carolinephillips

Yay- a win for England- Pieterson finishes it off and has a great knock.


(not sure how to spell his name)

papilon

I find Pietersen quite frustrating at times but when the conditions are right and when the opening batsmen have done there job properly he can come in and take the game away from teams which he did in devastating fashion in the first innings. A few years ago we looked to Pietersen as the big hope, now we can win without him and he has been overshadowed by the likes of Cook and Trott and that's a good thing.

DeadVim

Absolutely, a 'world class' team can't carry any player and there needs to be grit as well as mercurial talent.

I see Aus are struggling against WI in the current test series ... I guess I should be sympathetic to my adopted country but nah ...

DeadVim

It appears I have crowed too early ... good tail-end fightback and a bold declaration by Clarke backed-up by his bowlers have put Aus in with a chance.

What IS it with Australian teams?

chris955

I'm amazed that Australia couldn't beat the WI in the ODI series and that this test could still go either way.

Siren & Brian

Until that fat lady is singing it aint over.

DeadVim

You've got to admire their tenacity.

I agree it could go either way still given the pitch will be a minefield on the final day.

papilon

Good fight back by the aussies, they have always beenn good with the declarations and i think it puts teams on the back foot.

Would love to see the Windies win, fond memories of that team from the 70/80s would be great if they could somehow get back to that level again.

Amazulu

Clarke is a good captain and player. I could never imagine Punter making a declaration like that!

Broad Shoulders

I agree. He has copped an unfair amount of flack from the media and people of this country because of his off-field antics, whereas his on field performances have always been exemplary. The criticism for his form slump in the last few years has been vastly over-done. Many other batsmen should have been in the selection-dropping spotlight before him. He is by far Aus' best batsman at the moment and far more astute a captain than Ponting ever was.

Amazulu

And he knobs smoking hot chicks.

DeadVim

I did mean to mention that, I thought Clarke would be a disaster as captain, shows what I know.

Time difference to WI a bugger for following it

DeadVim

Tense finish in the end but the Aussies got it home, respect to them and especially the declaration.

Vash the Stampede

Amazing confidence by Clarke. I was gobsmacked by his declaration but he was vindicated in the second innings!

papilon

Way to early to declare Clark a successful Australian captain. Lets see what happens over the next 2 years. What other batsmen are you talking about?? only Ponting as far as i can tell, everyone else has already been dropped at some stage.

When he declared he believed that the draw was safe, as it happens it nearly bit him on the bum.