The Ashes: Second Test, Adelaide - The 100% OFFICIAL thread [Merged]

[Gazwag]

Are there any other quicks they can send out to replace Harmison or Anderson?

Botham and Willis - both already out there as well

 

[Pavilionaire]

This test is not dead yet.

England have already displayed a "safety-first" attitude in their selection, and if they take the field thinking "bat for a draw" they could be in trouble.

I believe that if there is a winner it is more likely to be Australia than England, because it is perfectly conceivable for the Aussies to skittle us out by the middle of the last day and knock off the required 200-odd runs in 45 overs.

Well, yesterday lunchtime I wrote these words and - guess what? - we capitulated as per the script.

England took the field in TOTALLY the wrong mindset. When will England learnt hat you can't afford to think negatively when playing the Aussies?

The first 12 overs yielded 11 runs and 1 wicket. I knew at that point we'd lose this test. To me none of the batsmen knew what the gameplan was, they didn't know how to mix defence and attack, whereas it was obvious the Aussies made a gameplan and stuck to it ruthlessly.

The annoying thing is that England had the talent to get at least a draw in this test but were outthought and outcoached. Fletcher is a busted flush.

 

[dwayne]

SHAMBOLIC

send them home

 

[Beach Hut]

SHAMBOLIC

send them home

Sadly just for once I agree

Pathetic, inert and disgraceful

 

[Cadiz Seagull]

We declared too early in the first innings. Because the pitch was so slow we didn't score fast enough and Flintoff wanted to get them in for half an hour before the close of play. We should have ignored that and gone on to just before or even after lunch on day 3. On that pitch the only way to beat Australia was to make them follow on. 350 ish was never going to be very difficult for Australia to reach, 450 may have been different. Even if they had scored what they did score there would have been no time for the Aussies to win, even allowing for our collapse.

 

[Bozza]

We declared too early in the first innings. Because the pitch was so slow we didn't score fast enough and Flintoff wanted to get them in for half an hour before the close of play. We should have ignored that and gone on to just before or even after lunch on day 3. On that pitch the only way to beat Australia was to make them follow on. 350 ish was never going to be very difficult for Australia to reach, 450 may have been different. Even if they had scored what they did score there would have been no time for the Aussies to win, even allowing for our collapse.

Hindsight is a wonderful, wonderful thing.

Can't believe we've thrown this test away though.

 

[Herne Hill Seagull]

Saw odds available before start of play today at 1-20 the draw, Australia 12-1. Head was screaming at me to take the 12-1 and shove a score on the Aussies, but my heart just wouldn't let me do it. Gutted I didn't now - might have bloody known this would happen. Useless cs.

 

[SJ's Love Monkey]

Botham and Willis - both already out there as well

That should be the management team IMO

 

[Trigger]

Disgusting, utterly disgusting.

As I've said before, Fletcher was good once but now all he does is give jobs to the boys unless they are injured, it is tiresome, it is time for Fletcher to f*** OFF.

 

[Guinness Boy]

God what a depressing morning. Back to commuting after 2 weeks paternity leave, I wake properly after a disturbed night's sleep at 6.15am to see this absolute shambles playing out on my telly and rain and gales lashing the house.

All Fletcher's bad decisions are coming home to roost. Glies in for his fielding and batting eh? Thank God he didn't drop a really important catch and weighed in with a shed load of runs then. Oh.

Panesar HAS to play next test and if we are in a similar position first innings we have to put 600 on the board before declaring. Ian Healy was saying on Sky you need 700 runs to avoid defeat in modern day tests. England got 680 and lost.

 

[Scoffers]

I lay the blame fairly and squarely with the management, we picked too many unfit bowlers, not enough warm up matches, got the Tresco situation all wrong, didn't have the balls to play two spinners despite Anderson/Harmison's lack of form, laid too much pressure at the Freddies door especially as he recovered from injury (Strauss should have been skipper).

I know it's easy to be wise after the event, but most, if not all, of the above was predictable, and frankly, not rocket science.

At the end of the day, two abject batting displays have cost us the first two tests, but we are playing the World's best team, which makes the management decisions even more incredibly inept.

