good to see the limeys all out for 102 after 33.5 overs.. schweet

Good to see, only I have taken a dive in the fantasy cricket ranks. Cmon Johnson, DO SOMETHING!

yeah baybe yeah!
one a piece now
put them limeys to bed fellas!! sweet
bring on da next game pls

Ricky must have made a right decision for a change

AND Johnson took a 5fer so I'm back to 2nd in the tipping comp.

And it's been great to see all the VW advertising signs in the background during the telecast.

I always thought Andrew Hilditch (chairman of selectors) was a tool, and he has confirmed it today. He wants to drop Stuart Clark from the team for the Oval. It is no coincidence that his recall for the Fourth Test marked Australia's first win of the series. Now Hilditch wants to drop him ! Sure, go ahead and pick Hauritz instead - the Poms will be overjoyed. Hilditch was not a great cricketer, famous only for being Bob Simpson's son-in-law, and for being given out Handled The Ball in 1978.

I thought we won because everyone was scared of Johnsons haircut. Should have used a sharper steak knife.
You cant underestimate the Flintoff effect. I hate the guy, he's an absolute tosser, but he's a winner.

One match each and one to go, what's going to happen? Ricky going to do his teapot impersonation again? Are the Balmy Army going to hurt poor Ricky's feelings by calling him names again? Will Freddy win the match for the Poms? Will the Sraylians try to intimidate/sledge/out appeal everybody else/blame poor umpiring and accuse the poms of bad sportsmanship while doing all of the above?

C'mon Poms C'mon

limey's limey' limeys OUT
you stink

I think it would be good for Test Match cricket for England to win at the Oval and get the Ashes back. The Australian management and much of the team is insufferably arrogant and deserves a kick up the backside.

The selectors thought Phil Hughes was their Golden Boy and didn't even pick a reserve opener for the tour. Doesn't Ponting like Phil Jaques or Chris Rogers? When Hughes' backyard technique was found wanting on English wickets he was dropped - oops, no one to replace him. Shane Watson has done an admirable job in the interim, but who believes he will still be opening for Australia in 12 months time? Katich's technique is also sus, with that shuffle across the stumps as the bowler lets go. Works OK in Australia with our hard fast wickets, but not in England. Hussey needs a rest from the side for a while. Ponting is still a good batsman but a lousy captain and a bad little sport when things don't go his way. Haddin's keeping is below par - Manou is a better keeper - and he is in the side for his batting. He also over appeals and has a record of claiming dodgy catches - that ended Greg Dyer's career in the 1980s so he'd best be careful. Where do I start with the spin bowling schemozzle? I wonder if Bryce McGain, Jason Krezja and Beau Casson are enjoying watching the series on TV? And Nathan Bracken obviously isn't Ponting's mate - Australia's best limited overs bowler didn't even make the 20/20 squad, let alone an overdue recall to the Test team. And now they want to drop Stuart Clark. Stuff me.

Then we have a Test 'coach', Nielsen, who has never played Test cricket and was merely a Shield wicket keeper for South Australia (101 matches, 284 catches, 32 stumpings, 3805 runs at 26.06). Why do Test teams even require a 'coach'? Cricket is not football. In cricket it is the Captain who is in charge, not the 'coach'. If any 'coach' had tried to tell Armstrong, Woodfull, Bradman, Benaud, Ian Chappell or Border how they should be playing or captaining, they would have been thrown out of the dressing room. And by the time you are chosen to play for Australia, you should bloody well know how to bat and bowl (Bill O'Reilly's articles on this subject, written 20 years ago, make great reading). As Warnie once said, the only coach they need is the diesel-engined one they use to get from the hotel to the ground.

On top of that you have Warnie's inane and self-centred commentary on SBS, a useless cardboard cutout (Damien Martyn) on the studio panel, Langer spreading rubbish via emails and that moron Hayden offending other commentators and sticking his big dumb nose in everywhere. Hmm, those four were all on the last Ashes tour - and we lost.

Australia traditionally struggles at the Oval - since 1880 we have played 34 Tests there, losing 15, drawing 13 and winning only 6. We won there in 2001 (drew in 2005) but before that our previous win was in 1972, and before that, 1948!

UnAstralyan Phil.

Agree ponting is a bad captain but the team is winning. Agree Haddin is in the team as much for his batting as he is for his keeping. But why wouldnt he be? Who cares if you drop a catch or let through a few byes when you score 100 the next day? I dont like Bracken either. He's a show pony, cut his fricken hair so he doesnt have to wear a girly headband. You might recall his ex-girlfriend Ms Bingle is now the main squeeze of the vice captain. Maybe thats part of the story.

