This explains what actually happened in 2 sentences .... well done Aqua.

I see Strauss has got the job. He's not the best captain in the world ... but will be 'a safe pair of hands' so is what's needed. ..

btw I agree with all that BarkingM said .... it wouldn't have been 5-0 in Aus if Strauss had been captain instead of Freddie in 2006/7. Moores was also NOT the man for the England job.

Total fuckin shambles. The politics is actually lost on me but I did feel it was a little odd for KP to be calling the shots whilst holidaying in South Africa. Not sure whether the job was too soon for Peter Moores, I think it has to be taken into account that we're not actually very good.

The new Yorkshire captain Anthony McGrath shows that he's got sense. In his 'blog' he has the following sentence about Adil Rashid being picked for England.

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I’ll finish this blog by congratulating Adil Rashid on his selection for England’s Caribbean tour. I hope he plays a part and if he is given a chance I’m sure he’ll do well. I’m excited for him, but also a bit cautious. Leg-spin is a difficult art and I don’t think we will see the best of Adil for a few years yet. As a Club I think we have to learn from the Chris Schofield situation when he was picked, hyped up because he had six different variations, but was then cast aside and left to sink. The Club can be very proud of Adil, but we should not be too hard on him if he isn’t successful. He’s young and needs the support of everyone associated with the Club to make him the player he can become.

http://www.yorkshireccc.com/archive/captai...rath/index.html

From http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/counties/7844911.stm

County games enjoy record crowds

A record-breaking 1.5m people watched county cricket matches during the 2008 season, an increase of 23%, the England and Wales Cricket Board has announced.
The County Championship saw a 30% increase from 2007, with 558,950 people attending matches.
The expanded Twenty20 Cup was the most-watched competition with 593,317 coming through the turnstiles, an increase of 36% from the previous season.
But the Friends Provident Trophy saw a 7% decline from figures in 2007.
"Many counties have invested heavily in their facilities offering a vastly improved spectator experience which, coupled with some thrilling cricket in 2008, ensures the fabric of our sport remains strong," said ECB chief executive David Collier.
The figures suggest a resurgence in the County Championship, a four-day competition often criticised for its lack of spectators.
The climax of the 2008 First Division Championship was one of the most exciting in the competition's history, as Durham clinched the title on the final weekend of matches.

See, it wasn't just us there.

ECB 'say a resounding No to IPL' ............or at least they did for a while.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/7845340.stm

The IPL news is confusing. If you sign a contract to work for a firm they tend to get annoyed (& sue) if you disapear for a few weeks because another job pys better. Yet this is exactly what's going to happen. Some cricketers wont be available for theit counties because they are earning squillions in the IPL.

2 points

1) The next time someone like Pietersen complains about burn out ask them 'how much to appear?'

2) I'm surpriced the championship numbers are increasing. The ECB schedule fixtures so only 'die hards' have any idea if their county has a game ... then allow 'the stars' to miss games because they want to earn money elsewhere.

Yeah, I was surprised to read that too. You have to be pretty dedicated to get to a CC match these days, and there seem to be very few CC fixtures at weekends now. Can't say I've noticed any increase. Nor have I noticed any decrease. But it's good to hear if the numbers are going up despite everything.

I see the Englishmen who agoing to earn serious money in the IPL are moaning because they're going to have to pay 10% to their clubs. That's the clubs they should be playing for whilst they are in India. That's the clubs who spent money developing players talent & rightfully expect some return.

These are the cricketers who moaned about being 'tried' ... why dont they just admit that all they care about is the money. If anyone who's played in the IPL underperforms for England in the Ashes they should be fined heavily.

* Speechless *

Hopeless.

The answer is rather simple ..... in the first innings England couldn't play a turning ball from an 'average' spinner .... in the Windies innings England bowled poorly .... the Windies then showed the value of bowling line & length ..... I'm not sure the English bowlers wvwn know what l&l is

I'm totally p*ssed off with the team ... they should come home NOW

Embarrassing. I hope they are ashamed of themselves. Though as it doesn't affect them financially, I suspect they just don't care that much.

Yay! England have batted through a whole day of a Test without losing a wicket!

What an utter farce.

Possibly a whole match.

What an absolute farce. Anyone with any knowledge of the game would know that having a sand pit in the middle of a fast bowler's run up makes it impossible to bowl properly. Edwards managed 4 deliveries but also had 3 failed attempts. Of course nothing will actually be done to make sure it doesn't happen again

It now appears that the test will be restaged at the 'old' ground starting Sunday..... if they are lucky (there are currently football lines down the middle of the pitch & at lewast 1 stand has been condemed as unsafe). But I bet nothing will be done about the poor 8,000 England fans who've travelled for the game & I guess many of them will have flights booked for Wednesday so will miss 2 day or the game (or 1 if their flight is sufficiently late). I know I'm VERY glad that we didn't decide to go.

Allegedly, the ECB have decided on a way to even things out.



The first WI test in England will be played on Skegness beach.

