Thetownend.com

Starts tomorrow morning, 0230 GMT. As larwood has said on another thread, all-rounder Andrew Symonds replaces the retired Damien Martyn, which is the only change for the Aussies.

England aren't naming the side until just before the start, but are expected to pick Monty Panesar ahead of Jimmy Anderson. No other changes are likely, Freddie has supposedly recovered from that dodgy ankle injury.

England have never come back from 2-0 down in the Ashes.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/england/6174769.stm

And they probably won't this time either.

Perth has always been a pace-bowler's paradise. Warne always bowls well there too because he gets a bit more bounce and quicker turn. When you are a class bowler you can get wickets on a pudding !

Would have thought Mahmood would have come more into contention for Anderson and Panesar for the King of Spain.

NMH

Would it be best to bat first?

Yes

well if we lose the toss we are gone. lets hope we have a miracle.........

Is it a spinners wicket?

If not then drop Giles for Panesar, Jones for Read & give Mahmood a chance instead of Anderson.

Fletcher will not drop giles or jones.

this will never happen (so it's easy for me to say and never be proved wrong!) but i say drop flintoff down to 7 and play another batsman. then you can play monty at 11 and not really worry about the tail.

poor old monty though, he's on a hiding to nothing. everyone expects him now to take wickets, and cheaply, but at perth he's likely to be knocked about a bit.

there is a bit there for the spinners though. the sea breeze helps apprently and the wicket is slower than the old days. it should suit Freddie and Harmison as well if its a little quick in the first few days and hopefully some bounce. it might even swing for Hoggard

what a cracking delivery from monty  8)

excellent morning, harmy could have 3 & we've got the line up right

come on you lot it's not that early

I hate that fucker Symonds!  :evil:

Bye bye Symonds....

Monty, monty, monty

ha ha ha ace.  :beers:

Gilchrist falls to Monty.

Monty Monty Monty OI OI OI!

Fuck off Glichrist.

QUACK!

Quality. Monty got Warne... :beers:

"5 for" Monty...he's the new turbanator!!

Monty is ace....that is all.

5 down - 5 to go !

 :\/

All out for 244. Nice work.

Watch Brett Lee destroy us now  :|

Tremendous stuff lads, particularly Harmy and Monty! What an Ashes debut! Bit of a shitter to lose 2 wickets late on, but it's still been our day. This one is heading for a result either way, so we have to bat well tomorrow

fucking hell  :shock:


bet they're regretting not sticking monty in the 2nd test...



is this more of a bowlers pitch than a batters pitch then?

The pitch has got more bounce and carry to the keeper. So bowlers pitch. Cannot believe Warne dropped Collingwood. HA HA HA.

highlights day 1 3rd test
http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid353537893

Well done to Mr Cricket(Mike Hussey) Harmy and Monty.

Take it that (bare injury) is the last we'll ever see of mister giles in an england shirt

what a day! and what a performance from Monty! legend if ever there was one!

Got home from work yesterday and watched it all afternoon. Brilliant stuff.

The aussies were so bitter they got bowled out! Got far too high opinions of themselves.

Another poor batting performance bar Pietersen & Monty & Harmison at the end.

HOGGY! HOGGY! HOGGY!

First ball of Australias 2nd innings and Hoggard bowls Langer!  8)

:roll:

well if we don't take a few quick wickets in the first session today then its all over. can't see us chasing more than 250 with Warne bowling  :-))(

fucking hell..

0-1 in the first over.

i got up at 6am for this.

Sometimes you've just got to say fair play.

We bowled alright but I don't think you'll ever see another knock like Glichrists. Fuck me, what a player.

What I would say though is virtually every umpiring decision has gone against us.

Strauss has had two shockers and Hussey was out about 96 times.

At the end of the day weve been outclassed by the Convicts.  :(

It's ok playing well for 3 days if you're not going to carry that on for the following 2.

Sod the Ashes, let's work on getting Australia turned back into a prison colony.

Let's start by sending them Ian Huntley, Ian Brady and Fatbury (for the Ipswich thing).

we need a big captain's innings, and contributions from everyone else left to bat and we could still win/draw this... weather forecast says there's a chance of thunder tomorrow too.

That's strange because Nasser Hussain was saying that there's no chance of rain tomorrow.

