Does anybody know what the weathers doing on Friday ?

[Deano]

It had bloody better not rain. We've got tickets, and there aren't that many other things to do in Chester-le-Street.

[Deano]

I thought Australia batted for too long yesterday, and too slowly, given they had to win.

Clarke's postmatch interview included the statement that they had planned to bat a further couple of overs on Sunday and declare to give them 25 overs bowling at the top order. Given the mess England got into yesterday they could easily have been 3 down over night and in a real mire if the weather held today. The failure of the light on Sunday put a spanner in the calculations.

Conversely if they had pulled out earlier and the light held Engalnd could have been 100 for 1 at the close chasing 275 and then the Aussies would have been up against it yesterday, particularly if the weather held. I doubt Clarke would have wanted to go down in Aussie cricketing history as the captain who declared twice in an Ashes match and LOST.

Bad weather (light and rain) will always be a potential factor in cricket by they are inherently uncertain and making declarations on the  assumption that the weather will take away time is as likely to come back and bite you as be the inspired captaincy.

Aye, they were obviously planning something like that from how they were batting (slowly, which England seemed happy to go along with, given the over rate). I just thought, at the time, that they'd have been better off throwing the bat a bit and getting England in for a session or an hour before the close - light allowing. From what I heard on the radio, conditions were pretty good for bowling, and Australia need to win for the series.

Maybe they're aiming for the winter series back in Australia, though, and they probably wanted to give their bowlers an overnight rest (Ryan Harris, magnificent though he has been, was probably relieved when England avoided the follow-on, as he seems to struggle with his fitness in back-to-back tests, let alone back-to-back innings).

Not that I'm complaining about how things turned out! Now, let's get Onions in at the Riverside. I wonder if the Aussies are staying at Lumley Castle again..?

[matthew]

 Slowly!! they were scoring at 5 an over.

[Deano]

Were they? I only heard a bit on the radio (I was in Keswick with no LW and shaky internet). I got the impression that they were plodding.

Ah well, I was talking rubbish then. I still thought 270 would have been too much for England to chase, regardless of the weather.

[Peter]

See reply 637 for what would actually have happened.

[ferret]

after a quick browse around a few weather sites, it looks like possible showers on Friday but nothing too bad, very nice on Saturday but down hill from then on. But as we know the forecasters can be less than useless in situations like this, hope you have a pleasant time Deano and stay dry:)

[andyoxon]

Good day for Aus.  Have to see how effective the England bowling attack is.

[bobb]

Better than the batting lineup one would hope...

[ferret]

couldn't be much worse, or could it ?

[spesh]

I suppose we should be thankful that a reversion to type happened two matches too late for Australia.