I dont really care about the over appealing either. We've been on the recieving end of so many ball tampering, chuckers, slow play, bad weather, and blatantly wrong umpiring decisions yet still at #1. That it gives us a right to be arrogant in my book.

Sorry Chris, but as a former Sydney club umpire I have a greater loyalty to the game cricket itself than I do to the current Australian team!

Yes we were spoiled by Gilchrist's amazing talents. He was a pretty good keeper, as well as a sensational batsman. Traditionally keepers were not required to be 'good' batsmen. Our early great keepers - Oldfield, Tallon, Grout - couldn't bat to save their lives. Don Tallon was Bradman's keeper during the '48 Invincibles tour (generally thought to be the best of all time, although the 1908, 1922, 1930, 1974-5 and late '90s teams were outstanding too), and he only averaged 17.13 with the bat. But he didn't have to be a good bat, with Barnes, Morris, Harvey, Bradman, Hassett and Miller in the side. But he was a great keeper, maybe our best ever.

No Aussie keeper made a century unti Rod Marsh made his first in the 1977 Centenary Test. He was considered a great keeper - he kept to Lillee and Thomson! - but Marsh is remembered for being a decent bat. He made 3 centuries and averaged 26.51. Marsh's replacements - Wayne Phillips, Tim Zoehrer and Greg Dyer - were not in his class with gloves or bat (Phillips was a got bat when he wasn't keeper but he couldn't do both). Ian Healy was the next great keeper-batsman - a fine gloveman ('bowled Shane!') with 395 dismissals, yet he made 4 centuries and averaged 27.39. Marsh had been eclipsed. But Gilchrist (416 dismissals) was a a cut above. No less than 17 centuries and an average of 47.60, up there with our best batsmen of all time. How do you follow him?

Hadden has made an impact with the bat, making 2 centuries so far and his Test average is 40.85. His scores in the series so far have been 121, 28, 80 and 14. But his keeping is less than spectacular - just 67 dismissals in 18 Tests. If he had not dropped catches in Cardiff, the Poms would not have made 435 and we would have won the match. Catches win matches, not centuries the next day!

I didn't know Lara Bingle was Bracken's ex - that's cozy! That would make the change room conversations interesting. I also wonder if Katich grabbed Clark by the throat that night because Clark was going home to shag Lara, and not him.

Test umpires now are pretty terrible. All the technology has made their decision making worse, not better. Even the TV umpires get it wrong. There are plenty of umpires in Sydney 1st grade who are better than Koertzen or Billy and don't have TVs to hold their hand. Umpires also need to be able to apply the Laws in regard to ball tampering, chucking, slow play etc without fear or favour, but if India or Pakistan complain they lose their jobs. Darryl Hair was one of our best, toughest and fairest umpires and look what they did to him.

Isn't there anything more Australian than taking the piss out of our cricket team?

Yes, Huss needs a rest and Katman should have never been recalled. Stu Clark got hammered late into the poms 2nd innings but so what, his overall figures where pretty good considering how long he was laid up for. Itchy Mitchy is a fine left hander and if he's on look out pom's, Freddy or not.

Ahh, Freddy. The man, the legend. The Poms looked flat with out him. Should our boys be worried?
My prediction, the ashes are going back to ye old land.

omg omg omfokng 400 more to win..
can the lads from the penal settlement do the un-doable??
hope'n so

Hehehee sorry boys - looks like they're ours.

Was a fitting end I thought. Ricky "the brat" Ponting had the look of a condemed man when he came out that last time. They were outplayed, simple as that. Ricky whinging about the toss does him no favours, he had a long run of favourable tosses before this series, that's the way it goes.

International cricket has become interesting again.

What is the height of optimism?

A. An Australian batsman applying sunscreen.



Q. What does Ricky put in his hands to make sure the
next ball almost always takes a wicket?

A. A bat.



Q. What is the Australian version of a hat-trick?

A. Three runs in three balls.



Q. Who has the easiest job in the Australian squad?

A. The guy who removes the red ball marks from the bats.


Q. Who spends the most time on the crease of anyone in the
Australian team?

A. The person who ironed the cricket whites.



If the Australians are batting first, tell the taxi to wait!

Hahahaha.... love the jokes bizarre....

goddammit you bitches waaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh
congrats to the limey folk.. the better team on the day won.. simple as that..
odi's bring it on n the boxing day test - ticket is in my hot little hand so roll on boxing day @ the G!

What a sad day it is for Australian cricket.

I would hate to be Ricky Ponting, losing the Ashes twice, not something I'd like on my resume.

nah - he should be proud

Only the 2nd person in 100 years to have lost the Ashes twice