Amazingly England ended the first day 200 (ish) for 3. Why couldn't they bat like that in the Jamaca test

It was 301 Red

I thought I tryped 300ish ... must be more careful

On Tuesday I was screaming at the TV when England didn't enforce the follow on ... whilst they still may win today has proved me right ... England have been somewhat 'flat' .. perhaps the knowledge that Stamford wont be around to give them millions has affected some

*Gnashes teeth and tears out hair*

I told you we should have enforced the follow on

Do we start the "Strauss out" campaign yet?

Personally I'm still trying to recover from the totally shocking and unexpected news that there might just be something slightly dodgy about Stanford. I mean, who'd've ever thought it?

I think Strauss was right in batting again. Two of our bowlers needed time to recover and we had more than enough time left to win it. He should however have declared earlier.

Who can tell me what the numbers under the badge on the England team shirts (as seen here) mean? Strauss is 624 and Cook 630, for instance.

I believe its their number in the England squad historically - for example Strauss was the 624th player to be 'capped' for England.

....... a quick search on Wikipedia confirms this :-

Thanks, Aquaman. I thought it might be something like that.

Its an idea we copied from the Australians ..... they also do the same thing for the England 1 day team .... most people find it very amusing that the batsman who'd would have worn the England 1 Day no 1 is a rather famous Yorkshire batsman who's currently on TMS
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Just in case non cricket fans are reading this it's Geoff Boycott ... a renound 'blocker'

Indeed yes. And they still haven't sorted out how to play the ODI stuff...

Maybe no. 666 when he arrives will be the answer to their problems. Sure to be a beast.

Or called Nelson

Bloody hell !

Has anyone else noticed that England* can only win a match when the opposition get confused about out how many they need to score to win?

Maybe it's the best tactic for the Ashes series...

*By "England" here, I of course meant the men's team. All respect to the England women's team, to whom the above comment most definitely does not apply.

A good start for Nott's in the FP - an 8 wkt win over Leic's

First few matches would indicate that Essex will be ok in the one-day stuff, but dire in the CC. So no change there then.

Popped down the road to see Cambridge playing Yorkshire last week. Hoggard looked spritely. Seems he's been treated very badly by England.

I wonder what moster thinks about the test being played in Wales.....

well the controlling body in england is now the england and wales cricket board ( or something very similar ).
hasnt been much cricket talk here lately.
looks like only rain will save england going into day 5 or a very solid batting effort

HOWZAT ?

OK... my lovely wife falls over laughing (not literally) when a cricket match can end in a draw after five days, and the English are praying for rain.

The Australians are so much better it isn't true.

We do have Monty Panestsar though, whose cult following amongst schoolkids in West London is not likely to go away. The first Sikh to play for England, just if anyone missed it.

So.........if this were Monopoly then England have now used their 'get out of jail free' card.

Luckily, the ECB have chosen Lords for the next Test because, at Lords, England have always done well against Australia ..........(pauses to think)................ hold fast, wasn't the last time we beat Australia at Lords (rather than a draw or a loss) 1934 ????


Oh bugger

Howzat!

Totally outplayed for about four and three-quarter days, and yet managed to squeak a draw... Great tension mixed with comedy.

England's top six should be ashamed of their performance, redeemed only by Collingwood's grit yesterday. Their bowlers didn't do much better (not with the ball, anyway). But life isn't as easy for Ponting without McGrath and Warne to turn to, is it?

To be honest, I am amazed that England got out of that. What makes it more fun for me is watching with Deb, and explaining what "The Ashes" are. The smallest trophy I've ever seen, actually, and the original is still in the museum at Lord's. Nope, they don't let it out, and everything else is just a replica.

Yep, to play for 5 days and not get a result is something hard to explain to an American. Or probably anyone, actually.

I confidently expect England to get hammered in the next four. But I am most certainly having Monty.

If anyones interested, highlights of each day are available here .

They usually update at about 23:00 after the days play.

(Only works in the UK though apparently)

See, I thought I was just being the dutiful 'Little Woman' and updating Mr Seahorse (currently in far flung climes) on the Ashes via the miracle of BBC Live Text. That'd be why I put off a shopping trip earlier, then spent a moderate amount of time dancing round my kitchen and punching the air...

can i just mention before the next test starts that ian bell is a cunt and does not deserve a place in the side anymore than i do. good. so when he fucks up later this week remember it's not sour grapes. he really is a talentless cunt.

what the fuck are you doing back here, cunt?

amen.

and maybe i am a bit simple, but what difference does it make if the ground is wet or not? FFS let's watch some ashes already....

Was there yesterday...........funny how they just managed to get 30 overs in (if there's less than 25 overs played all ticket holders get a full refund)

Dare I say that I'm going to the T20 finals at Edgsbaston. Because I support Kent ! My county.

It's all a bit crap and parochial, but I have to do it. Kent's image is that of a white horse (Invicta - unbeaten), which is historically incorrect, as Kent has been overrun by Jutes, Romans, Vikings...

Anyway, seriously off now.