 

[Brovion]

We declared too early in the first innings. Because the pitch was so slow we didn't score fast enough and Flintoff wanted to get them in for half an hour before the close of play. We should have ignored that and gone on to just before or even after lunch on day 3. On that pitch the only way to beat Australia was to make them follow on. 350 ish was never going to be very difficult for Australia to reach, 450 may have been different. Even if they had scored what they did score there would have been no time for the Aussies to win, even allowing for our collapse.

No I disagree I thought the declaration was the right decision. We got a wicket that evening, then another couple early on the following day and IF Giles could have hung on to a relatively simple catch we'd have had them at about 69-4. It would have been a different game then.

We'd already handed the initiative to Australia before a ball was bowled when we didn't include Monty. And, yes, this IS hindsight but as well as Monty for Giles (which everybody wanted) I'd have played Mamood for Anderson. He couldn't have bowled any worse and his batting is a lot better.

 

[Billy the Fish]

We declared too early in the first innings. Because the pitch was so slow we didn't score fast enough and Flintoff wanted to get them in for half an hour before the close of play. We should have ignored that and gone on to just before or even after lunch on day 3. On that pitch the only way to beat Australia was to make them follow on. 350 ish was never going to be very difficult for Australia to reach, 450 may have been different. Even if they had scored what they did score there would have been no time for the Aussies to win, even allowing for our collapse.

I disagree, had Giles taken that catch at to make it 79/4 we would've won this test. At the time it was the right decision, we didn't know that a pathetic 2nd innings was about to happen. Even if sombody had managed an extra 30 runs, or the top 6 all managed to hit one boundry, we would've scraped a draw.
Pavillionaire is right, it's all down to the sit back and defend attitude they had. Because of that the Aussies could smell the fear and went in for the kill.

 

[London Calling]

A pointless match now as a draw is inevitable. Still, that's not too bad. After the first test there was obviously a fear we could be whitewashed, or got close to it. At least we have put up a fight and shown we are as good as them, and to be fair that has taken a lot of bottle from England when the pressure was certainly on. To be honest, I would happily take a draw in Perth too, and then bank on us winning one of the last two tests to retain the urn. To win a test though, I am certain that Monty needs to be in the team, probably at the expense of Anderson. Sort it out Fletcher!

A classic statement! 24 hours on.

 

[Scoffers]

A classic statement! 24 hours on.

Indeed, never underestimate our ability to self destruct!

 

[vulture]

What a crock of shit What the f*** where England doing being so negative twice in the day.1)Batting like a bunch of joey deacons after scoring 551-6 2)Not going all out for a win when bowling and putting pressure on the aussies.
This now could be 4 or 5 nil to the aussies.Fletcher should go and england need to pick the right team.I would drop Bell,jones,Giles,anderson

1)Strauss
2)Joyce
3)Cook
4)Collingwood
5)kp
6)Freddie
7)Read
8)Harminson
9)Mahmood
10)Hoggard
11)Monty

But of course we all know that will not happened

 

[Scoffers]

What a crock of shit What the f*** where England doing being so negative twice in the day.1)Batting like a bunch of joey deacons after scoring 551-6 2)Not going all out for a win when bowling and putting pressure on the aussies.
This now could be 4 or 5 nil to the aussies.Fletcher should go and england need to pick the right team.I would drop Bell,jones,Giles,anderson

1)Strauss
2)Joyce
3)Cook
4)Collingwood
5)kp
6)Freddie
7)Read
8)Harminson
9)Mahmood
10)Hoggard
11)Monty

But of course we all know that will not happened

Agreed, except I dont believe that Harmison deserves to keep his place, but who do we have to replace him with?

 

[vulture]

Agreed, except I dont believe that Harmison deserves to keep his place, but who do we have to replace him with?

Plunkett Maybe give Stuart Broad a call up as he is over there already

 

[Ernest]

Absolute disgrace and we need a TRIED and tested English coach and not some FOREIGN numptie and kick out all the FOREIGNERS too

 

[SJ's Love Monkey]

Absolute disgrace and we need a TRIED and tested English coach and not some FOREIGN numptie and kick out all the FOREIGNERS too

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