Amazulu

England have been poor in this test. They really need to look at the attitude of some of their players. Strauss needs to lay down the law - if he is going to be an effective captain he has no other choice but to.

Rain might save England today.

Siren & Brian

No you are not.

Amazulu

Correct. The team that is No.1 deserves to be No.1.

If SA get top spot then they will have deserved it.

WillBlack

It appears South Africa has absolutely no change because The Ashes is a test cricket series played [exclusively] between England and Australia.

Amazulu

http://icc-cricket.yahoo.net/newsdetails.php?newsId=393

Broad Shoulders

huh?

WillBlack

Ah-huh.

Do you think Aus could exasperate SA so exhaustively as the Poms with a gift of a wee urn?

Broad Shoulders

The point is that if Aus get smashed in this series then SA will go top. Sure SA don't gain any points from this result but the Aussie lose points. That's how the system works. So Amazulu is correct

WillBlack

Now I know someone is counting. But if the Aus team lose, ya reckon the Poms'll flick the wee urn to the Saffas?

papilon

That was without doubt the most miserable days cricket by England in living memory and there have been plenty of other miserable days, worst of all its against an Australian team that are at best average.

What i dont understand is english county cricket is the most vibrant domestic cricket league in the world, you have players in it from all the best cricket nations in the world so englands players are exposed to every type of batting and bowling, compare that to Australia sheffield shield, very few teams and very few overseas players to learn from. To loose is one thing but to look totaly inept is unforgivable.

Alfresco

The sun is already shining here (and in Wales) today. Yesterday's rain has gone. I expect full days play.

Did you hear me England cricket team - a FULL days play!!! Nothing else is acceptable.

Broad Shoulders

You don't know much about cricket, do you?

WillBlack

Not all the ins and outs, true, but I do know it is truely excellent for winding up Poms.

The Rules of Cricket

You have two sides, one out in the field and one in. Each man that's in the side that's in goes out, and when he's out he comes in and the next man goes in until he's out. When they are all out, the side that's out comes in and the side thats been in goes out and tries to get those coming in, out. Sometimes you get men still in and not out.

When a man goes out to go in, the men who are out try to get him out, and when he is out he goes in and the next man in goes out and goes in. There are two men called umpires who stay all out all the time and they decide when the men who are in are out. When both sides have been in and all the men have out, and both sides have been out twice after all the men have been in, including those who are not out, that is the end of the game!

Vash the Stampede

You underestimate the diversity of Australian cricket. We have a thriving amateur scene fuelled by highly competitive interstate rivalries. Our international players are drawn from a high quality domestic pool.

"Grade cricket" is our equivalent of England's county cricket. It is well organised, with intra- and inter-state competitions at an amateur level.

Australia also has four major national domestic cricket competitions (Sheffield Shield, Ford Ranger Cup, KFC Twenty20 Big Bash, Cricket Australia Cup & Women's National Cricket League) and two minor nationals (CA Under-19 Cup & CA Under-17 Cup) all of which are fiercely contended.

One major difference that has struck me during my 5+ years in the UK is the provision of public sporting facilities. Cricket nets are a common feature of public parks in Australia, but I have never seen one in a UK park.

Pearl&Wal

Tbf Vash, England has all of those leagues too - County Championship Div 1 and 2, Sunday League 20/20 Cup (first in the world to have one), womans cricket so it's not that.

And also, I watch A Grade Cricket and I played in the top leagues in England in the Midlands and Surrey, played with Aussie overseas players and County players and i'd say Aussie A grade is closer to the equalvilent of minor Counties Cricket with 1 or 2 state players thrown in. However, State sides are well above average county sides. It's a very good standard, but A grade is not 4 day county cricket - atleast it's not in South-East Qld.

The reason England are getting dicked on is that they didn't take their chances when batsmen got in during their first innings - they lacked patience and had poor shot selection. Australia taught England a lesson about how to bat on a good wicket. Katich and Pontings innings just showed England that patience and good shot selection when in on a great wicket = lots and lots of runs.