We don't deserve anything from this series, we've been gash.

there's only ever been about an hour lost to rain at perth this time of year apparently.

i think we can still win this match. go Freddie go! oh and don't write off some KP magic either  :D

luckily my work asked if i could do a late so i will be up tonite to watch this! :D

Rich me you and Boycott have the same Mentality then. I predict it will be 557-9 Monty to hit warne for 4 through the covers for the winning runs. Him and Jones as the not out batsman.

I wish.

haha it wont happen. we need a huge innings from Freddie and KP if it is going to happen. wouldn't bet against it though just yet. we have seen KP do amazing things with a cricket bat in his hands

You never know. Will have to survive till lunch. If it is still going on at 6.30 i am going to be a nervous wreck at work.

boycott would be happier if we collapsed completely, the miserable old cunt.

Leave Geoff alone, he's ace on TMS.

Symonds can't bowl was a good one from Geoff the other night before he got Flintoff and Jones, interspersed by someone or other saying Jones hasn't gone for a duck in his test career.  It's like town fans singing '1-0 and you fucked it up', just don't tempt fate ffs!

oh to anyone just waking up, we officially lost the ashes about an a hour ago.

:cry:
We were shite most of the time and deserved to lose,not just this game but the whole series.Typical England though to give us some hope yesterday,only to lose it right at the fucking end.Oh well at least i'm not going to Melbourne and Sydney,although i'm sure the people who are will drink plenty to take their minds off our shitness,they are going to have to tbh :(

And there is me thinking we had lost it after the first test...... :roll:



 :soapy tit wank:

i swear he's happier when he's proved right about us collapsing than any other time. typical northerner.

anyway, it's all over now. the aussies were a bit good, we just weren't very good often enough.

the first ball of the first test pretty much sums it all up so far.

geraint jones - why?

where's freddie's form gone?

i hope the selectors, fletcher and flintoff are all feeling rather sheepish over some of their selections.

For me strauss should've been captain, I don't think freddie needed the responsibility.  That said even with vaughany as skipper i think we'd have been comprehansively beaten, poor preparation and poor performance was our undoing.

Not enough warm-up games, poor selections from Fletch and Freddie and injuries to key players (Vaughan, Jones, technically Tresco) have cost us. Only an excellent World Cup performance, which couldn't look more unlikely, will save DF's job now

put simple..... we were shit.

I know if i had a ticket to the next 2 Test's i'd just sell them and go out on the piss all day instead.

Spot on Village. I just got up for work when Panesar try to mow warne and got bowled. Very Depressing.

yeah because getting to see this australian team which is quite simply awesome, in two of the best stadiums in the world is such a trial

its sport, entertainment first, winning second

NEIN!

that's the most stupid thing you've ever said and there's been a few.

Oh yes because i would love to pay thousands to watch Australia beat us!

Entertainment first, winning second? now you're talking bollocks, i go to watch Swindon every week and we play bad and win so your statement goes right out the window there.

well we were beaten by the better team. no complaints about that. Monty should have been picked from the start and you also wonder if Strauss should have been given the captaincy so that Freddie didn't have to much on his plate.

 8)

i don't really know about jumping on the old "should've picked monty" bandwagon.
i agree he's an exciting prospect but he hasn't been on the international scene all that long and gilo of course did the business last year.

perhaps we would've done a bit better with him in from the start but if he had come in for the first test with all that pressure on him and fucked it he might never have been the same, much better to slap him in when we're 2-0 down and look well on the way to losing the series.

yes but he took 5 wickets! well the bloke who sent the first ball of the ashes to second slip also managed 4 in that innings.

whats the point in getting worried about something you have no control over

i mean im disappointed when england win at cricket or swindon at football but no more. its not my life its the eleven players on the field

and i didnt mean its all about entertainment and not about winning because if you can entertain and win then its the pinnacle in sport. what i meant is that its still easy to appreciate and enjoy watching australia play cricket even though its not the result i want because it is simply a pleasure watching people that talented and driven.

i suppose because swindon's footballers aren't talented and therefore cannot entertain it is all about results

fair enough when you yourself are involved it carries a heck of a lot more meaning because it is your life, your successes and failures decided in the main by your abilities and decision-making

im not saying im right because i know more people will disagree than agree, especially football fans, a lot of whom who base their lives around something they have no control over and those who have the control don't give a fuck about them on an individual level. however, i tend to think its a better perspective on sport.

plus it makes taking losing easier  :wink:

:o

yeah oops